There are numerous products sold which claim to in some way support the thyroid, provide a range of nutrients, have numerous properties to help those with thyroid issues.
But these formulations end up being highly problematical for numerous reasons.
What is Support?
What does it mean to support a thyroid? Especially when your thyroid has been removed or largely destroyed by autoimmune processes.
I think we can all understand that a thyroid needs the fundamental ingredients to make thyroid hormone. Iodine. Tyrosine. A tiny bit of selenium to make enzymes. And the usual things that the entire body needs.
But the word “support” has been chosen to sound very positive and helpful without actually telling you anything at all about what it is supposed to do.
Product Names
These products often have names that include term like “Support Formula”, “Thyroid Complex”.
Some even use variations on real thyroid hormone names which is, quite simply, misleading and should not be allowed.
There is absolutely no way of using product names to select or reject products. You have to find and carefully read what each of them contains.
What do they contain?
I have worked through around twenty products and listed the ingredients they claim below. The number column is how many of the products contain the ingredient. Because so many ingredients are identified in different ways (iodine, kelp, bladderwrack and potassium iodide all actually being ways of supplying iodine), it is difficult to be sure of the differences. Maybe kelp provides things in addition to being an iodine source?
The words “as” and “from” have been removed from many entries because they appear to be used without clear meaning. The following list seems to be exactly the same substance just with variations in style:
- Zinc (as oxide)
- Zinc (as zinc oxide)
- Zinc (from zinc oxide)
They have been retained where they do meaningfully indicate a source or form.
Some fine distinctions have also been removed to simplify.
Below is a table of the claimed ingredients for over twenty products. Over time we can expect some other ingredients to be included, and some existing ingredients to become less common.
Table of Ingredients
|
Group |
Ingredient |
Number |
|
Calcium |
Calcium Phosphate Dihydrate |
1 |
|
|
Fructo-Oligosaccharides |
1 |
|
|
L-Aspartic Acid (free form) |
1 |
|
|
Organic Raw Whole Food Sprout Powders (Organic Quinoa, Organic Mung Bean, Organic Millet) |
1 |
|
|
Phosphatidyl Choline |
1 |
|
|
Raw Plant Enzyme Blend (Lipase, Lactase, Invertase, Protease, Hemicellulase, Cellulase, Alpha-Galactosidase, Amylase, Bromelain, Papain, Acid-Stable Protease, Maltase) |
1 |
|
|
Raw Probiotic Blend (400 million CFU's Acidophilus/B. Bifidum) |
1 |
|
|
Rosemary Extract (6% Carnosic Acid) |
1 |
|
|
Thyroid Glandular Powder (Bovine-sourced, thyroxine-free, freeze-dried) |
1 |
|
Acai |
Whole Food Freeze-Dried Acai Powder |
1 |
|
Bacopa |
Bacopa Leaf Extract (Bacopa monniera) |
1 |
|
Bladderwrack |
Bladderwrack Powder (thallus) |
3 |
|
Camellia |
Green Tea Leaf Extract (Camellia sinensis) |
1 |
|
Cayenne |
Cayenne Pepper Fruit Powder |
3 |
|
Coleus forskohlii |
Coleus forskohlii (standardized to 10% forskolin) (root) |
3 |
|
Copper |
Copper Amino Acid Chelate |
11 |
|
Eleuthero |
Organic Eleuthero Root |
1 |
|
Folate |
Folate |
4 |
|
Garcinia |
Garcinia Fruit Extract |
1 |
|
Ginseng |
GS15-4™ Fermented Korean ginseng extract (root) |
1 |
|
Guarana |
Guarana Seed |
1 |
|
Guggul |
Guggul Extract (Commiphora mukul) (gum resin) |
4 |
|
Guggul |
Guggulsterones (2.5%) |
2 |
|
Indian pennywort |
Wildcrafted Gotu Kola Herb |
1 |
|
Iodine |
Brown Seaweed |
20 |
|
Magnesium |
Magnesium aspartate |
9 |
|
Manganese |
amino acid chelate |
4 |
|
Mangosteen |
Whole Food Mangosteen Hull Powder |
1 |
|
Molybdenum |
Molybdenum (as amino acid chelate) |
3 |
|
Mullein |
Wildcrafted Mullein Leaf |
1 |
|
Noni |
Organic Whole Food Noni Fruit Powder |
1 |
|
Ocimum |
Holy basil leaf extract (Ocimum sanctum) |
1 |
|
Phosphorus |
Phosphorus (as Calcium Phosphate Dihydrate, Dipotassium phosphate, mono sodium phosphate and Disodium Phosphate) |
1 |
|
Pomegranate |
Whole Food Pomegranate Juice Powder, Organic Raw |
1 |
|
Potassium |
Potassium aspartate |
2 |
|
Reynoutria multiflora |
Wildcrafted Fo-Ti Root (syn. Fallopia multiflora and Polygonum multiflorum) aka Chinese knotweed. |
1 |
|
Schisandra |
Schisandra Powder (fruit) |
4 |
|
Selenium |
amino acid chelate |
12 |
|
Sodium |
Sodium (as Disodium Phosphate and Monosodium Phosphate) |
1 |
|
Tyrosine |
L-Tyrosine |
17 |
|
Vitamin A |
Vitamin A (as Retinyl Palmitate) |
2 |
|
Vitamin B1 |
Thiamin mononitrate |
2 |
|
Vitamin B12 |
Cyanocobalamin |
6 |
|
Vitamin B2 |
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) |
2 |
|
Vitamin B3 |
Niacin |
2 |
|
Vitamin B5 |
Pantothenic Acid (calcium pantothenate) |
3 |
|
Vitamin B6 |
Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) |
3 |
|
Vitamin C |
Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid) |
2 |
|
Vitamin D3 |
Vitamin D3 (as D3, Cholecalciferol) |
1 |
|
Vitamin E |
Vitamin E (as d-Alpha Tocopheryl) |
1 |
|
Withanolides |
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) (Root extracts – some include leaf) Sensoril® Ashwagandha Extract (8% Withanolides) Sensoril® Ashwagandha extract (root, leaf) [std. to 32% oligosaccharides, 10% withanolide glycoside conjugated] Sensoril® ashwagandha root & leaf extract (Withania somnifera / 10% Withanolides) |
16 |
|
Zinc |
fermented Zinc bisglycinate L-OptiZinc® - Zinc L-Methionine Complex Zinc monomethionine Zinc oxide Zinc picolinate |
9 |
The majority of the products contain Ashwagandha or a source of iodine, or both.
