Are you and your family at increased risk of thyroid disease?

Vitamin D insufficiency places you at increased risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease.

Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are the most common thyroid disorders and you are more likely to develop them if you don’t get enough vitamin D.

In April this year a meta-analysis study was published in the journal Nutrients, highlighting the strong association between these thyroid conditions and vitamin D. It is estimated that approximately 50 million Americans suffer with an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune thyroid diseases are some of the most prevalent conditions. We are seeing increasing cases in our clinics, particularly in younger people.

The vast majority of our patients have suboptimal levels of vitamin D in their bloodstream when we test them. This is unsurprising, considering that most of our patients have indoor jobs and indoor lifestyles. Many people simply do not have the time to be outside in the sunshine long enough to produce sufficient vitamin D in their body. Taking a vitamin D supplement can really help if you don’t get enough real sunlight.

Being low in vitamin D can increase your risk of any autoimmune disease, and it also weakens your immune system, raising your risk of developing infections or cancer. If you don’t know your blood level of vitamin D, please ask your doctor for a test.

Reference