Kefir for Hypothyroidism Sufferers

Kefir for Hypothyroidism Sufferers

Studies show that around 30 million people in the US have thyroid disease and around 80% of those suffer from hypothyroidism. If you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, you have probably been prescribed the most common treatment, Synthroid.

Synthroid is a hormone replacement therapy that attempts to compensate for your underactive thyroid. The active ingredient in Synthroid is levothyroxine, a synthetic form of your body's natural thyroid hormone, thyroxine. You may take Synthroid with little change in your hypo symptoms. This can be due to many factors, but absorption is the first and easiest to treat.

Levothyroxine is absorbed in the lower intestine. That's why you're told to take Synthroid with a full 8-ounce glass of water to push the pill all the way down. Unless you drink at least an 8-ounce glass with your Synthroid, you'll get about the same results as if you had taped the pill to your forehead. The hormone is not absorbed into your system and you will see little change in your symptoms. Always drink at least 8 ounces of water each time you take Synthroid!

Okay, that's step one. The next factor to check is calcium and iron consumption. The thyroid hormone binds to these substances and leaves your body unabsorbed. So make sure you do not consume calcium or iron 2-3 hours before or after taking your Synthroid pill. This includes supplements, milk and fortified juices. Also take your pill on an empty stomach and don't eat anything for at least an hour afterwards.

Even if you do everything right, your body still may not absorb the hormone properly. This is due to the complex ecosystem of bacterial organisms that populate your lower intestine and into which the medication can be absorbed. When this ecosystem is out of balance, and it is usually the case with the highly processed foods we all consume, your intestinal wall will poorly absorb the Synthroid into your system. So we need to bring the bacteria in your digestive tract back into balance. How do we do that?

Probiotics are bacteria that provide beneficial effects to their host, in this case our body. We need a large number of them to maintain a healthy gut and keep away nasty pathogenic bacteria that harm us. The aim is to consume probiotics regularly, in large numbers and with active bacteria. The best way to do this is to drink kefir.

What is kefir? Kefir is a fermented, probiotic milk drink. It is made by adding kefir grains, a live bacterial matrix that looks like cooked cauliflower, to milk and fermenting them. After the kefir is strained, the resulting liquid is a live probiotic miracle drink. Much richer in fresh probiotics than yogurt or probiotic supplements. Drinking kefir daily gives your system the balance it needs to properly absorb Synthroid.

In addition to this benefit, kefir may also help resolve some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. These include acid reflux, constipation and gas. If you have a healthy and properly functioning digestive system, these symptoms will no longer be a problem.

First, make sure Synthroid is absorbed into your system correctly to ensure your hypothyroidism is treated properly.

Inspired by David J Dale