We have
received many other comments such as these from
those using
Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut
Oil with hypothyroidism.
Hypothyroidism Reaching Epidemic Proportions
In 1995,
researchers studied 25,862 participants at the Colorado
statewide health fair. They discovered that among patients
not taking thyroid medication, 8.9 percent were hypothyroid
(under-active thyroid) and 1.1 percent were hyperthyroid
(over-active thyroid). This indicates 9.9 percent of the
population had a thyroid problem that had most likely gone
unrecognized. These figures suggest that nationally, there may
be as many as 13 million Americans with an undiagnosed thyroid
problem.1
In her book
Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You. . .
That You Need to Know, Mary Shomon quotes endocrinologist Kenneth
Blanchard, M.D., of Lower Newton Falls, Massachusetts as saying, “The key
thing is . . . doctors are always told that TSH is the test that gives us a
yes or no answer. And, in fact, I think that's fundamentally wrong. The
pituitary TSH is controlled not just by how much T4 and T3 is in
circulation, but T4 is getting converted to T3 at the pituitary level.
Excess T3 generated at the pituitary level can falsely suppress TSH.”2
Hence, many people who are simply tested for TSH levels and are found to be
within “normal” range are, in fact, suffering from thyroid problems that are
going undetected.
Ridha Arem, MD, Associate
Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at
Baylor College of Medicine, agrees. He says that hypothyroidism may exist
despite "normal range" TSH levels. In his book The Thyroid Solution
he says:
Many people
may be suffering from minute imbalances that have not yet resulted in
abnormal blood tests. If we included people with low-grade hypothyroidism
whose blood tests are normal, the frequency of hypothyroidism would no doubt
exceed 10 percent of the population. What is of special concern, though, is
that many people whose test results are dismissed as normal could continue
to have symptoms of an under active thyroid. Their moods, emotions, and
overall well-being are affected by this imbalance, yet they are not
receiving the care they need to get to the root of their problems. Even if
the TSH level is in the lower segment of normal range, a person may still be
suffering from low-grade hypothyroidism.3
Thus, if we were to include those who may be
suffering from “low-grade hypothyroidism,” the number could well be double
the 13 million estimate from the Colorado study.
What is Causing This Epidemic?
While more research needs
to be done, it is generally accepted that diet plays a major role in thyroid
health. For decades we have known that low iodine intake leads to low
thyroid function and eventually to goiter. Iodized salt was intended to
solve this problem, but it has not been the answer. There are a number of
foods known as goitrogens that block iodine. Two goitrogens are quite
prevalent in the American diet—peanuts and peanut butter and soybeans used
most often in prepared foods as textured vegetable protein (a refined soy
food) and soybean oil.
The rise of
industrialization, corporate farming, and mass production of food has
drastically changed our food supply from what our ancestors ate. Many
studies show the detrimental effects of refined sugars and grains on our
health. These foods are very taxing on the thyroid gland, and we consume
them in large quantities.
Environmental
stress such as chemical pollutants, pesticides, mercury, and fluoride are
also tough on the thyroid. A growing body of evidence suggests that
fluoride, which is prevalent in toothpaste and water treatment, may inhibit
the functioning of the thyroid gland. Additionally, mercury may diminish
thyroid function because it displaces the trace mineral selenium, and
selenium is involved in conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3.
The Truth About Fats and Oils
Many dietary oils
can negatively affect thyroid health. We cook with them almost every day and
they are plentiful in commercially prepared foods. Expeller-pressed or
solvent-extracted oils only became a major part of the American diet in the
last century. It is possible they are among the worst offenders when it
comes to the thyroid. They are known as vegetable oils or polyunsaturated
oils. The most common source of these oils used in commercially prepared
foods is the soybean.
Large-scale
cultivation of soybeans in the United States began after World War II and
quickly increased to 140 billion pounds per year. Most of the crops are
produced for animal feed and soy oil for hydrogenated fats such as margarine
and shortening. Today, it is nearly impossible to eat at restaurants or buy
packaged foods that don’t have soy oil in the ingredients. Often labels
simply state “vegetable oil.”
