What Is The Best Treatment For Hypothyroidism?
The best treatment for hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid function) is composed of five principles:
1. A thyroid supporting diet
2. Vitamins and minerals that support a good hormonal balance
3. Thyroid replacement therapy with both T4 and T3
4. Supplementation with the body's natural protective hormones
5. Light therapy to support the hormonal balance
I have suffered from hypothyroidism myself and tried many unsuccessful treatments before finding the research of Dr. Ray Peat. From Dr. Ray Peat, I learned the diet and health principles that support thyroid function and the hormonal balance. My hypothyroid treatment programme is inspired by the health advice of Dr. Ray Peat and my own experiences with recovering from hypothyroidism and hormonal imbalance.
1. What Is The Best Thyroid Diet?
The best thyroid diet is one that supports thyroid function on every level — meaning the production of the thyroid hormones in the thyroid gland, the transport of the thyroid hormones in the blood, and the conversion of the inactive storage hormone T4 to T3, as well as the cells' response to the active thyroid hormone T3.
It is important to know:
1. What fats, carbohydrates, and protein sources are good for your thyroid function.
2. What foods should be avoided because they suppress metabolism (thyroid function).
3. What foods support good digestion and which should be avoided because they feed bad bacteria in the intestine.
4. How you should combine foods for a good thyroid supporting meal.
5. The importance of getting enough cholesterol in your diet.
6. The importance of good sugars for improving cellular energy production.
7. Why sugar is not dangerous for your health.
8. Why sugar is not causing diabetes or fungus overgrowth.
9. How to overcome food intolerances.
My thyroid diet covers all these issues and focuses on a diet that supports thyroid function on every level. You can find everything in my book How to Boost Metabolism with Food and my Metabolic Nutrition Mastery course.
2. Can Nutritional Supplements Help My Thyroid?
Certain nutritional supplements are good for your thyroid function whereas others can directly harm your health. Many common nutritional supplements are actually very harmful and can slow down your metabolism, impair your immune system, and create inflammation in your body.
Another issue with supplements in general is that they contain binders and fillers which are supposed to be inert, but in reality many of these fillers create problems for the body including systemic inflammation.
In order to select the correct nutritional supplements, you will need to know:
1. Which vitamins can help your endocrine function, including your thyroid function.
2. What minerals are important for good health.
3. What herbs can help your digestion and hormonal balance.
4. Which remedies can be used to remove fungus such as candida from your gut.
5. Which common supplements you should avoid as they can harm your health.
My Nutritional Supplements course helps you use the correct nutritional supplements for supporting your thyroid function.
3. What Is The Best Medication For Low Thyroid Function?
The best medication for hypothyroidism is one that contains both T4 and T3. T4 is a storage hormone and T3 is the active hormone. Both T4 and T3 are secreted by the thyroid gland and transported in the blood to the tissues, where T3 immediately promotes the production of energy in the cells. T4 is a storage hormone that is converted to T3 when the cells need more energy. The main conversion of T4 to T3 takes place in the liver.
Most doctors prescribe a medication that only contains T4 (levothyroxine), such as the brand names Synthroid and L-Troxin. However such medication is not optimal as it needs to be converted to T3 before it can have any action. Supplementing with a T4-only medication puts a strain on your body to convert the thyroid hormone T4 to the active T3. If your body is unable to do this efficiently you will not get enough active thyroid hormones to your cells, and you will eventually also be affected by too much T4, which has an anti-thyroid effect on its own.
In my How to Use Thyroid Medication book and Thyroid Recovery & Renewal course you will learn about:
1. What the thyroid gland does.
2. Blood tests for thyroid function (including T4, T3, TSH).
3. Synthetic versus natural thyroid medication.
4. Finding your optimal thyroid dosage.
5. How to take thyroid medication and supplements.
4. Does Light Therapy Help Thyroid Function?
If you live in a very dark and cloudy place, your thyroid function will be affected negatively. Long hours of darkness affect your hormonal balance by increasing the stress hormone cortisol and decreasing the production of the good and protective hormones progesterone and pregnenolone. Therefore not getting enough light damages your whole hormonal balance. In order to help your hormonal balance and thyroid function, you can use light therapy.
My Pro-Metabolic Lifestyle course helps you use light therapy to increase your thyroid function and support your production of the body's natural protective hormones — progesterone, pregnenolone, and DHEA. You will learn why darkness damages thyroid function and hormonal balance, how light therapy can help, and what light therapy lamps are best.
5. How Do Progesterone And Pregnenolone Help The Thyroid?
Supplementation with pregnenolone and progesterone is useful for treating stress and inflammation-related conditions. Both these hormones are effective for preventing stress-related reactions while correcting the thyroid function. I cover how to use these hormones safely and effectively in my Hormone Rebalance Intensive™.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the five principles for treating hypothyroidism?
The five principles are: (1) a thyroid supporting diet, (2) vitamins and minerals that support hormonal balance, (3) thyroid replacement therapy with both T4 and T3, (4) supplementation with the body's natural protective hormones such as progesterone and pregnenolone, and (5) light therapy to support the hormonal balance. No single one of these is sufficient on its own — the full recovery comes from addressing all five together.
Why does the best thyroid medication need both T4 and T3?
A healthy thyroid gland secretes both T4 and T3. T4-only medication relies entirely on the body converting T4 into the active T3 — a process that is often impaired in hypothyroidism. If conversion is poor, you end up with insufficient T3 for energy production and a build-up of T4, which has anti-thyroid effects in excess. A medication containing both hormones bypasses this conversion problem and more closely mirrors what the healthy gland produces.
How does light therapy help thyroid and hormonal health?
Long periods of darkness raise cortisol and suppress the production of protective hormones such as progesterone and pregnenolone. This imbalance directly suppresses thyroid function. Regular exposure to natural sunlight — or to appropriate light therapy lamps when sunlight is insufficient — helps restore the hormonal environment that supports thyroid function. This is especially relevant in northern countries during winter months.
Are many nutritional supplements actually harmful for thyroid health?
Yes — many widely sold supplements can slow metabolism, impair the immune system, and create inflammation. This includes supplements with polyunsaturated fatty acids, certain forms of iron, high-dose iodine, and products containing nano-sized fillers and binders. Choosing the right supplements requires knowing both what to take and what to avoid. I go through this in detail in my Nutritional Supplements course.
Why is sugar not dangerous on a thyroid-supporting diet?
Sugar from ripe fruit and fruit juice provides the cells with readily available fuel for energy production, and helps keep blood sugar steady — which lowers stress hormones and supports thyroid function. The idea that sugar causes diabetes or fungal overgrowth is not supported by the biochemical evidence. It is the combination of high sugar with polyunsaturated fats and poor protein intake that creates metabolic problems, not sugar on its own. I explain the biochemistry behind this in my book How to Boost Metabolism with Food.
