Dr. Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid | Weight Loss | Hormones

Today is lesson #18 and it's all about L-tyrosine supplementation! Does L-tyrosine help improve your thyroid function? Can taking it improve your adrenal function? Should you actually take it? We are going to explore all of these questions. L-tyrosine is a synthetic version of a protein known as tyrosine which can be taken as a supplement. Tyrosine is a protein in your body, created from phenylalanine, which your body uses to create several important hormones including melanin, epinephrine, and thyroxine (T4). Low levels of tyrosine can be seen in people who exhaust tyrosine stores in the body from stress and also from poor diet or a protein depleted diet. Low levels may then result in diminished thyroid and adrenal hormone and thus certain symptoms. But does taking tyrosine actually improve your symptoms? The answer is maybe. Tyrosine supplementation can be used to improve thyroid hormone (provided you have normal iodine levels) and works in many people with hypothyroidism. L-tyrosine levels