Patient-Centered, Whole-Person, Functional Metabolic Care For Hashimoto's and Low Thyroid

Low Thyroid Symptoms and Vitamin D

Should you be supplementing with vitamin D?

Dr. Chris Heimlich DC, Director of the Arizona Thyroid Institute in Scottsdale, AZ Explains:

More and more people are taking vitamin D.  They have seen on the news or the web that it is good for them.  Taking vitamin D is good for you…IF YOU NEED IT.

Modern diets are lacking in Vitamin D rich foods.  What are Vitamin D rich foods?  Liver, organ meats, lard, many forms of seafood, butter and egg yolks.

The best-known function of active vitamin D is to help regulate blood levels of calcium and phosphorous. Vitamin D increases absorption of minerals from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In combination with parathyroid hormone, it enhances their reabsorption from the kidneys and their mobilization from bones into the blood. Vitamin D helps maintain calcium levels even if dietary intakes are not optimal. Calcitriol affects growth of normal cells and some cancer cells. Adequate vitamin-D status has been linked to a reduced risk of developing breast, colon, and prostrate cancers.

Sunlight is another important factor and source of Vitamin D.  BUT, you should NEVER take vitamin D without having your Vitamin D levels tested, specifically, 25 OHD and 1,25 OHD.  Most doctors only test 25 OHD.  I feel this is a mistake.  It is very important to have both levels tested.  I see at least one patient a week that comes in taking Vit D that have low or normal 25 OHD levels and high 1,25 OHD levels.

Why could it be bad a bad idea to take Vitamin D?  One reason is because it is a fat-soluble vitamin.  That means it is tougher for your body to get excess amounts out of your system.   Vitamin D is most likely to have toxic effects when consumed in excessive amounts through supplementation. Excess vitamin D raises blood calcium levels, resulting in calcium precipitation in soft tissues and stone formation in the kidneys, where calcium becomes concentrated in an effort to excrete it.

Why is Vitamin D so important with patients that have low thyroid symptoms like hair loss, depression, weight gain and fatigue?  Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many, many autoimmune conditions including Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  Autoimmune rates have been skyrocketing in the past 20 years and have been correlated with decreased levels of Vitamin D in the general population.

The number one cause of low thyroid in America is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s.

Adequate Vitamin D levels help to keep the immune system balance so it doesn’t swing out of control into an autoimmune disease.  When it comes to Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, the problems with Vitamin D deficiency is made worse by genetics.  There are studies that show that more than 90 percent of the people with an autoimmune thyroid or Hashimoto’s have a genetic defect affecting their ability to process Vitamin D.

The take home message here is to NOT just take vitamin D because you think it is good for you.  Find a thyroid doctor that can actually do the detective work and find out if it is something that you need.


Listen To The Audio:
Low Thyroid Symptoms and Vitamin D

Hashimoto’s Victim Gets Her Normal Life Back With Natural Treatment

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The Hidden Connection Between Thyroid Disease and Diabetes

Dr. Chris Heimlich, DC, DACNB, Scottsdale Thyroid Doctor Comments:

Although I have written posts about blood sugar and low thyroid symptoms in the past, I came across a recent article the other day that I wanted to share with you that links thyroid disorders and diabetes.  The article states that Diabetes and Thyroid Disease appear to be closely linked.  They also stated that the data did not differ between type 1 and type 2 Diabetes.

The article also suggested a common genetic background for both thyroid disease and diabetes.  They also link the conditions to autoimmunity.

What most people do not realize is that type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease, just like Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (low thyroid) and Grave’s Disease.  Type 2 Diabetes is also connected to autoimmunity at least 20% of the time.  Research shows, just like this article does, that if you have one autoimmune condition, you have a higher chance of having another.   I have also found this clinically.

The article, as do most texts, considers low thyroid synonymous with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. 

That is a huge take home message for you.  According to the literature, when you have hypothyroid or low thyroid symptoms, it is synonymous with the autoimmune condition Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.  As you know from reading my other blogs and watching my videos, just taking thyroid hormones is not the answer to getting your maximal health back when you have an autoimmune condition.

The summary of the article stated that there is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that insulin sensitivity, or drugs used to modulate it, will also affect thyroid growth and function.  It also stated that a better definition of the interactions between Diabetes and thyroid hormones is necessary to optimize treatment of patients with diabietes mellitus. They also stated the high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction should result in regular screening of the thyroid function.  I suggest get screened for thyroid function regularly even if you have not been diagnosed with diabetes.  Of course like I have said on many different occasions, make sure you get complete testing, not just the TSH.