Condition
Thyroid Health
The thyroid is a small gland in the neck that makes hormones controlling metabolism, energy and growth. Iodine and selenium have the strongest evidence, since iodine is built into thyroid hormones and selenium helps convert T4 into active T3, and in one small trial of healthy men, blood T3 went down with iodide supplements. That finding rests on just 32 men, so the evidence is limited and may not apply to people with thyroid problems.
Sources: PMID 3139337
- Supplements studied
- 2
- Graded outcomes
- 2
- Trials
- 2
- People studied
- 42
Evidence by supplement
- Strong
- Moderate
- Limited
- Very limited
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serum T3 Small Decrease | Improves (the measure goes down) | Small effect | 1 study | 32 people | ||
Studies that measured serum t3 | ||||||
| Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone | Improves (the measure goes up) | 3 studies | 32 people | |||
Studies that measured thyroid-stimulating hormone | ||||||
| Serum T4 | Improves (the measure goes up) | 32 people | ||||
| Grade | Outcome | Effect | Size | Studies | People | Studies list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Testosterone Small Increase | Improves (the measure goes up) | Small effect | 10 people | |||
| Testosterone | Improves (the measure goes up) | 3 studies | 10 people | |||
Studies that measured testosterone
| ||||||
| Serum T3 | Improves (the measure goes up) | 10 people | ||||
| Serum T4 | Improves (the measure goes up) | 10 people | ||||
Key findings
- Serum T3Improves (the measure goes down)
- Free TestosteroneImproves (the measure goes up)
The General Thyroid Health Support protocol
2 primary supplements · 4 supporting supplements
Studies cited
7 studies from PubMed
- Impact of oral zinc therapy on the level of sex hormones in male patients on hemodialysis
- The effect of exhaustion exercise on thyroid hormones and testosterone levels of elite athletes receiving oral zinc
- Effect of fatiguing bicycle exercise on thyroid hormone and testosterone levels in sedentary males supplemented with oral zinc
- Iodine supply and thyroid function in women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a cohort study.
- Effects of low dose oral iodide supplementation on thyroid function in normal men
- The effect of small increases in dietary iodine on thyroid function in euthyroid subjects
- Breast-milk iodine concentration declines over the first 6 mo postpartum in iodine-deficient women