Relationship between iron & hypothyroid

[missGeek]

I've heard mention that ferritin levels can effect thyroid, but I don't understand what the relationship between the two is.
Wondering if someone could help me understand this?

I'm hypo & my ferritin levels are at the very bottom of the normal range. I know it's good to get my levels up, but just wondering how important this is to stabilising my thyroid condition?

Cheers :)

[Barb135]

When looking for iron supplements be sure to look for a brand that says it's non-constipating, because iron supplements have a tendency to do that.  Also, there are 2 types of iron - heme and non-heme.  Heme iron is more readily absorbed than non-heme.  Non-heme is the type of iron found in plant sources.  Heme iron is about 40% of the iron found in meat; the rest is non-heme.

I learned the "4 hr rule" here, years ago, so I'm always quick to pass it along... I later realized that if I'd read a few more paragraphs of the insert that came with my thyroid med, I'd have seen it...oops   LOL   I'm not sure if all pharmacies print the same information in the inserts they hand out with the med or not.  

[missGeek]

Thank you Barb! :)
Especially for the additional info on when to take the supplements. Was looking into iron supplements & certainly wouldn't have thought to take them at a separate time from the thyroid meds.

[Barb135]

Here's an excerpt I posted in another thread that explains some of the connection between iron and hypothyroidism:

"How Does Iron Relate To Thyroid Health?

As I mentioned earlier, iron is necessary to help deliver oxygen to all of the areas of the body, and this of course includes the thyroid gland.  Iron, along with other minerals, is important for thyroid hormone synthesis.  Even though selenium is the main mineral involved in converting T4 to T3, iron also plays a role in this.  Iron is also important for the formation of cortisol, and in other articles I’ve spoken about how the adrenals can affect thyroid health.  Earlier in this article I also stated how iron is important for optimal immune system health, which is important for those people with Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.

Also remember that people with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions commonly have hypochlorhydria, which can affect iron absorption.  So while iron can have both a direct and indirect effect on thyroid health, a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition can also impact the iron levels."

Hypochlohydria is too low stomach acid, which is related to acid reflux/GERD and often requires "more" stomach acid, not less.

Note that adequate vitamin C is necessary for proper absorption of iron.

If you're taking thyroid hormone replacement medication, supplements such as iron, calcium, magnesium, etc should not be taken within 4 hours of the thyroid medication as they can block absorption of thyroid medication.