Hashimoto\'s Thyroiditis Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause

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Table   1:  Factors That    Inhibit T4  to  T3  Conversion^9

Nutrient

Depletions Stress Aging Alcohol Obesity

Chemo-

therapy Cigarettes Diabetes Fasting Soy

Medications Goitrogens Pesticides Radiation Surgery

Kidney

and Liver

Disease

Heavy

Metals

Growth

Hormone

Deficiency

Low

Progester-

one

Iodine

Excess

The National Institutes of Health, a government agency (not funded by
pharmaceutical grants), conducted a clinical trial to see if desiccated thy-
roid therapy is advantageous to T4 alone.^8 The authors of the study con-
cluded, “DTE (Desiccated Thyroid Extract) therapy did not result in a
significant improvement in quality of life; however, DTE caused modest
weight loss and nearly half (48.6 percent) of the study patients expressed
preference for DTE over L-T4 (Levothyroxine). DTE therapy may be
relevant for some hypothyroid patients.”^13

Thyroid hormone therapy should be individualized with the patient in
mind. Some people report feeling better on natural desiccated hormone
and others on compounded medications, while others may feel better
taking Tirosint® or another version of synthetic T4.

Some patients may have ethical objections to using animal-derived NDT
products. Compounded T4/T3 products offer an alternative. These medi-
cations also provide the advantage of being made without fillers such as
lactose or gluten, which are present in some thyroid medications and can
be problematic for thyroid patients (as you will learn in the Gut chapter).