If you are like the dozens of patients who come to see me for help with their stubborn health challenges, you are frustrated beyond belief. Many have low thyroid symptoms even though they are being medically managed with thyroid replacment hormones. Unfortunately this one size fits all approach to dealing with hypothyroidism often falls short, leaving you to continue searching for treatment that can restore your zest for living.
There are several mistakes I see patients make when it comes to finding a natural solution to their faltering health. One mistake is thinking that taking a supplement known as tyrosine can help.
Thyroid hormones are made by your thyroid gland via the enzyme thyroid peroxidase which combines the amino acid tyrosine, the mineral halide iodie and hyrogen peroxide. So it would follow that tyrosine would be a very popular supplement in health food stores for people suffering with thyroid problems. Unfortunately this strategy is not a good one. Give me a few minutes to explain why.
Typically, if you walk into a health food store and you speak with a store clerk or the manager about supplements you could benefit from in you have hypothyroidism, they will often recommend iodine and tyrosine (also known as L-tyrosine). If you take their advice you may be making a big mistake.
Just like iodine, tyrosine is an integral part of thyroid hormone production but supplementing with it has the potential to suppress thyroid activity.
In fact, there's not a single study out there that shows the ability of tyrosine to increase thyroid hormones, even when they are sub-par or too low. Tyrosine is the precursor to the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which in turn is a precursor to the adrenal "fight or flight" hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine. Increased adrenal hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, will suppress thyroid function. Too much of these adrenal hormones can cause you to have:
- anxiety and nervousness
- heart palpitations
- high blood pressure
- headaches
- insomnia
- irritability
In addition, people who have migraine headaches should avoid tyrosine, as it can trigger migraine headaches and stomach upset.
"It's rare to be deficient in tyrosine. Low levels have been associated with low blood pressure, low body temperature, and an underactive thyroid. This does not mean, however, that taking tyrosine supplements will help any of these conditions." [1]
Dietary Sources of Tyrosine:
"Tyrosine is found in soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, bananas, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds." [2]
Rather than risk getting an over production of adrenal hormones by taking tyrosine containing supplements, I recommend that all patients who are on thyroid medication get tested thoroughly by a knowledegable health practitioner trained in functional medicine and DO NOT walk into a health food store and ask the person behind the counter, who most likely does not have a medical degree, what they should be taking to fix their thyroid problem.
The number one cause of low thyroid in America is an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s.
If you have Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis, it needs to be controlled right now.
You know from reading my previous articles on autoimmune thyroid that if you don’t get Hashimoto's under control, the autoimmune process is going to march through your body and find other things to kill…such as your pancreas, brain, cartilage. I think understand how these could ruin your life.
So it’s time to continue your research. If you’ve got low thyroid problems, please, don’t take tyrosine. Find a doctor that can actually do the detective work and find out what’s wrong.
If you would like, you can download my thyoid ebook "The Ultimate Strategy for Ending Your Thyroid Symptoms so You Increase The Zest in Your Life" that helps you understand why you may not be responding to your thyroid medical management.
All the best – Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC – Digging Deeper To Find Solutions
References:
1. Tyrosine http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/tyrosine-000329.htm
2. Tyrosine http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/tyrosine-000329.htm
