3 Things You Need to Know About Thyroid Supplements

If you are suffering from hypothyroidism or other related thyroid disorder, one of the options that was probably presented to you by your doctor or friends would be to take thyroid supplements. And if you are reading this now, chances are you are seriously considering this approach. So, here are things you need to know about thyroid supplements to help you decide once and for all if this is the best option for you. 

Thyroid supplements help but they are not miracle cures.

Supplements are exactly what their name suggests. They supplement or augment whatever it is that your body is lacking. In the case of hypothyroidism, the insufficient thyroid hormone might be a result of your body not getting enough raw materials to synthesize the thyroid hormone in the gland (maybe as a result of a drastic change in diet). This is exactly what supplements are trying to address. By taking thyroid supplements, you can provide the missing ingredients that you might have skipped and overlooked when eating, especially if you do not closely monitor your diet. 

However, if there are other underlying reasons for the lack of thyroid activity (aside from the lack of ingredients), thyroid supplements cannot address these issues. Autoimmune conditions, for example, will still result in thyroid problems despite the supplements. Although supplements can lighten the burden on the thyroid gland, they cannot prevent your immune system from further attacking your thyroid gland. 

Thyroid supplements come in different forms and compositions.

Depending on the company that manufactures them, supplements can come with different ingredients and in different concentrations. Some are purely herbal, others contain porcine or bovine thyroids, and some are fully synthetic. It would be wise to know as much as you can about the specific supplement you are considering before taking them. 

Thyroid supplements will have different effects on different people.

Even in patients that have been clinically diagnosed to have thyroid disorders, deficiencies may still vary. So it is only natural for thyroid supplements to have varying effects on people that have different deficiencies. Also, since there are different types of thyroid supplements, you can expect different results on different people.