Thyroid medications are prescribed by doctors for people whose thyroids produce little or no hormone. In addition to improving your energy level, gradually taking off some weight and enhancing your mood and mental functioning, thyroid hormone medications can also lower your triglyceride levels. This is an important benefit because both underactive thyroid and high triglyceride levels are independent risk factors for heart disease. If you suspect you have a thyroid issue, see your doctor and talk about the benefits and drawbacks of taking thyroid medications.
Thyroid Gland
Your thyroid is a gland of roughly 2 inches that sits at the front base of your neck, right beneath your voice box. It has two lobes on either side of your windpipe, and they are connected by tissue called the isthmus. Your thyroid performs a number of functions, some of which relate to how your body processes blood lipids like cholesterol and triglycerides. One of its most important function is regulating your metabolism. It secretes hormones that stimulate the production of protein and increase the amount of oxygen your cells use.
Hypothyroidism Medications
Your brain sends signals to your pituitary glands, which in turn determine how much hormone your thyroid secretes. In some people, the thyroid doesn't produce enough or any at all. The condition is termed hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism disturbs the normal balance of chemical reactions that take place in your body, and over time, a number of ailments -- obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease -- can result. Treating hypothyroidism involves taking medications that supplement and restore your thyroid hormones to normal levels. These medications include levothyroxine sodium, liothyronine sodium and liotrix, which are sold under brand names Levothroid, Cytomel, Euthroid and Thyrolar. Most come in pill form, but under extreme cases can be given intravenously.
Thyroid Medications & Triglycerides
An underactive thyroid can cause an increase in triglyceride levels. Your triglycerides are a form of stored fat. Your body gets them from the fat in the foods you eat, and it can also make them from other energy sources, such as carbohydrates. Excessively high triglyceride levels, called hypertriglyceridemia, is linked with coronary heart disease. People who take thyroid hormone medication usually notice an improvement in their triglyceride levels, as well as their cholesterol levels. The American Heart Association reports that an ideal triglyceride measurement is less than 150 mg/dL, which is taken in a blood test.
Thyroid and Triglyceride Metabolism
The effect of thyroid hormone, even when it comes in synthetic form, on triglycerides is a result of the dynamic interaction the organ has on nearly every cell in your body, according to Colorado State University. Nearly 40 years of research has demonstrated that thyroid hormones control both production and removal of triglycerides from your bloodstream. When your thyroid hormones increase, that stimulates fat mobilization, which at first leads to an increase in the concentration of free fatty acids floating in your blood. However, thyroid hormones also enhance oxidation, or burning, of these free fatty acids in many body tissues. Colorado State reports that your triglyceride levels are usually the inverse of your thyroid hormone levels.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center Endocrinology Health Guide: The Thyroid Gland
- HealthWise: Thyroid Hormone Medications for Hypothyroidism
- Mayo Clinic: Hypothyroidism (Underactive Thyroid)
- American Heart Association: Triglycerides
- Colorado State University Endocrine Index: Mechanism of Action and Physiologic Effects of Thyroid Hormones
- "Journal of Clinical Investigation"; Plasma Triglyceride Metabolism in Thyroid Diseasee; Esko A. Nikkilä and Matti Kekki; Aug. 1972