Ray Peat Ph.D., a
physiologist who has worked with progesterone and related hormones since
1968, says that the sudden surge of polyunsaturated oils into the food chain
post World War II has caused many changes in hormones. He writes:
Their [polyunsaturated oils] best understood
effect is their interference with the function of the thyroid gland.
Unsaturated oils block thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the
circulatory system, and the response of tissues to the hormone. When the
thyroid hormone is deficient, the body is generally exposed to increased
levels of estrogen. The thyroid hormone is essential for making the
‘protective hormones’ progesterone and pregnenolone, so these hormones are
lowered when anything interferes with the function of the thyroid. The
thyroid hormone is required for using and eliminating cholesterol, so
cholesterol is likely to be raised by anything which blocks the thyroid
function.4
There is a growing body
of research concerning soy’s detrimental affect on the thyroid gland. Much
of this research centers on the phytoestrogens ("phyto" means plant)
that are found in soy. In the 1960s when soy was introduced into infant
formulas, it was shown that soy was goitrogenic and caused goiters in
babies. When iodine was supplemented, the incidence of goiter reduced
dramatically. However, a retrospective epidemiological study by Fort, et al.
showed that teenaged children with a diagnosis of autoimmune thyroid disease
were significantly more likely to have received soy formula as infants (18
out of 59 children; 31 percent) when compared to healthy siblings (nine out
of 76, 12 percent) or control group children (seven out of 54; 13 percent).5
When healthy
individuals without any previous thyroid disease were fed 30 grams of
pickled soybeans per day for one month, Ishizuki, et al. reported goiter and
elevated individual thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (although still
within the normal range) in thirty-seven healthy, iodine-sufficient adults.
One month after stopping soybean consumption, individual TSH values
decreased to the original levels and goiters were reduced in size.6
Traditionally, polyunsaturated oils such as
soybean oil have been used for livestock feed because they cause the animals
to gain weight. These oils are made up of what is known as long chain fatty
acids—the kind of fatty acids that promote weight gain. In the North
Carolina State University's Extension Swine Husbandry 1998-2000 Departmental
report, for example, was a study entitled “EFFECT OF DIETARY FAT SOURCE,
LEVEL, AND FEEDING INTERVAL ON PORK FATTY ACID COMPOSITION” by M.T. See and
J. Odle. Ironically, since the market in its low-fat dogma of recent years
is demanding leaner meats, this study showed that one could produce leaner
meat and reduce the weight on swine by reducing their intake of soy oil and
substituting it with saturated animal fat!7
According to Dr. Ray Peat, the fattening effect
of polyunsaturated oils (primarily soy and corn) is due to the presence of
Linoleic and linolenic acids, long-chain fatty acids, which have an
anti-thyroid effect. Peat says:
Linoleic and linolenic acids, the "essential
fatty acids," and other polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are now fed to
pigs to fatten them, in the form of corn and soy beans, cause the animals'
fat to be chemically equivalent to vegetable oil. In the late 1940s,
chemical toxins were used to suppress the thyroid function of pigs, to make
them get fatter while consuming less food. When that was found to be
carcinogenic, it was then found that corn and soy beans had the same
antithyroid effect, causing the animals to be fattened at low cost. The
animals' fat becomes chemically similar to the fats in their food, causing
it to be equally toxic, and equally fattening.8
Of course in the 1940s the fat from pigs (lard)
was highly desirable, as were most saturated fats. Today, saturated fats are
fed to pigs to keep them lean, while most people buy polyunsaturated soy and
corn oils in the grocery stores as their primary cooking oil! So we have a
population now characterized by lean pigs and obese people…
Coconut Oil: A-Healthy Choice for the Thyroid
Coconut oil, on the other hand, is a saturated
fat made up primarily of medium chain fatty acids. Also known as medium
chain triglycerides (MCTs), medium chain fatty acids are known to increase
metabolism and promote weight loss. Coconut oil can also raise basal body
temperatures while increasing metabolism. This is good news for people who
suffer with low thyroid function. We have seen many testimonies to this
effect.
