According to the American Thyroid Association, more than one in 10 people will develop a thyroid problem in their lifetime. Many patients with hypothyroidism choose to follow the advice of conventional doctors and maintain their levels of thyroid hormone with synthetic medications such as Synthroid. Although these medications are popular, they can have harmful side effects or interfere with the treatment process. When patients switch to natural thyroid preparations, they often recover quickly with a minimum of symptoms. An honest look at synthetic thyroid will reveal five reasons to switch to the genuine article.
- Synthetic Thyroid Is Completely Unlike Any Substance Found in Living Bodies
Drugs such as Synthroid are nothing like the natural substance produced by the thyroid gland. These medications have a completely different chemical structure from human thyroid hormone. No amount of artificial chemical synthesis can give patients the delicate balance of hormone therapy they need to recover from hypothyroidism. Unlike some other man-made drugs such as synthetic insulin, which is 100 percent bioidentical and equivalent to naturally produced insulin, Synthroid is unlike any substance found in the human body.
- Synthetic Thyroid Is an Inherently Unstable Drug
Synthroid has been available since the 1950s, but it was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration until 2002—a time lag of nearly half a century. This lengthy delay can be traced to multiple failures of stability. Patients with serious thyroid issues must have a safe, reliable daily source of thyroid hormone for successful treatment. As recently as 2001, the FDA wrote to the primary manufacturers of synthetic thyroid hormone that their drug was not yet “reliably potent and stable.” Synthetic hormone can be harmed by changes in temperature, humidity and light exposure. It is virtually impossible for patients in the home environment to store their thyroid drugs within the narrow band of environmental conditions that will keep them at 100 percent potency. This problem has resulted in multiple FDA medication recalls over the past decades. Natural thyroid products have never been recalled by the FDA, and they consistently outperform synthetic varieties in medical trials. Naturally occurring hormones are much more resilient to everyday changes in light, temperature or moisture.
- Synthetic Thyroid Can Have Dangerous Physical Side Effects
When doctors introduce an artificial substance into the human body, there is always a risk of harmful side effects. Many patients have faced additional health problems after starting a regimen of synthetic thyroid hormone. Common side effects of this powerful drug include all of the following:
- Severe chest pain
- Irregular or rapid heartbeat
- Shortness of breath
- Decreased bone density
- Impairments in fertility
- Tremors and muscle weakness
Many of these side effects can do lasting damage to the patient’s health and quality of life, even if the underlying thyroid issue is resolved.
- Synthetic Thyroid May Be Harmful to Mental Health
The human body and the human brain are delicately intertwined systems. When the body is subjected to high doses of synthetic thyroid hormones, mental health problems may occur. Long-term users of synthetic thyroid pills have reported depression, insomnia, increased anxiety and other troubling emotional symptoms. Recent research shows that patients on a long-term Synthroid regime may be more likely to suffer from thoughts of suicide. Even when replacement levels are carefully calculated, these chemicals are still linked to an increased risk of mental disturbance.
- The Body Must Convert Synthetic Thyroid Before Use
Synthetic thyroid preparations don’t include everything the human body normally receives from the thyroid gland. Natural thyroid hormone contains four different substances, known as T1, T2, T3 and T4. Synthroid and similar drugs mimic T4 and ignore the others—including T3, which is crucial for physical functioning. The body must convert the T4 in synthetic thyroid and make it into T3. When patients have mineral deficiencies or improperly functioning enzymes, this conversion may not happen. In such cases, the synthetic medication is useless in treating hypothyroidism and may harm the patient.
Natural Thyroid Medication Is an Effective and Safe Alternative
If you’re concerned about the possible side effects and limitations of synthetic thyroid medication, you have a safe alternative. Natural thyroid has been a proven choice for more than 75 years. Preparations such as Nature-Throid are made from animal thyroid glands which are sterilized, dried, powdered and placed into pills for easy consumption. These natural thyroid extracts are designed to replace the hormones produced by the healthy human thyroid gland with a minimum of side effects. Nature-Throid does not cause the severe hormonal swings of synthetic products, and it does not require conversion to produce T3 in the human body.
Making an Informed Choice
During the year 2013, American doctors wrote more than two million prescriptions for natural thyroid hormones. More and more patients are discovering the advantages of these gentle and effective preparations. To find out about your options for thyroid health, call us today at (602) 368-9211 or email us at info@DrKrystalTellier.com.