Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Of the 40 participating patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, those who took 2 grams of powdered nigella sativa daily for 8 weeks significantly improved their thyroid status compared to the 20 subjects in the control group.
The thyroid is a gland located in the front of your windpipe near the base of your neck that controls your body’s metabolism, heart rate, and body temperature 1. Two percent of the US population suffers from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis 2, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the thyroid 3. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis results in an underactive thyroid, with fatigue being the most common complaint.
The most common medical treatment for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a prescription medication called levothyroxine (“synthroid”). Long-term use of synthroid increases the risks of heart enlargement 4 as well as bone loss 5, so alternative and complementary options are needed.
A 2016 study 6 involved 40 patients (6 men, 34 women) between the ages of 27 and 33 who were diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. They received either 2 grams in powder form of a medicinal plant called Nigella sativa or a placebo powder daily for 8 weeks. Before and after the study, blood samples were obtained to assess several measures of thyroid health.
The researchers chose to study Nigella sativa due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune system-changing properties that have thus far shown no side effects 7,8. The 2-gram dose of Nigella sativa has been used in previous research 9,10.
After 8 weeks of supplementation, the researchers noted several statistically significant improvements in 4 different aspects of thyroid health in the Nigella sativa group compared to the placebo group:
| Nigella Sativa | p-value | Placebo | p-value | p – value between groups |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (mIU/L) | 35.7% decrease (6.42 to 4.13) | 0.03 | 1.6% increase (8.14 to 8.27) | 0.4 | 0.02 |
| T4 Thyroid Hormone (mmol/L) | 10.2% increase (8.07 to 8.89) | 0.21 | 4.3% decrease (7.97 to 7.63) | 0.32 | 0.04 |
| Anti-TPO (IU/mL) | 49.8% decrease (294.55 to 147.99) | 0.019 | 1.4% decrease (278.10 to 274.30) | 0.28 | 0.01 |
| Nesfatin-1 (ng/mL) | 10% decrease (41.80 to 37.63) | 0.34 | 3.4% increase (25.86 to 26.75) | 0.69 | 0.049 |
The decrease in Thyroid-Stimulating hormone indicates greater sensitivity by the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone while the increase in T4 hormone indicates a greater ability to produce thyroid hormone. The decrease in Anti-TPO is a sign of lower immune system activity attacking the thyroid 11 while the decrease in Nesfatin-1 is an indicator of improved thyroid health as increased levels of Nesfatin-1 is thought to be related to thyroid problems 12,13.
For the researchers, “Nigella sativa can be regarded as a useful therapeutic approach in management of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.”
Source: Farhangi et al. The effects of Nigella sativa on thyroid function, serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) – 1, Nesfatin-1 and anthropometric features in patients with Hashimoto’s Disease
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2016) 16:471 DOI 10.1186/s12906-016-1432-2
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted March 23, 2017.
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.
References:
- Medicine USNLo. Thyroid Cancer. 2017; Thyroid Cancer Definition. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0021892/. Accessed March 21, 2017, 2017.
- Michael W, Tunbridge G, Vanderpump MP. Population screening for autoimmune thyroid disease. Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America. 2000;29(2):239-254.
- Chistiakov DA. Immunogenetics of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Journal of Autoimmune Diseases. 2005;2(1):1.
- Dai DZ, Hu HJ, Yang DM, et al. Chronic levothyroxin treatment is associated with ion channel abnormalities in cardiac and neuronal cells. Clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology. 1999;26(10):819-821.
- Panebianco P, Rosso D, Destro G, et al. Use of disphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis in thyroidectomized patients on levothyroxin replacement therapy. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. 1997;25(2):219-225.
- Farhangi MA, Dehghan P, Tajmiri S, Abbasi MM. The effects of Nigella sativa on thyroid function, serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)–1, Nesfatin-1 and anthropometric features in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2016;16(1):471.
- Dollah MA, Parhizkar S, Latiff A, Hassan MHB. Toxicity effect of Nigella sativa on the liver function of rats. Adv Pharm Bull. 2013;3(1):97-102.
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- Farhangi MA, Eshraghian M, Keshavarz SA, Saboor-Yaraghi AA. Thyroid-stimulating hormone, triiodotyronine and thyroxine concentrations and their relationship with metabolic parameters, anthropometric variables and body composition in premenopausal euthyroid obese women. Turkish Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2015;19(1).
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- Tohma Y, Akturk M, Altinova A, et al. Circulating levels of Orexin-A, Nesfatin-1, Agouti-Related peptide, and neuropeptide Y in patients with hyperthyroidism. Thyroid. 2015;25(7):776-783.
