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The Thyroid Wellness Newsletter
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Weight and Gender but Not Age Affects
the Dose of Your Thyroid Medication
It has previously been common belief that age affects the
dose required of Levothyroxine for the treatment of hypothyroidism. A study published
in Thyroid challenges that
belief. The older you get, the
less thyroid hormone you
need, but that does not seem
to be the case. This study was
very thorough to separate
age, gender, body weight, ideal body weight, and menstrual status, and the patients studied included men and
women between the ages of 18 and 85, all of whom were
In This Issue...
Weight and Gender but Not Age
Affects the Dose of Your Thyroid
Medication
Acne as an Indication of Thyroid
Disease in Adult Women
Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients
with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Dr. Ridha Arem
Vitamin and Antioxidant Supplementation is
Crucial for Your Thyroid!
diagnosed with hypothyroidism at least 12 months prior.
The research concluded that age does not affect Levothyroxine dose requirements once gender and body weight
are considered. Instead, age masks a variety of other
issues that could affect the required dose. For instance,
older age is often synonymous with altered body weight,
change in body composition, and changes in hormone.
Any of these could actually affect Levothyroxine dose
requirements.
Gender, on the other hand, seems to hold the highest
impact on variations in dose requirements. A possible
explanation for this is the idea that men have different
physiological requirements than women.
Besides gender, the other important factor that affects the
dose requirement seems to be the weight of the patient,
and this has been shown by previous research. The more
you are overweight, the more thyroid hormone you need
to treat your hypothyroidism.
The Texas Thyroid Institute • Dr. Ridha Arem M.D. • 7501 Fannin Suite 730 • Houston, TX 77054 • www.thyroidwellness.com
Acne as an Indication of Thyroid Disease
in Adult Women
Acne vulgaris, a disease affecting
the sebaceous follicles, is typically
understood to be an adolescent
disorder. However, acne occurring after adolescence has been
increasing over the last decade,
and affecting more women than
men. While the causes of adult
acne are not always understood, some possible explanations include: smoking, stress, resistant bacteria, the use
of some cosmetics, and the use of oral contraceptives.
There also seems to be a connection between thyroid
disease and adult acne in women.
Released in April 2011, one study hypothesized a link
between acne and thyroid autoimmunity. Several thyroid
function tests were run on groups of adult women with
acne, as well as adult women with no acne or presence of
previous lesions. The most significant difference between
the groups was that the women with acne had increased
levels of antithyroglobulin antibodies, or had higher
chances of having high levels of the antibodies in the future. Thyroglobulin antibodies are markers of autoimmune
attacks on the thyroid, such as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, a
condition that can cause hypothyroidism. Based on this
research, it is important that adult women with acne consider being treated for a thyroid condition.
Vitamin D Deficiency in Patients with
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
It has been determined
that vitamin D deficiency
affects 20-100% of elderly persons in the United
States, Canada, and Europe. Children and adults
are equally at high risk
of suffering from Vitamin D deficiency world-wide. One
of the major causes of Vitamin D deficiency is an indoor
lifestyle, clothing choices, and sun avoidance. Vitamin D
is a major component of many important functions in the
human body. Without Vitamin D only 10-15% of dietary
calcium and phosphorus are absorbed into the body.
A recent study published in the journal Thyroid reported
that Vitamin D deficiency is much more common in
patients with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (92%) compared to
the general population( 63%). Vitamin D, in addition to
promoting calcium absorption in the GI tract, has many
regulatory effects in the body; in particular it regulates the
immune system. The active form of Vitamin D has been
shown to inhibit and slow down autoimmune conditions. It
is likely that Vitamin D deficiency is a trigger or a contributing factor to the occurrence of autoimmune attacks on
the thyroid such as Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.
In essence, if you are at risk for developing an autoimmune thyroid condition or if you already have a thyroid
condition, you need to pay serious attention to your Vitamin D status and have your Vitamin D tested periodically.
Also you need to take adequate amounts of Vitamin D on
a regular basis.
Vitamin D is normally produced in the skin. The rate at
which the body can produce Vitamin D in response to sun
exposure is, however, greatly affected by skin pigmentation, aging, and topical use of sunscreen. There are few
foods that naturally contain Vitamin D like cod liver oil,
salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, mushrooms, and egg
yolk. Some products like milk, bread, orange juice, cereals, yogurt, and cheese are fortified with Vitamin D in the
United States and Canada. But vitamin D intake from
food may not be adequate enough to maintain optimal
Vitamin D levels. The best way to keep your vitamin D in
an excellent range is to take vitamin D supplementation.
There are two types of Vitamin D supplements that are
commonly prescribed in the United States: Vitamin D2 &
D3. Vitamin D2 is a prescription supplement (50,000 units
per tablet) taken weekly or monthly while Vitamin D3 is
usually taken daily. There is suggestion that vitamin D3 is
more active than vitamin D2 and these 2 supplements are
metabolized differently. Regardless of the supplement you
are taking you need to have your Vitamin D level monitored by your physician.