The "proof is in the
pudding". Try it yourself and then you be the judge. All these people
certainly can't "be wrong". Everyone will experience different benefits,
some more than others, but definitely something. In my own personal
experience, I was suffering with hypothyroidism that even prescription
medications couldn't help. After a few short weeks of taking Virgin Coconut
Oil, my reading was normal for the first time in a year. I use it on my skin
after a shower and no longer struggle with the incredibly dry skin that
often goes along with hypothyroidism, and I have used it on my hair as a
conditioner. All I can say that the phrase "The world's perfect food" is
quite accurate. Try it and see for yourself.
Warmly, Melanie (Coconut
Diet Forums)
I began taking coconut oil to address a
hypothyroid issue. Recently, especially over the last month,
thyroid activity plunged and my temperatures would top out for
the day somewhere between 97.2 and 97.8. Definitely
hypothyroid territory. Now in just a couple of days the
coconut oil has boosted my metabolism back toward the normal
range (still subnormal but getting there) and my sleep has
been incredible. From past experience with thyroid management,
I know that--in my case--greatly improved sleep and feelings
of rejuvenation after sleep are related to more normal thyroid
activity. Whatever the precise mechanism, it's a welcome
development. Mike (Coconut
Diet Forums)
For more information on how Virgin Coconut Oil
works to promote weight loss, see our article on
Weight Loss.
Coconut Oil and Oxidative
Stress
One of the reasons the
long chain fatty acids in vegetable oils are so damaging to the thyroid is
that they oxidize quickly and become rancid. Food manufacturers know about
this propensity towards rancidity and, therefore, highly refine their
vegetable oils. Considerable research has shown that trans fatty acids,
present when vegetable oils are highly refined (hydrogenated or partially
hydrogenated), are especially damaging to cell tissue and can have a
negative affect on the thyroid as well as health in general. Because the
longer chain fatty acids are deposited in cells more often as rancid and
oxidizing fat, impairment of the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to T3
occurs, which is symptomatic of hypothyroidism. To create the enzymes needed
to convert fats to energy, T4 must be converted to T3.
Dr. Ray Peat says:
When
the oils are stored in our tissues, they are much warmer, and more directly
exposed to oxygen than they would be in the seeds, and so their tendency to
oxidize is very great. These oxidative processes can damage enzymes and
other parts of cells, and especially their ability to produce energy. The
enzymes which break down proteins are inhibited by unsaturated fats; these
enzymes are needed not only for digestion, but also for production of
thyroid hormones, clot removal, immunity, and the general adaptability of
cells. The risks of abnormal blood clotting, inflammation, immune
deficiency, shock, aging, obesity, and cancer are increased. Thyroid
[hormones] and progesterone are decreased.
Since
the unsaturated oils block protein digestion in the stomach, we can be
malnourished even while "eating well." There are many changes in hormones
caused by unsaturated fats. Their best understood effect is their
interference with the function of the thyroid gland. Unsaturated oils block
thyroid hormone secretion, its movement in the circulatory system, and the
response of tissues to the hormone. Coconut oil is unique in its ability to
prevent weight-gain or cure obesity, by stimulating metabolism. It is
quickly metabolized, and functions in some ways as an antioxidant.9
Because coconut oil is
saturated and very stable (unrefined coconut oil has a shelf life of about
three to five years at room temperature), the body is not burdened with
oxidative stress as it is with the vegetable oils. Coconut oil does not
require the enzyme stress that vegetable oils do, preventing T4 to T3
hormone conversion, not only because it is a stable oil, but also because it
is processed differently in the body and does not need to be broken down by
enzyme dependent processes as do long chain fatty acids. Also, since the
liver is the main place where damage occurs from oxidized and rancid oils
that cause cell membrane damage, and since the liver is where much of the
conversion of T4 to T3 takes place, eliminating long chain fatty acids from
the diet and replacing them with medium chain fatty acids found in coconut
oil can, in time, help in rebuilding cell membranes and increasing enzyme
production that will assist in promoting the conversion of T4 to T3
hormones.
