Hypothyroidism is generally considered to be incurable. Once you have it, you receive a lifetime sentence of perpetual medications.
But a new study in the journal BMC Endocrine Disorders reveals it doesn’t have to be this way.
Researchers discovered that people with hypothyroidism tend to lack a specific, common vitamin.
Supplementing with this cheap vitamin may be enough to turn the tide of your hypothyroidism.
There are four reasons why researchers are interested in the relationship between hypothyroidism and vitamin D levels in the blood:
1. Vitamin D and thyroid hormones have similar receptors throughout our bodies.
2. Vitamin D has receptors in almost all of our bodies’ tissues, which is why previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, depression, autoimmune disorders, and so forth.
3. Vitamin D receptors are especially abundant throughout our endocrine system, of which the thyroid gland is a major component.
4. Many studies show that more than 1 billion people throughout the world are deficient in Vitamin D, including 13% of Europeans, 19% of Americans, 50% of Iranians, and high percentages of people with dark skin pigmentation and those who suffer from malnutrition.
Because Vitamin D is so important and so scarce, the authors of this study decided to find a definitive answer on the relationship between Vitamin D and thyroid disorders.
Of all the studies they reviewed, 42 were of sufficient quality to be included in their analysis.
They found drastically lower Vitamin D levels in the blood samples from people with all types of hypothyroidism, compared to the general public.
The relationship between Vitamin D and hypothyroidism, however, only held for people who were age 40 and older.
So, if you suffer from hypothyroidism, make sure you have enough Vitamin D. And if you lack it, supplementing may drastically improve your condition.