Vitamin and Antioxidant Supplementation is Crucial for Your Thyroid!
Several vitamins and antioxidants play an important role
not only in maintaining a healthy thyroid system, but also
in making thyroid hormone work efficiently in the cells of
your body. Despite this, thyroid patients have not been
educated enough about the health benefits of vitamin
and antioxidant supplementation. Also, many physicians
who care for thyroid patients typically do not acknowledge
the benefit and do not recommend appropriate supplements to enhance the thyroid treatment they prescribe.
Adequate well balanced supplementation with vitamins
and antioxidants helps
the immune system,
supports the thyroid
system, and enhances
benefits of thyroid treatment. There is even a
link between taking vitamins and antioxidants
and a decreased incidence of thyroid cancer.
For instance, selenium and zinc are essential for the
thyroid gland to manufacture the right amount of thyroid hormone and for thyroid hormone to accomplish its
multiple metabolic functions in the cell. Vitamins A, B, and
C are also very important to maintain a healthy thyroid.
Research has shown that Vitamin A deficiency causes
slowing of the thyroid, and goiter, which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Vitamin B6 deficiency, which can cause irritability, mood
changes, high homocysteine levels, anemia, neuropathy,
and seizures, has been shown to cause hypothyroidism
in rats related to low signaling from the hypothalamus to
the pituitary. The low thyroid can be reversed with supplementation and normalization of Vitamin B6 levels. Vitamin
B12 deficiency is also common in thyroid patients, especially in patients with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and Graves’
disease. The deficiency of vitamin B12 may result in a
number of neurological and non-neurological problems
like anemia, weight loss, impaired fertility, depression,
and cognition issues. Low Vitamin B12 is found more
frequently in women who suffer from hypothyroid and
hyperthyroid conditions. Long term Vitamin B12 supplementation is often recommended to prevent health issues
in patients with thyroid disease.
Recent research has also shown that Vitamin D is one
of the most influential vitamins in the human body. It
regulates function of the immune system and Vitamin
D deficiency could contribute to immune attacks on the
thyroid. Vitamin D deficiency is more common in patients
with Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Vitamin
D also regulates insulin secretion, regulates the cardiovascular system, the development of the nervous system,
and maintains bone health. One of the side-effects of
hyperthyroidism is loss of bone mass. Vitamin D supplementation helps to reduce the negative effects on bone
loss and helps the body restore bone mass lost by the
disorder.
In addition to maintaining a healthy thyroid system, several vitamins and antioxidants are essential to fight the
oxidative stress often generated by a thyroid imbalance. If
you suffer from a thyroid imbalance, whether hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, your body becomes overwhelmed
with oxidative stress and harmful free radicals, which are
byproducts of oxygen metabolism. These free radicals
cause damage to the cells and inflammation, and impair
function of cells. Oxidative stress and free radicals contribute to aging, to the occurrence of vascular disease,
cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Excessive amounts of
free radicals contribute to the occurrence of symptoms
such as fatigue, low mood, and lack of vitality. They also
promote inflammation in the cells and, consequently,
insulin resistance and weight gain. This is why when you
have a thyroid imbalance; you may experience depletion
of the good guys, the vitamins and antioxidants that we
are talking about. And this is why if you have a thyroid
imbalance, taking adequate supplementation of these
vitamins and antioxidants will make you feel better, will
give you more vitality, and will improve your mood. Also,
you will make the thyroid treatment you receive more
efficient. Research has shown for instance, that a mix of
vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, selenium, zinc, and
copper causes improvement of symptoms in hyperthyroid
patients the same way as if they were receiving treatment
to regulate their thyroid. Also, patients with overactive
thyroid who receive antioxidants along with antithyroid
medications attain normal thyroid levels sooner.
It is clear that as a thyroid patient, you need to be aware
that supplementation with vitamins and antioxidants helps
prevent your symptoms and should be part of your treatment program so that you can reach and maintain optimal
wellness. Supplementation helps stabilize your thyroid
condition, and helps with prevention and minimizes damaging effects of free radicals to your body and brain.
Patients often wonder about the effects of vitamins and
antioxidants on their thyroid conditions. Not all supplements and vitamins are made equally, therefore it is
always important to read the ingredients included and be
sure it is complete and well balanced. Many of the over
the counter vitamins and antioxidant supplements are
unbalanced or incomplete. They may also contain iron,
calcium, or ingredients that can interfere with thyroid hormone absorption. ThyroLife Optima has been designed
to be complete, comprehensive, and well-balanced to
achieve all the desirable effects that thyroid patients
need. ThyroLife Multi-Preventive is an ideal mix of
vitamins and antioxidants for relatives of thyroid patients
genetically at higher risk for having thyroid disease. It is
also an excellent multivitamin for everyone for prevention
and overall health.