Food and medicine interaction
Ashwagandha and thyroid hormone such as levothyroxine, and antithyroid medicines
TheoreticalEvidence level: theoretical. Suggested by how the food and the drug work, or by lab data. Not shown in people.
Last reviewed
What can happen
Ashwagandha may change thyroid hormone levels and so add to or work against thyroid medicine. In a trial of 50 people with subclinical hypothyroidism, 300 mg of root extract twice a day lowered TSH and raised T3 and T4, and three case reports describe an overactive thyroid in women taking it.
- Why it happens
- Ashwagandha appears to raise thyroid hormone output; how it does so is not known.
- At ordinary food amounts
- Ashwagandha is taken as a supplement, not a food; the thyroid findings come from extracts at 500 to 1,950 mg a day.
What to do
NCCIH says ashwagandha is not recommended for people with thyroid disorders. If you take thyroid medicine, talk to your prescriber before trying it; they may want to recheck your thyroid levels.
Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without talking to the prescriber.
Common questions
Can I have ashwagandha while taking thyroid medicines?
NCCIH says ashwagandha is not recommended for people with thyroid disorders. If you take thyroid medicine, talk to your prescriber before trying it; they may want to recheck your thyroid levels. Ashwagandha is taken as a supplement, not a food; the thyroid findings come from extracts at 500 to 1,950 mg a day.
Sources
Related
- RemedyAshwagandha: the full evidence pageAn Ayurvedic root sold as a stress supplement. Short trials point to lower stress scores and a small sleep benefit, but the studies are small and rare liver injury has been reported.
- Interaction · TheoreticalAshwagandha and sedatives and sleep medicines (such as benzodiazepines), and anti-seizure medicines
- Interaction · TheoreticalAshwagandha and immunosuppressants, such as drugs taken after a transplant or for autoimmune disease
- Interaction · ProbableSeaweed and kelp supplements and antithyroid medicines such as methimazole (Tapazole)