Zinc for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Zinc has not been tested as a treatment for Hashimotos; its thyroid relevance is confined to deficiency correction and T3 conversion.
Overview
Verdict
How It Works
Dosing & Protocol
Typical dose
- Recommended dose
- 15-30mg elemental zinc daily with food
- Expected timeframe
- Not established
Protocol
- form
- Zinc gluconate or sulfate with food
- duration
- Not established
- co factor
- Evidence is insufficient. Zinc is a cofactor for the deiodinase enzymes that convert T4 to active T3, and small studies in zinc-deficient people with hypothyroidism report improved T3 and reduced TSH after repletion, with some combined zinc-and-selenium studies showing changes in thyroid antibodies. But no trial demonstrates reduced levothyroxine requirement, preserved thyroid function or altered disease course in Hashimoto thyroiditis, and the studies are small and short. Selenium has more evidence in this condition than zinc, and even that is contested.
- titration
- Not applicable; do not exceed 40 mg/day
- starting dose
- Not applicable as an established treatment. 15-30 mg elemental zinc daily with food is reasonable only to correct a documented deficiency
Evidence
What the studies say
No studies are yet linked to both Zinc and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Safety
Caveats
Never adjust or stop levothyroxine - untreated hypothyroidism has cardiac consequences and, in pregnancy, affects fetal brain development, so thyroid function must be checked early and frequently in pregnancy. Critical interaction: zinc reduces levothyroxine absorption, so they must be separated by at least four hours - take levothyroxine on an empty stomach 30-60 minutes before food and put zinc with an evening meal. Safety ceiling: the tolerable upper intake level is 40 mg elemental zinc per day; chronic excess causes copper deficiency with anaemia and irreversible neurological damage. Nausea is common without food. Zinc also reduces absorption of tetracyclines, quinolones and bisphosphonates. In pregnancy do not exceed 40 mg/day.
Less likely to help if
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