Ashwagandha
Known potential side effects of Ashwagandha include:
- Gastrointestinal upset.
- Diarrhea.
- Vomiting and nausea.
It can also affect conversion of T4 to T3.
Iodine
Whether or not to supplement with iodine is a perennial problem.
It is always necessary to investigate and consider why iodine might, or might not, be needed by an individual.
It is quite clear that excess iodine can and does cause problems. This is widely acknowledged when considering the use of iodine and iodine-containing compounds within medicine. This can include amiodarone, X-ray contrast media, disinfectant agents like povidone iodine, and others.
Iodine water purification has also been reported to cause problems in some people.
People who have been low in iodine for much or their lives respond differently to those who have always had a medium to high iodine intake. Hence comparison to the amounts consumed in countries like Japan (where the usual diets are rich in iodine) need to be considered with extra care.
Use of iodine in response to nuclear emergencies is know to have significant risk but the alternative of taking up radio-active iodine is likely to be very much worse.
Most support formulas contain iodine or iodine-rich ingredients. It is sometimes, too often, difficult to identify how much iodine a product contains.
Thyroid Gland
Several products contain some form of animal thyroid gland. But they do not make any claims that they contain thyroid hormones as, if they did so, they would have to be treated as medicines. However, some expressly state that they do not contain thyroid hormones. This is odd because there is no widely known way of removing the thyroid hormone only.
If they do contain any thyroid hormone, we also do not know how consistent that content will be.
Unwanted Ingredients
If you work your way through the list, you might tick several ingredients as being substances you’d like to take. But if you then try to identify a product which contains those – and nothing else – you can’t without a lot of work, even if they exist.
You end up having to choose among various options – maybe including ingredients you don’t want, in order to get the ingredients you do want.
Your chances of finding a formulation that contains exactly what you want get smaller as the number of ingredients increases. You become ever more likely to find that the products which contain what you want also contain other ingredients. Things you do not need.
You therefore often have to choose between not getting everything you want, and getting things you don’t really want.
Of course, you also need to consider the ingredients used to allow them to make tablets, or the capsule shells.
Turmeric, Ashwagandha, and 4 Other Herbal Supplements That Could Be Damaging Your Liver
An article which might add more information.
https://www.health.com/herbal-supplements-potential-liver-damage-8694231
Dosages
Many contain very small amounts of their ingredients. While that is fine for some ingredients, others, like magnesium, need to be in significant quantities and the amount in most of these products is likely not sufficient.
And some contain high doses of certain ingredients. Most often, iodine sources. They also confuse by including two, three or more different sources of iodine. For example, the obvious iodine content of Potassium iodide, plus kelp and bladderwrack - three iodine sources in one product. It is not always clear whether the total iodine content includes the iodine from all these ingredients.
Daily Dose
When reading product descriptions, be very careful.
Some products display quantities for one capsule/tablet. Yet then tell you that the daily dose is two or three capsules/tablets.
Other products display quantities for a daily dose of two or three tablets/capsules.
You need to compare products on the same basis.
Intolerances
If we consider that many people have a degree of intolerance or unusual sensitivity, the products with large numbers of ingredients can be problematical.
Imagine, if just 1% of people are intolerant to each ingredient, then with just one ingredient there is a 1% chance of being intolerant to the product. But by the time you get to ten ingredients, you are up to 10% chance of being intolerant to at least one ingredient.
(Obviously, I chose 1% for simplicity. Some substances are extremely unlikely to be problematical. But others have much higher likelihood.)
Changing Products
If you eventually decide to try one of the complex products, there is a chance it will not suit you. So you move on to the next one. And on and on. Sometimes it might be obvious, but for some of us, we might never work out why we didn’t get on with it.
You lose time. You lose money. You have a cupboard full of complexes you don’t want.
In time, you might find a product that is actually quite good for you.
But next month, out of the vast number available, the one you chose disappears. Or is unavailable at present. Or sees a price rise you cannot afford. So what do you do?
It is unlikely you will find an exact replacement. Almost certain to have something extra, something missing, as well as different quantities.
So you are back to the same place, trying to find something that works for you.
The more ingredients, the more difficult to find something similar.
The more ingredients, the more likely you are to find products that don’t suit you.
Summary
While there is an appeal to taking a product which contains everything we need, it is very unlikely that you will find a suitable product.
Most likely it will have additional ingredients you do not want, not include ingredients you do want, or have inappropriate quantities of the ingredients. And our needs can change over time.
It is difficult to identify a suitable product. They can work out expensive and have uncertain continuity of supply.
If you still decide to go ahead, make sure you check everything you can before ordering. And take care in dosing once you start taking them.
[i][b]helvella - Thyroid Support Products[/b]
A short discussion about the various thyroid support formulas and similar products.
Last updated 13/02/2025[/i]
Link to blog:
https://helvella.blogspot.com/p/helvella-thyroid-support-products.html
If you find anything incorrect, misleading, typos, links that don’t work, etc., please let me know. Go to my profile and use the contact details there.
