Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Vitamin D
Hashimoto’s is associated with low vitamin D levels.
Supplementing vitamin D will lower thyroid antibodies.
Your vitamin D level will never be at a healthy level unless you are sun tanning regularly or taking a therapeutic level of vitamin D3……think 5,000-10,000 units of D3.
The amount of vitamin D found in a glass of milk or in a multivitamin (200 to 400 i.u.) is nowhere near enough to budge your blood level. Even the most aggressive multivitamin formulas commercially available contain a measly 800 i.u. 800 i.u. vit D3 will not raise your blood level in any significant way.
5,000 i.u. will raise blood level a little. 10,000 is more likely to put one’s level near or even above the reference range.
Contrary to what your mainstream doc may say about your vitamin D level being above the reference range; there is no real danger to you if your vitamin D level is a bit above the reference range. After all, reference ranges are based on people who generally aren’t supplementing nor sun bathing.
Vitamin D was in the Physician’s Desk Reference in the 1950’s at a starting dose of 150,000 i.u. to treat autoimmune disease.
One big caveat is do not take calcium supplements if you are taking therapeutic doses of vitamin D!
Vitamin D reaches into your gut to bring calcium into your system. If you are taking extra calcium along with a good dose of D3 you will become calcium toxic. Your soft tissues will calcify and the first clinical problem will likely be kidney failure. I know this because someone I know took 20,000 i.u. D3 along with a big dose of calcium for over 10 years….ended up in the hospital with kidney failure. Luckily, with stopping the calcium and D she has recovered substantially.
Acute vitamin D toxicity has been found at one million units. per day for a few months. It has been completely reversible by stopping the vit D.
So if I had Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis I would take at least 10,000 units of D3 per day.
Hell J Nucl Med. 2015 Sep-Dec;18(3):222-7.
Is vitamin D related to pathogenesis and treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?