More research in this area
is necessary. In the meantime, those switching from polyunsaturated oils to
coconut oil are reporting many positive results. For example, Donna has
experienced encouraging improvements in her thyroid health. She writes:
I've been on coconut oil since
September, 2002 and, although, that doesn't seem like long, it has changed
my life and the lives of my family and friends. My weight actually went UP
when I started on coconut oil but I felt so GREAT! Being hypothyroid, I
was on Synthroid and Cytomel and had been for years, but with inconsistent
results and feeling worse. Other changes besides the addition of coconut oil
were the complete removal of soy (and that is a major challenge in itself!),
all trans fatty acids, no refined sugar, and organ cleanses seasonally. My
thyroid meds were discontinued with my doctor's knowledge as I was getting
too energetic and having trouble sleeping! [Imagine], from being a
“sleepaholic” couch potato that was cold! My weight stayed steady until the
last three weeks and it has now started the downward move. My goal was
health and just believed the weight would come off when I found the right
diet and exercise routine that my life was comfortable with. I've tried
removing the coconut oil but my energy drops and I don't feel as good.
Donna (Coconut
Diet Forums)
Another coconut oil user
writes:
I have experienced thyroid
problems . . . body temperature not going above 97 degrees, cold hands and
feet, can't lose weight, fatigued, slow heart rate, can't sleep some nights,
dry skin, etc..... My doctor did the thyroid test and it came back normal.
I am 46 and peri-menopausal. My Naturopath symptomatically diagnosed me with
hypothyroidism. She explained the blood tests currently used by allopathic
medicine are not sensitive enough. I started on the coconut oil 5 weeks
ago. In the first week I noticed my body temperature had risen and my
resting heart rate had gone from 49 to 88 beats per minute. This has since
settled to 66. My energy is now really high and I am slowly losing the
weight - 3 lbs. in the past 5 weeks. I also had been taking flaxseed oil and
gamma linoleic acid oil but have stopped eating every other oil but what Dr.
Raymond Peat recommends, which is coconut oil, olive oil and butter… I take
3 tablespoons of coconut oil daily.
Cindy (Coconut
Diet Forums)
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References:
1.
Gay J. Canaris, MD, MSPH; Neil R. Manowitz, PhD; Gilbert
Mayor, MD; E. Chester Ridgway, MD The Colorado Thyroid Disease
Prevalence Study Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:526-534.
2. Mary
Shomon, Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell
You. . . That You Need to Know (New York Harper Collins, 2002)
3. Ridha
Arem, The Thyroid Solution : A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression
and Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health, (New York: Ballantine
Books,1999)
4. Raymond
Peat Newsletter "Unsaturated Vegetable Oils Toxic” 1996
5. P. Fort, N. Moses, M. Fasano, T. Goldberg and
F. Lifshitz “Breast and soy -formula feeding in early infancy and the
prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease in childrenӉ۪J. Am. Col.
Nutr. 1990;(9):164-167.
6. Daniel R. Doerge, Hebron C. Chang, “Inactivation of thyroid
peroxidase by soy isoflavones in vitro and in vivo” Journal of
Chromatography B Vol. 777 (1, 2); 25; September 2002: 269-79
7. M.T. See and J. Odle, “EFFECT OF DIETARY FAT SOURCE, LEVEL, AND FEEDING
INTERVAL ON PORK FATTY ACID COMPOSITION” 1998-2000 Departmental Report,
Department of Animal Science, ANS Report No. 248 - North Carolina State
University
8. Raymond Peat Newsletter "Unsaturated Vegetable Oils Toxic” 1996
9. Raymond Peat Newsletter "Unsaturated Vegetable Oils Toxic” 1996
