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News – 3 May 2008
Taking animal thyroid extract: Is it worth the risk?
20 per cent of T3 in the body comes directly from the thyroid and the remaining 80 per cent comes from the breakdown of T4. Therefore, when Doctors treat thyroid hormone deficient patients (hypothyroidism) they usually only prescribe synthetic T4 tablets (Oroxine and Eutroxsig are the pharmaceutical names) which when absorbed into the body is converted or transformed into the more potent T3.
If a hypothyroid patient wants to take combined T4 and T3 replacement, it should be done under strict medical supervision, as there is potentially serious side effects when too much T3 is taken, particularly if you have underlying cardiovascular disease. Some patients develop allergies to these proteins and make antibodies to thyroid proteins and rarely some people develop antibodies to T3 and T4.
Desiccated thyroid extract is produced in the USA and comes exclusively from porcine thyroid glands where the T4 and T3 in the pig's thyroid is extracted and made into a powder. While the manufacturing process is strictly controlled and regulated by US health authorities, the animal thyroid extract does contain other chemicals and even traces of pig proteins.
European preparations are known to come from dried-out cows' thyroids (bovine desiccated thyroid extract). These bovine extracts can potentially transmit Creutzfeldt-Jacob syndrome or "Mad Cow Disease" and should be avoided at all costs.
Thyroid research shows that there is no significant benefit in taking thyroid extract but there are significant risks of adverse effects on your health.