Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
Benefits: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
- Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense has been specifically formulated with herbs and nutrients that support healthy thyroid function and thyroid hormone synthesis.
- Consequently, these active ingredients ameliorate clinical symptoms commonly associated with suboptimal thyroid function by enhancing's capacity to adapt and
- respond to stress
- relieve fatigue
- support energy levels
- improve cognitive function
- reduce free radical synthesis and damage to cells.
- Ginger also improves
- poor digestion by supporting healthy digestive system function
- promotes peripheral blood circulation.
Recommended Use: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
Adults:
2-4 capsules or as directed by a health care practitioner.
Active Ingredients: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
Each Capsule Contains: | |
L-tyrosine | 250mg |
Ashwagandha extract (Withania somnifera) (KSM-66 Ashwagandha | 150mg |
equiv. dry root | 1.5g |
Bacopa extract (Bacopa monnieri) | 25mg |
equiv. dry leaf | 4.75g |
Ginger extract (Zingiber officinale) | 20mg |
equiv. dry root | 500mg |
Iodine (potassium iodide) | 75micrograms |
Selenium (selenomethionine) | 25micrograms |
Zinc (sulfate monohydrate) | 5mg |
Calcium pantothenate | 54.35mg |
equiv. vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | 50mg |
Copper (gluconate) | 250micrograms |
Manganese (sulfate monohydrate) | 250micrograms |
Features and Benefits: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense has been specifically formulated with herbs and nutrients that support healthy thyroid function and thyroid hormone synthesis.
Consequently, these active ingredients ameliorate clinical symptoms commonly associated with suboptimal thyroid function by enhancing the capacity to adapt and respond to stress, relieving fatigue and supporting energy levels, improving cognitive function and reducing free radical synthesis and damage to cells.
Ginger also improves poor digestion by supporting healthy digestive system function and promoting peripheral blood circulation.
CLINICAL EVIDENCE
Healthy thyroid function is essential for normal growth, development, mitochondrial respiration (energy synthesis), basal metabolic rate regulation, respiratory function and oxygenation, bone, gastrointestinal, nervous system and heart function, metabolism of protein, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins and minerals and healthy fertility, ovulation and menstruation.1-3 As a consequence of the pleiotropic functionality of thyroid function in the body, suboptimal thyroid health can have significant clinical consequences.
Subclinical thyroid function is the clinical presentation of elevated thyrotropin and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels.4-7
Estimated to affect up to 15% of the population, subclinical thyroid function is more prevalent in women and older individuals.8,9 Aetiological factors associated with subclinical thyroid function include micronutrient deficiencies (iodine, selenium, zinc, copper) autoimmunity, surgery, medication, and it can progress to overt thyroid dysfunction in at least 2.5% of individuals.10-12
Table 1: Subclinical thyroid function grading8
GRADE | THYROTROPIN RANGE |
1 | Between upper reference range limit – 9.9 mU/L |
2 | 10 mU/L or higher |
Many individuals with subclinical thyroid function can be asymptomatic, however clinical symptoms that may present include those specified in table 2.13,14
Table 2: Clinical symptoms associated with subclinical thyroid function3,7,8,10,14-16
Endocrine |
|
Gastrointestinal |
|
Metabolic |
|
Musculoskeletal |
|
Neurological |
|
Skin |
|
Other |
|
Thyroid Herbal and Nutritional Support
Along with appropriate nutritional, lifestyle and environmental strategies, specific herbs and nutrients can promote and balance healthy thyroid function to improve the clinical symptomatology associated with subclinical thyroid function.
Iodine
The essential mineral iodine is required for the normal function of the thyroid gland as it is a fundamental component of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, comprising 58% and 65% of each hormones weight, respectively.3,17,18
Following absorption through the small intestine, iodine is concentrated in thyrocytes and oxidised by thyroid peroxidase before being integrated/assimilated into thyroglobulin to produce monoiodotyrosine (MIT) and diiodotyrosine (DIT) and subsequently, T3 and T4.2,17-19
Significant concentrations of iodine are also found in extrathyroidal tissues, where it is currently understood to exert antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.17,20
Consequently, of all the trace minerals that are important for healthy thyroid function, endogenous iodine concentrations have the most significant influence on the capacity of the thyroid gland to synthesise normal levels of T3 and T4.18,21
Selenium
Selenium is another trace mineral that is necessary for normal thyroid health, as reflected by the thyroid gland containing the highest proportion of the body’s overall selenium concentrations.17,22-24
Selenium exhibits several mechanisms that directly and indirectly influence thyroid functional health, including thyroid hormone synthesis, activation and metabolism, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune modulatory activity.17,25 It can also protect against heavy metal toxicity, which is relevant in view of the adverse impact of lead and cadmium on thyroid health and function.17,25,26-30
Selenium’s close involvement in maintaining thyroid health via these mechanisms is related to its roles as a cofactor of iodothyronine deiodinase (types I, II and III) that converts thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3) and activates thyroid hormone, and as a component of selenoproteins (glutathione reductase and peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase) which protect the thyroid gland from oxidative stress and inflammation-induced damage.
