Thyroid Support

What Is Thyroid Support?

A capsule holding two ideas at once. Part of it is nutrients with established roles in ordinary human biochemistry; the rest is sea vegetables and dried glandular powders, a much older style of formulation. Eleven ingredients in all.

How It Works in the Body

Iodine is the one the body cannot do without. It gets attached to tyrosine units sitting on a large protein called thyroglobulin, and thyroid hormone is assembled from there. The amino acid L-tyrosine is included here too.

Selenium has a separate job. The body builds it into selenoproteins as selenocysteine, among them the glutathione peroxidases that handle peroxides in tissue. The dulse, kelp, Irish moss and bladderwrack are edible seaweeds carrying iodine and trace minerals, and the bovine powders are dried tissue rather than nutrients.

What It Supports

• Iodine from kelp: The iodine here comes from organic Icelandic kelp, at 40 mcg per serving.
• Selenium and selenoproteins: Selenium is built into the glutathione peroxidases, enzymes of the body's own antioxidant system.
• Sea vegetables: Dulse, kelp, Irish moss and bladderwrack are coastal foods that carry iodine naturally.
• An amino acid: L-tyrosine is the amino acid the chemistry above is built on.
• The glandular tradition: Dried bovine thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, spleen and thymus follow an older style of formulation.

Who It May Suit

Adults who eat little seafood or seaweed and want iodine from a food source, working with a practitioner. Five ingredients are bovine tissue, so it does not suit vegetarian or vegan eating, or anyone avoiding beef.

Good To Know

Iodine in seaweed varies with the harvest, and both too little and too much of it matter. Talk with your healthcare provider before use, especially if you take thyroid medication or are pregnant or nursing. Tell your provider about other supplements carrying selenium or iodine, since selenium has a narrow margin between enough and too much.