Thyroid With Food? (Or Not)

[ecstatichamster]

T3 must be taken with food, or shortly after eating, to have a full effect. In my experience, taking T3/T4 with food is ideal as it spreads the effect over hours.

 

[youngsinatra]

T3 must be taken with food, or shortly after eating, to have a full effect. In my experience, taking T3/T4 with food is ideal as it spreads the effect over hours.

Taking it with food definitely makes it a smoother ride without the aggressive peak that happens when taken on an empty stomach.

Have you checked your thyroid labs on your regimen? I have read that you take quite a lot of thyroid.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Taking it with food definitely makes it a smoother ride without the aggressive peak that happens when taken on an empty stomach.

Have you checked your thyroid labs on your regimen? I have read that you take quite a lot of thyroid.

I haven't. I don't really care about them. I have checked other labs and they are pretty good but I do want to raise my DHEA and lower my cortisol.

 

[sunny]

Taking it with food definitely makes it a smoother ride without the aggressive peak that happens when taken on an empty stomach.

Have you checked your thyroid labs on your regimen? I have read that you take quite a lot of thyroid.

Here is an interesting T3 anecdote. I was listening to a Ray Peat interview recently (can't remember which one- I fall asleep and then forget to record the info)- anyways - he was talking about magnesium retention and that it was more effective when taking simultaneously with T3. People just taking magnesium were excreting it just as fast in their urine, but when taken with T3 they retained it.

 

[youngsinatra]

Here is an interesting T3 anecdote. I was listening to a Ray Peat interview recently (can't remember which one- I fall asleep and then forget to record the info)- anyways - he was talking about magnesium retention and that it was more effective when taking simultaneously with T3. People just taking magnesium were excreting it just as fast in their urine, but when taken with T3 they retained it.

Yes I remember that podcast episode!

I was fascinated as Ray talked about how thyroid’s effect on normalizing magnesium retention made his extremely high basal metabolic rate go back to normal in that same podcast.

 

[youngsinatra]

I haven't. I don't really care about them. I have checked other labs and they are pretty good but I do want to raise my DHEA and lower my cortisol.

Interesting. What are your recent DHEA and cortisol levels? For me personally, my DHEA-S is at the upper limit of the reference range, which is also not that desirable as far as I know. (can indicate adrenal overactivity / hyperadrenalism)

 

[kimbriel]

„Studies show optimal intestinal absorption of levothyroxine (LT4) under fasting conditions, with reduction from approximately 80 to 40–64% with concurrent food ingestion“

Timing of Levothyroxine Administration Affects Serum Thyrotropin Concentration

Context: Patients treated with levothyroxine typically ingest it in a fasting state to prevent food impairing its absorption. The serum thyrotropin concentration is the therapeutic index of levothyroxine action.Objective: The study objective was to determine ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I do think with food is likely best and least stressful, due to more sustained and slow release, but one might need 1.5x to 2x the amount.

I cannot find much literature on T3 and it’s absorption with food vs fasted. If anyone finds something, please share it here.

Well, I take mine sublingually, so it doesn't matter as much to skip food. I usually eat shortly after dissolving my T3 into my mouth in the morning.

 

[youngsinatra]

Well, I take mine sublingually, so it doesn't matter as much to skip food. I usually eat shortly after dissolving my T3 into my mouth in the morning.

Interestingly enough, liquid formulations of thyroid (like Tirosint) have been shown to be equally well absorbed with food as when taken fasted.

I am wondering if chewing thyroid and letting the saliva liquify the thyroid tab makes it more bioavailable, just like that liquid formulations.
That’s how I usually take it, after a meal.

 

[kimbriel]

Interestingly enough, liquid formulations of thyroid (like Tirosint) have been shown to be equally well absorbed with food as when taken fasted.

I am wondering if chewing thyroid and letting the saliva liquify the thyroid tab makes it more bioavailable, just like that liquid formulations.
That’s how I usually take it, after a meal.

A lot of people do find chewing NDT, specifically Armour, has a better effect than swallowing. I take 1 grain NP Thyroid at 4-5pm and dissolve it into my mouth. The rest of what I take is just T3, dissolved into my mouth as well, in the AM, and then 5 hours later in the late AM. Taking meds this way, I can feel it working within 10 minutes, like when you boot up a computer.

 

[youngsinatra]

„Absorption of T4 is best if it is taken on an empty stomach in the morning. Absorption of T3, which is almost completely absorbed, is not affected by food.“
— https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/liothyronine-sodium

Finally found something on this.

That means that taking thyroid with food probably improves the T4/T3 ratio in a more favorable way.

Example:
Fasted bioavailability of LT4 is 80%, with food it’s 40-60%.
Fasted bioavailability of LT3 is 90% and apparently it’s absorption is not influenced by food consumption.

So if I take 100mcg of T4 and 20 mcg of T3 a day with food. I probably end up with 40-60mcg of bioavailable T4 and 18 mcg of T3, theoretically changing the T4/T3 ratio from 5:1 >>> 2:1 or 3:1.

 

[FitnessMike]

i will start 50mg thyroxine on empty stomach from tomorrow, after 25mg with breakfast my t4 and ft4 didn't budge