When someone chooses to be a Vegetarian, it means to forgo the dietary consumption of meat, fish, and poultry. The term Vegan refer to vegetarians who not only abstain from the meat of animals, but also any animal products, such as milk, cheese, eggs and related dairy products. Vegetarians and Vegans might also choose to avoid the use wool, silk, & leather in their clothes, shoes, or other products, as well as honey & down feathers.
Why does someone choose to be a vegetarian? A variety of reasons can propel one to choose to be either a vegetarian or a vegan: health, religious concerns, compassion for animals or anti-cruelty, a belief in non-violence, or even the dislike of meat. A smaller group might choose the Vegetarian route for economic reasons.
What about desiccated thyroid like Naturethroid,Westhroid, Erfa’s Thyroid, Thyroid-S, Armour etc being made from pig thyroid? Since prescription desiccated natural thyroid products are made from the thyroid of pigs, the choice to use them may be difficult. So there is one alternative to explore: combining synthetic T4 (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothyroxine, etc) along with synthetic T3 (Cytomel).
But there is a caveat you’ll have to accept: patients who have tried taking synthetic T4/T3 report they simply didn’t get the excellent results they got when they tried desiccated natural thyroid, which contains exactly what your own thyroid would be producing: T4, T3, T2, T1 and calcitonin. But it’s still a way around the vegetarian problem, with some benefit, even if sadly less effective.
Can I as a vegetarian look differently at this? Another alternative is to consider the stance taken by Serene Shick. Serene is a vegan and Messianic. She found herself with many symptoms of hypothyroid, and did a great deal of research. She concluded that desiccated thyroid like Naturethroid, Armour etc. was her treatment of choice, in spite of her vegan choice:
All the evidence points to this being the superior medication for this illness, although most docs want to give the synthetics. Armour is all natural, which appeals to me in spite of the fact that it is derived from pigs. As you know, being vegan and Messianic, this doesn’t sit well, but I have come to believe that what makes my body/brain/temple perform optimally takes precedence over the desire to exclude all animal products from my diet as well as the mitzvah against pork. It is a very tiny amount and I am already feeling incredibly better: my thinking is clearer, I feel more in control of my emotions, and I am actually having frequent moments of real joy! So I am certain that YHVH has led me to this discovery. The above is quoted from here: www.supernaturalself.com/Hypothyroid.htm
BOTTOM LINE: yes, you can use the synthetic T3 and synthetic T4, get some benefit, even if less effective. Additionally, there can be good reason to use dessicated thyroid all along, in spite of being a Vegetarian.
STORIES OF OTHER VEGETARIANS:
Read A.M.’s thyroid treatment story, where even though being an ovo-lacto vegetarian since a child, she decided that desiccated thyroid like Armour was her best choice, and especially for pregnancy.
And here’s the thryoid page about L of UK’s story of having been a vegetarian for many years, and not taking the use of desiccated thyroid lightly.
Have a story to share about being a Vegan and still choosing Armour? Use the Contact Me form below?
To read about Jewish restrictions concerning the use of pork, and the use of desiccated thyroid, go to this thyroid page.
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