Licorice Root - A Key Supplement In Hypothyroidism?

[Peater Pan]

I have tried licorice root and it seems to make my vision clearer and colours brighter. This is the same reaction as pregnenolone is reported to give, but licorice is not known to boost pregnenolone, at least directly. It also took some stiffness out of my shoulders and neck.

According to other forums, licorice prolongs cortisol's effects in the blood, and allows thyroid hormone to exert effects without the risk of cortisol and pregnenolone depletion.

It improves my mood within 30 minutes of ingestion.

Before I go into my theories, if you just wish to share any views and experiences specifically with licorice that would be wonderful.

I really think that if ACTH is depleted, mitochondria are not respiring well, pregnenolone can be low, but cortisol will rise through prolactin stimulation, which is NOT the same as a healthy cortisol profile and thyroid absorption. High progesterone is not necessarily good, such as in the case of hair, it might stop DHT balding, but it won't promote healthy hair renewal and growth. In my experience progesterone is also very stressful in excess.

What I have found is that through reducing serotonin, when I take T3 I get agitated and don't actually feel the need to take it at the moment, whereas before I started lowering serotonin, I would get a very temporary boost in energy and mood, due to the cortisol being produced by prolactin/serotonin and not the proper adrenal pathways via pregnenolone channeling. I would keep needing T3 in order to get through the day.

Hence I believe Peat and Roddy can take cortisol out of context. ACTH stimulates pregnenolone, this is fact. When pregnenolone is depleted, hypothyroidism and therefore TRH/TSH go up, inducing prolactin, and therefore adrenaline, fatty acids, and cortisol. Pregnenolone protects against excess cortisol, but excess pregnenolone downregulates ACTH, so it is not a solution to long term wellbeing. The tricky bit therefore is keeping ACTH and cortisol profile strong without undermining the negative feedback mechanisms via pregnenolone. Thyroid is notorious in this manner in that it activates pregnenolone conversion but it really is a case of is your body, receptors and genes really built for increased metabolism. A body has to be built for increased androgens in order to sustain higher metabolism, which mine isn't.

My point is, proper cortisol profile is good, because it reflects the flow of cholesterol into the mitochondria and out into adrenal enzymes for various processes, but hypothyroid cortisol (serotonin, prolactin) is bad, because it downregulates and depletes the ACTH mediated conversion of LDL to Preg, and therefore negates healthy cortisol activity in favour of catabolism. I believe a distinction needs to be made and many forums that argue each other are actually parts of the same puzzle and all pieces add to success and harmony within. It is typical for humans to claim contradiction when in fact hypocrisy is rife.

Licorice seems to promote the replenishment of the healthy adrenal response to increased metabolism and buffers stress. Prolonged cortisol means that pregnenolone has some respite, and pregnenolone reduces fatty acids and triglycerides, allowing better mitochondrial respiration, for a long term recovery.

It's not supposed to be taken longterm though, right? I've read it raises BP and sodium and depletes potassium.

 

[Peater Pan]

I'd second that. Licorice is one of the most potent natural estrogens you can find in nature. It is at least 10x more estrogenic that resveratrol, 15x times more estrogenic than hops, and most studies state it is more estrogenic even than estradiol itself. Just do a search on PubMed for "licorice estradiol". Not saying it does not work for some people, just saying the popular opinion seems to be that it is one of the most potent estrogens around.

Deleted from cart. Thank you.

 

[Frankdee20]

I would like to add that my latest theory on the adverse reactions to oral pregnenolone is...

Methylation

The liver gets very little attention on this forum and Peat's work in general, other than glycogen.

Oral pregnenolone appears like a benzodiazapine when broken down in the liver.

This, along with potential adrenal suffocation of fatty acids/reduced flow of chol - preg - steroids, is the best theory I can come up with for those who get zombification with standard oral preg.

Sublingual pregnenolone has over the last few weeks been a remarkable part of my recovery.

When adrenaline is high, and dopamine is low, blood supply to the adrenals is restricted, hence the need to get preg directly into the blood rather than skin, digestion, liver.

With undermethylation, reducing serotonin is not advisable. All members need to be aware that the liver is more important than Peat's ideas on mitochondrial respiration in the first instance.

For two months a daily dose of
Methylcobalamin 1 mg sublingually
Methyltetrahydrofolate 800mcg (ActiFolate)
Pyridoxal-5-phosphate 100mgs (50mgs twice daily)
Glutathione 250mgs daily
Phosphatidyl Serine 200mgs (100mgs twice daily)

Is a good starting point.

Critical thinking is dead and cognitive dissonance rules the land

 

[ddjd]

I have never quite understood this... How does cortisol make thyroid 'work' - can someone show me a research study to support this physiological action?

@Hans

from personal experience increasing free cortisol definitely helps me tolerate t3 a lot better without estrogenic side effects

 

[Peater Pan]

Critical thinking is dead and cognitive dissonance rules the land

What does that mean, that @kineticz's theory has no merit? Sounds like he/she's using a 'methylguard' type product and SL preg (doses?) with some success. I think @haidut says small preg doses (~10 mg) 3x daily might be best? Maybe @kineticz has MTHFR mutations which can compromise methylation down to 20-60% if I recall. Certainly, both cellular respiration and liver function are important. Of course, the cells of the liver must respirate!

 

[Peater Pan]

from personal experience increasing free cortisol definitely helps me tolerate t3 a lot better without estrogenic side effects

What do you use and how much? Considering Adrenal Cortex myself.

 

[FitnessMike]

Licortice wors very well, helps with my frequent urination like nothing else, as long as you wont overdo it and find small dose that can do it, you should be fine, from my experience you build tolerance quickly so i switch it with Rehamnnia extract which have similar properties and works very well too.

 

[metamorph]

I'd second that. Licorice is one of the most potent natural estrogens you can find in nature. It is at least 10x more estrogenic that resveratrol, 15x times more estrogenic than hops, and most studies state it is more estrogenic even than estradiol itself. Just do a search on PubMed for "licorice estradiol". Not saying it does not work for some people, just saying the popular opinion seems to be that it is one of the most potent estrogens around.

@haidut how would you address topical steroid withdrawal? I thought Licorice Root may be helpful for HPA-Axis suppression due to long-term potent topical steroid usage. Peat suggested Pregnenoloine for gluccocorticoid access but curious if anything else would be beneficial aside from thyroid.