Because normal thyroid hormone synthesis involves an oxidative biochemical process that requires peroxide synthesis, increased TSH levels that are associated with subclinical thyroid function are correlated with increased reactive oxygen species levels.15,17,22,23,25,30 Consequently, optimal levels of selenium are essential for maintaining a healthy antioxidant-oxidative balance in the thyroid gland to support healthy thyroid functionality.15
This can be observed in the influence of selenium deficiency on thyroid function, including impaired thyroidal and extrathyroidal hormone synthesis and activity; thyroid follicle damage; reduced conversion of T4 to T3 (= higher T4 levels); decreased glutathione peroxidase levels; and increased oxidative damage to thyroid tissue.17,22,25,31,32
A broad body of evidence also highlights the importance of selenium for healthy thyroid function. A 2019 meta-analysis and systematic review of 32 observational studies found that significantly lower levels of selenium in the serum of individuals with suboptimal thyroid function compared with healthy individuals was associated with abnormal thyroid hormone metabolism, specifically reduced T3 and elevated T4.25
Similar results were observed in a separate cross-sectional analysis involving 14, 283 subjects that found an inverse association between selenium intake and subclinical thyroid function.23
Conversely, in a prospective study, selenium supplementation (83 mcg/day for 4 months) was found to improve TSH levels to normal concentrations in individuals with subclinical thyroid function, which remained normal 6-months after commencing supplementation.24
Figure 1: The iodide cycle18
Figure 1: The iodide cycle. Ingested iodide is trapped in the thyroid, oxidised, and bound to tyrosine to form iodotyrosines in thyroglobulin (TG); coupling of iodotyrosyl residues forms T4 and T3. Hormone secreted by the gland is transported in serum. Some T4 is deiodinated to T3. The hormone exerts its metabolic effect on the cell and is ultimately deiodinated; the iodide is reused or excreted in the kidney. A second cycle goes on inside the thyroid gland, with deiodination of iodotyrosines generating iodide, some of which is reused without leaving the thyroid.
Zinc
Zinc is also required for maintaining optimal thyroid functionality due to its involvement in several aspects of thyroid physiology.17 Specifically, healthy endogenous zinc levels are required for normal TSH, T3 and T4 synthesis due to its key involvement in thyroid hormone receptor transcription and binding, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) synthesis and action, iodothyronine DI enzyme-catalysed conversion of T4 to T3 (locally and extra-thyroidally) and tissue responsiveness to thyroid hormones.12,21,22,25,33
Zinc also influences thyroid health through its antioxidant and immunological activity.17
Consequently, deficient zinc levels inhibit TRH synthesis, reduce levels of TSH, T4 and T3, increase oxidative stress and impair T-lymphocyte activity.12,21,34 This translates to clinical observations of low or deficient zinc levels commonly occurring in individuals with suboptimal thyroid health and function.12,25,32,35
L-tyrosine
The importance of L-tyrosine to normal thyroid function is associated with the iodoglycoprotein thyroglobulin, a highly active protein that is a precursor for thyroid hormones comprising of approximately 140 tyrosine residues.19,36
Thyroglobulin is produced by the thyroid follicular cells, and about a quarter of its tyrosine residues are able to be iodinated, producing diiodotyrosine (T2) and monoiodotyrosine (T1), producing T4 and T3, respectively.17,19,36
Tyrosine also supports healthy thyroid function via its antioxidant and metal chelating activity/mechanisms.17
Copper
Copper is also involved in several mechanisms that influence thyroid health including stimulating thyroid hormone synthesis, inhibiting excessive cellular absorption of T4, protecting thyrocytes from oxidative stress (which can inhibit thyroid hormone synthesis) and supporting healthy iron oxidation and metabolism (thyroperoxidase activation requires haem iron).12,32,33,37
Similar to iodine, selenium and zinc, low copper levels have been observed in individuals with suboptimal thyroid function.12
Manganese
Lower levels of manganese have also been observed in individuals with suboptimal thyroid function, potentially affecting thyroid health through its involvement in superoxide dismutase activity, regulation of the deiodinase enzymes and modulating TSH secretion via the dopaminergic pathway.25,38
Pantothenic acid
Pantothenic acid’s support of healthy thyroid function is associated with its key role in energy synthesis as a precursor for acetyl-CoA synthesis, as an antioxidant via adenosine triphosphate-induced cellular synthesis of glutathione and supporting the body’s healthy stress response.17,39
Withania somnifera (ashwagandha)
Withania somnifera has a long tradition of use in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicinal paradigms for supporting physical and mental health.17,40 Ashwagandha’s adaptogenic, antioxidant, and cognitive enhancing properties also underlie its demonstrated beneficial effect on suboptimal thyroid health.17,40
In a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebocontrolled clinical pilot study, the effect of Ashwagandha on serum TSH, T3 and T4 in 50 individuals with suboptimal thyroid health was assessed.40 After 8-weeks of 600 mg of Ashwagandha root extract or placebo daily (n=25 in each group), the herb resulted in significant reductions in serum TSH and increases in serum T3 and T4 compared with placebo (all p<0.01), normalising the measured thyroid parameters.
Bacopa monnieri (bacopa)
Bacopa monnieri is another Ayurvedic herb with a long history of use as a nervine tonic for supporting cognitive health.17,41,42 Its well-established cognitive-enhancing, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and adaptogenic actions provide support for underlying mechanisms and clinical symptoms associated with suboptimal thyroid health.17, 41,42
This has been demonstrated in clinical studies showing bacopa to support healthy T3 and T4 levels by influencing tyrosine deiodination, increasing antioxidant enzyme activity (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione), reducing free radical concentrations and reducing inflammation (NFkB and TNFa).41-44
Zingiber officinale (ginger)
Zingiber officinale has also been used in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, and its potent antioxidant and properties provide support for healthy thyroid function.17,45-47
Ginger was also observed to support healthy serum T3, T4 and TSH levels and antioxidant enzyme levels in chemical-induced disrupted thyroid function.48,49
Warnings: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
Vitamins can only be of assistance if the dietary vitamin intake is inadequate.
This medicine contains selenium which is toxic in high doses. A daily dose of 150 micrograms for adults of selenium from dietary supplements should not be exceeded.
Talk to an Ayurvedic practitioner/health professional if you are unsure if this medicine is right for you.
References: Bioclinic Naturals ThyroSense
*References available on request