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The High Cholesterol and Thyroid Connection

Newly diagnosed with high cholesterol?

Check your thyroid function and body temperature.

high cholesterol and thyroid Current medical practice guidelines recommend that people newly diagnosed with high cholesterol get their thyroid gland checked by having a Thyroid Hormone Stimulating (TSH) test. This test will show if their thyroid gland is under-performing. But research shows that this guideline is followed only about half the time.

That’s a shame, because research shows that people with high cholesterol are more likely than normal to have low thyroid gland function. And they are way less likely to have to go on cholesterol-lowering statin drugs if their low thyroid function is corrected. That’s because thyroid hormone is directly involved in helping your body to clear cholesterol out of your body.

I believe an even larger percentage of people with high cholesterol have low thyroid function that is not detectable by the standard TSH test. They have low activity of thyroid hormone in their body. Either they are not converting T4, the inactive form of the hormone, secreted by the gland, to T3, the active form (conversion occurs inside cells.) Or their cells are resistant to taking in T4, a condition similar to insulin resistance.

That’s why I recommend that anyone with high cholesterol, newly diagnosed or not, take their body temperature. If it is consistently low (below 97.8 F. (36.56 C.) chances are good you have slow metabolism, which may be caused by low thyroid hormone activity in your body. (See “How are body temperatures measured” for complete instructions.) This condition is called Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome.

Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome can often be corrected with proper thyroid support, which often includes a trial of T3. You can discuss T3 therapy with your doctor and we will be happy to discuss your case with your doctor. Your doctor can call 800.420.5801. The object of T3 therapy is to normalize your oral body temperatures to average 98.6 (37 C.) during treatment.

A few months of thyroid support, along with diet and exercise, may be all you need to lower your cholesterol numbers and avoid taking statin drugs.

 

REFERENCES

Kaliaperumal R, William E, Selvam T, et al. Relationship between Lipoprotein(a) and Thyroid Hormones in Hypothyroid Patients. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Feb;8(2):37-9.

Pearce EN. Update in lipid alterations in subclinical hypothyroidism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Feb;97(2):326-33.

Willard DL, Leung AM, Pearce EN. Thyroid function testing in patients with newly diagnosed hyperlipidemia. JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Feb 1;174(2):287-9.

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