Can Vitamin D Help My Hashimoto’s?
Look to the sun for immune support
Many people know of it as the “sunshine vitamin,” and that it’s good for their bone health. You may have even heard people talking about taking it to help fight off COVID-19 and ‘boost your immune system.’ You guessed today’s player, Vitamin D. Vitamin D may be called a vitamin, but in actuality, it acts more like a hormone. Receptors for Vitamin D are found on everything from bone to immune cells. For our purposes, we will focus on vitamin D’s role in the immune system.
If you want to study how the immune system works, why not study diseases of the immune system, such as autoimmunity (when our immune system mistakenly attacks our own tissue). Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT) is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland (a butterfly-shaped gland in our neck that is a huge metabolism regulator via thyroid hormones).
We know that those with autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, and Lupus may have lower vitamin D levels compared to a healthy population (1). Recently, researchers looked into the role that Vitamin D may play in HT, finding that “…vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in AITD (autoimmune thyroid disorders) and that these subjects have lower levels of serum” vitamin D (2).
Vitamin D and Immune Function
As previously mentioned, vitamin D has huge implications for the immune system. Vitamin D is a potent activator of T-regulatory cells, cells in our immune system that help to differentiate our own tissue from foreign invaders. T-reg cells are key in autoimmune disease, as their dysfunction can potentially lead to our immune system attacking its own tissues.
Another branch of T-cells, Th-1, initiates a pro-inflammatory reaction that leads to cells starting to destroy the thyroid gland (Goiters are nodules on the thyroid frequently found in patients with Hashimoto’s, due to the battleground taking place in the gland). Vitamin D also acts to tone down the Th-1 response. It not only upregulates the anti-inflammatory response but also directly downregulates the pro-inflammatory response.
Should I be supplementing with Vitamin D?
Two caveats here:
Before you decide to start supplementing or not, it is very important that you have your vitamin D levels checked by getting blood work done.
Have someone who’s experienced in interpreting blood work take a look at it, don’t solely rely on what the lab companies tell you as ‘high or low’.
Everything is context-dependent. Okay, phew, mini-rant over.
The research will point to roughly 1 billion people in the world being deficient in vitamin D, and I think that more so has to do with people being outside less, as sunlight is needed to convert cholesterol in the skin into the active form of vitamin D (yes, cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, don’t be afraid of eating egg yolks and liver, dietary cholesterol is heavily important). That’s why I make sure to get at least 15 minutes of sun exposure, per day, on my bare skin (not the skin of a bear 😉) sometime between 11 am-3 pm in order to optimize vitamin D creation.
Vitamin D does increase calcium absorption from the diet, so you need to be careful with too much vitamin D in the absence of vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 helps keep all that excess calcium being absorbed in the bones where it should be, rather than being in the arteries which could potentially put you at a higher risk for atherosclerosis. Many vitamin D supplements now come with K2 in them because of what I previously mentioned. My go-to brand for Vit D/K2 is Thorne. Vitamin D is also a fat-soluble vitamin, so make sure to take it with a meal higher in fat to increase absorption.
Food First Approach
For most, if not all nutrients, I’d suggest getting it from your diet to be a superior option. However, vitamin D is one of the most difficult nutrients to obtain from the diet. You’ll find some in egg yolks, salmon, and sardines, but most of where we get it from are sunlight. That’s why I pay more attention to supplementation in the winter months when the sun isn’t out as long and the UV (ultraviolet) rays aren’t as strong.
Vitamin D is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to supporting autoimmunity. Diet, sleep, exercise, and a healthy mind-state are still the major pillars of health. If you’re someone who has all the ‘big rocks’ dialed in, yet is still struggling with Hashimotos, check out our clinic, HIVE Natural Health, to learn what our functional medicine approach can offer you.
As always, Trust in Your Gut.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for educational purposes only, and are not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Do not apply any of the information in this article without first speaking with your doctor.
References
- Yang C, Leung P, Adamopoulos I, Gershwin M. The implication of vitamin D and autoimmunity: A comprehensive review. Clin Rev Alrgy & Imm, 2013. 45(2):217–226
- Wang J, Lv S, Chen G, Gao C, He J, et. al. Meta-analysis of the association between vitamin D and autoimmune thyroid disease. Nutrients, 2015. 7(4):2485–2498.
