THE THYROID TRUST, THYROID FRIENDS
  • Home
  • About
    • Leadership Team
    • Annual Report
    • Awareness Video
    • What people say about us
    • Work for us
    • Support Us
  • Events
    • TTT Events Listings
    • Thyroid Awareness Week
    • Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
    • Events by other organisations
    • Meeting reports
  • Information
    • Covid-19
    • News >
      • Press Releases
      • Media Coverage
      • Funding News >
        • November 2019 Funding News
    • T3 News and Resources >
      • Liothyronine Dossier 2018
      • A GP writes
      • Scottish Parliament
    • Information Videos
    • Expert Insight
    • Research >
      • Research References
    • NICE Guidelines >
      • NICE Guideline Thyroid Cancer
    • Patient Stories >
      • Karen
      • Helga
      • Michelle
      • Kelly
      • Pamela
      • Mary
      • Michael Rosen
      • Submit Your Story
  • gallery
  • Fun stuff
    • 24 Questions Videos
    • Butterfly Wishes
    • Kindness Rocks
    • CAN Affirmation Cards
    • T-Shirts
    • Badges
    • Fantastic Fundraisers
    • Seaside Walk 2019
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • T3 report form

Professor Margaret Rayman, a patient and a scientist.

Professor Margaret Rayman
Professor Margaret Rayman is a world leader in nutritional science who set up and still helps to run the UK’s only MSc in Nutritional Medicine at the University of Surrey. Her research interests particularly include thyroid disease and the role of the micronutrients, iodine, selenium and iron. She also has hypothyroidism, for which she takes levothyroxine.

Margaret tells us that she has not found her hypothyroidism to be a problem. However, she notes that other countries routinely dispense Levothyroxine (T4) tablets in doses of 87.5 mcg, which must be more convenient for patients like her, whose conditions require a finely tuned dose.

Margaret has achieved a huge amount in her career and has a stellar reputation amongst her peers and the wider scientific community. She has kindly advised us of a number of useful research papers, referenced at the end of this article. For your convenience we have loosely summarised the key findings below.  

It is understood that some patients continue to have symptoms of hypothyroidism despite seeming to have good thyroid blood-test results. Research so far is inconclusive as to why this is - and it is likely that there are multiple causes, not just one.  

Separately, there is strong evidence that selenium, iron and iodine are all important factors for good thyroid hormone function with some suggestive evidence for a role for vitamin D. Hypothyroid patients are probably being treated with levothyroxine which contains its own iodine. However, many patients have some residual thyroid function so will still require some iodine from their diet.

Selenium is important for thyroid function as it is contained in enzymes that convert thyroxine to the active form of thyroid hormone.  It is also a component of enzymes that protect the thyroid from damage. Seafood, kidney and liver are good sources.  Although Brazil nuts are an excellent source, they can be extremely high in selenium and so it is possible to overdose.

Iron (in the enzyme thyroid peroxidase) is also required to make the thyroid hormones. A Finnish endocrinologist established that levothyroxine replacement (for hypothyroidism) works better if iron levels are optimal. Low serum ferritin is a sign that iron levels are low, as ferritin is the storage form of iron.  Interestingly supplementation with thyroid hormones can also improve patients’ iron levels.

Some research points to the likelihood of one or more genetic causes, making it difficult for some patients to convert and transport thyroid hormones normally. However, the evidence for this from human studies that have treated all patients equally, regardless of their genotype, is not robust enough yet to be accepted by clinicians.

Margaret and Sarah were part of a stand, “In Your Element”, at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in July 2018, helping to raise public awareness of the importance of the nutritional side of the Periodic Table.  Both are committed to helping the public learn about new nutritional-science findings.

We were thrilled that Margaret, along with her colleague, Dr Sarah Bath, very kindly gave a talk on nutrition and thyroid disease at our Information Event at Crown Court Church on 23rd November 2020.  


References

Rayman MP. Multiple nutritional factors and thyroid disease, with particular reference to autoimmune thyroid disease. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 2019; 78: 34–44.
Jo S et al. Type 2 deiodinase polymorphism causes ER stress and hypothyroidism in the brain. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2019; 129:230-245.  
 
Hernandez A. Cognitive function in hypothyroidism: what is that deiodinase again? The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2019; 129:55-57. 
 
Carlé A et al. Hypothyroid Patients Encoding Combined MCT10 and DIO2 Gene Polymorphisms May Prefer L-T3 + L-T4 Combination Tratment – Data Using a Blind, Randomized, Clinical Study. European Thyroid Journal, 2017; 6:143–151.
 

for everyone affected by thyroid disease


Meetings

contact 

We organise regular information and support meetings in London
click here for upcoming dates.    ​
please click here to get in touch or subscribe to our contacts list
We are a small independent charity. We receive no government funding and are reliant on donations for our income. Please support us. 

PlEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR VITAL WORK

Donate
The donate button above takes you to a secure donation processing platform, Virgin Money Giving.
Please contact us if you would prefer to make a direct bank transfer
to donate via any other means, or if you are interested in volunteering. 
Proud members of the following organisations
Picture
Picture
Tweets by ThyroidTrust
Thyroid Federation International logo on The Thyroid Trust website
Picture
NCVO logo on The Thyroid Trust website
Small Charities Coalition logo on The Thyroid Trust website
The Thyroid Trust is a member of National Voices  membership logo
Supported by National Lottery Community Fund. Thank you to all National Lottery players. 

Correspondence ADDRESS

71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ

The Thyroid Trust is also known as TTT and Thyroid Friends Network,
Registered Charity Number 1183292
Registered Address: 15 GREAT COLLEGE STREET, LONDON, SW1P 3RX
Copyright asserted 2019 - Our consititution and all policy documents can be viewed on request. 
Read our Privacy Policy updated 23/5/18, .
National Lottery Community Fund logo
Picture
  • Home
  • About
    • Leadership Team
    • Annual Report
    • Awareness Video
    • What people say about us
    • Work for us
    • Support Us
  • Events
    • TTT Events Listings
    • Thyroid Awareness Week
    • Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month
    • Events by other organisations
    • Meeting reports
  • Information
    • Covid-19
    • News >
      • Press Releases
      • Media Coverage
      • Funding News >
        • November 2019 Funding News
    • T3 News and Resources >
      • Liothyronine Dossier 2018
      • A GP writes
      • Scottish Parliament
    • Information Videos
    • Expert Insight
    • Research >
      • Research References
    • NICE Guidelines >
      • NICE Guideline Thyroid Cancer
    • Patient Stories >
      • Karen
      • Helga
      • Michelle
      • Kelly
      • Pamela
      • Mary
      • Michael Rosen
      • Submit Your Story
  • gallery
  • Fun stuff
    • 24 Questions Videos
    • Butterfly Wishes
    • Kindness Rocks
    • CAN Affirmation Cards
    • T-Shirts
    • Badges
    • Fantastic Fundraisers
    • Seaside Walk 2019
  • Blog
  • Contact
    • T3 report form