What supplements help Hashimoto’s? Top 5 essential vitamins.

One of the main root causes of Hashimoto’s apart from chronic stress and leaky gut are nutrient deficiencies. The big question you should ask yourself is if you are looking for something to just improve to your symptoms or something that will actually help you reverse Hashimoto’s naturally. Putting Hashimoto’s into remission is possible but without right approach targeted at the root cause it may be quite a journey and that’s why a lot of people either accept it at some point and carry on with life not feeling 100% or look for quick fixes to improve just a little bit but don’t get rid the problem compleatly. In this post I’m going to share with you key supplements that will help you reverse Hashimoto’s.

Most deficient vitamins in Hashimoto’s

The most common vitamins that are deficient in people with Hashimoto’s are vitamins A, B12, C, D, and E. These vitamins are essential for proper functioning of the immune system, and a deficiency can lead to a weakened immune system, increased inflammation, and further Hashimoto’s symptoms like tiredness, weight gain, brain fog or painful joints and muscles.

What supplements will help you with Hashimoto’s disease?

In general, the more nutrients you can get from food, the better. There are also certain vitamins and minerals that are safer to get it from food rather than supplement like zinc or copper i.e . There are also essential nutrients that is really hard to get it from your diet in decent amount and this is what I would like to focus on today. When your body already struggles with some condition like Hashimoto’s or hypothyroidism, it needs extra nutrient boost to heal and repair. That’s why supplements are quite often needed, especially for the healing phase. Here are top supplements that can help you reverse hashimoto’s naturally.

Vitamin A, secretory IgA deficiency and Hashimoto’s

Vitamin A is important for the healthy thyroid hormone synthesis and conversion and protects against inflammation. It is also needed for proper immune system functioning (especially T-reg cells) and can help decrease autoimmune reactions in the body. What’s even more important, vitamin A increases secretory IgA (SIgA). Deficiency in secretory IgA is closely linked with Hashimoto’s. Secretory IgA serves as the first line of defence in protecting your gut and your body from enteric toxins and pathogenic microorganisms. It’s worth to note that secretory IgA it’s not the same as blood serum IgA. People with low SIgA levels generally have an increased risk of food sensitivities, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), intestinal permeability, autoimmunity and gastrointestinal infections.

Honestly, vitamin A is one of the key supplements that can help you with Hashimoto’s, especially if you are vegan or vegetarian. As the only bioavailable form of vitamin A is in animal products. If you get vitamin A from plants in form of beta-carotene, your body needs to convert it to active form. The conversion on average is very low – around 20% and even lower 5-10% for people with auto immune conditions like Hashimoto’s.

Vitamin A food sources: dark leafy greens, organ meats, eggs, butter, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Vitamin D supplement will help you not only with Hashimoto’s but low mood and weight loss too!

Almighty vitamin D – it helps regulate the immune system and can help protect against autoimmunity. Taking a vitamin D supplement, especially during winter months where you have limited sun exposure is highly recommended! Low vitamin D levels are linked with higher risk of Hashimoto’s, depression and also difficulties with losing weight. Vitamin D is important for healthy thyroid receptors and helps to lower thyroid antibodies. Click here to read more about how to lower thyroid antibodies.

Small amounts of vitamin D can be found in fatty fish, eggs, and fortified dairy products which generally I wouldn’t recommend. Best source of vitamin D is sun of course and to get the most out of it you should exposure your skin to sun anytime between 11am and 2pm.

Selenium – your number one to lower thyroid antibodies

Selenium  is an essential mineral that helps the body make and use thyroid hormones. It helps with the conversion of T4 to the active form, T3. Selenium also plays significant role in modulating the immune system and regulating inflammation, which is important for those with Hashimoto’s. Low levels of selenium are associated with increased thyroid antibody levels. Taking a selenium supplement can help reduce thyroid antibodies and improve your symptoms in as little as 3 months.

Best food sources of selenium are seafood, organ meats and Brazil nuts.

Can vitamin B12 supplement help with Hashimoto’s too?

Vitamin B12 is essential for proper brain function, nervous system, red blood cell and energy production. It’s also very important for your immune system, especially if it comes to fighting viral infections (Epstein Bar Virus i.e is quite common trigger for Hashimoto’s).

Did you know that…

Women on birth control pill or hormone replacement therapy are at higher risk of vitamin B12 and folate deficiency?

Vitamin B12 can be tricky though. People with compromised gut and low stomach acid levels will not be able to absorb vitamin B12 well. It leads to vicious cycle of gut problems leading to poor nutrient absorption and nutrient deficiencies leading to immune dysfunction (80% of your immune system is in your gut). Many people supplementing vitamin B12 can see significant improvements with their symptoms and Hashimoto’s. 

How you can be deficient in vitamin B12 without knowing?

What is worth to mention is that vitamin B12 deficiency may not be that obvious at the beginning and it takes long time to manifest. Sometimes from few months to even 10-20 years to show.

Why? Because  B12 in blood serum can be normal while at the cellular level you may be deficient in B12. Your body will always do its best to maintain vitamins in minerals in blood serum. For the same reason i.e iron (blood serum) should always be checked with ferritin levels (storage form of iron). That means that you can go years without knowing about B12 deficiency. The more accurate test to detect B12 deficiency at early stages is methylmalonic acid test (MMA) – unfortunately also more expensive. 

Hashimoto’s is like an onion….

Hashimoto’s or any other complex conditions is like an onion – it has many layers that cover its core, and you need to peel each layer to get to the root cause which quite often can be hidden. Symptoms that you are experiencing are signs of dysfunction and imbalances between key organs and systems. I would even go one step further and say dysfunction of you cell. We are build from trillions of cells and every disease or condition starts to develop at the cellular level. It means that without healthy cells your body can’t be fully healthy.

If you want to regain health and reverse Hashimoto’s naturally, take care of your cells.

There are some key nutrients that are essential to keep you cell healthy. With healthy cells you also will be absorbing more nutrients. Omega 3s helps you to maintain cell membrane fluidity. You can read more about omega 3 and 6 balance and how to improve it here. Vitamin E on the other hand and other antioxidant protect your cells from oxidative damage, free radicals and toxins. Definitely don’t forget about those two when!

As long as certain vitamins are better to get in a supplement form, antioxidants work better if you get them from food.

Best supplements for Hashimoto’s – summary 

Supplements can certainly be beneficial. Vitamin A, D, B12 , selenium and Omega 3s will not only improve your symptoms but will also support your healing journey. If you’re looking to take your Hashimoto’s healing to the next level it’s definitely worth considering combining supplements with appropriate diet and healing protocol that will address the root cause. Hope that was helpful!