I know... a strange question, but I am pondering that as I wonder what is fed to pigs in which their hormones are extracted and then used in hormone replacement therapy for women, which I admit, was not aware of until today. Apparently thyroids from pigs are collected and used to create a supplementation (well known is a brand called Armour) for humans.
Is there such a thing as pasture feed pigs? I am sure there is. re organic pigs fed corn, and if so, has the corn not been genetically altered to resist pests? Basically, I am just wanting to know more about pig hormone replacement therapy and how safe it is. I guess in part it has to start with what goes in the pig. No doubt if a pig is fed petroleum based products as we humans are through additives, etc., that a pig could have pretty rampant hormones, wouldn't they? I ask because I don't know. Maybe my reader friends from the lab in Texas can fill me in...
I do know that diosgenin is the component of the plant used for hormone replacement therapy, but what about pigs? Is the thyroid gland itself used? What if pig had malfunctioning thyroid, assuming they were fed garbage, literally (aka chemicals, meds, etc.).
In searching this topic further, I found this article. But still, I would like to know more. If you have experience in taking pig HRT, or offer them to your clients - please tell me about it. Comment or send me a link.
The Virginia Hopkins Health Watch site is always full of great info. I found the paragraphs below, quoted from one of Dr. John Lee's books:
Taking Thyroid Supplements
A New England Journal of Medicine article in 1999 found that patients with true thyroid deficiency generally do better with thyroxin (T4) plus low dose triiodothyroinine (T3) supplements than with thyroxin (T4) alone, which is standard conventional medical treatment. This should not be surprising since the normal thyroid gland secretes both hormones. Whatever hormone is deficient, it is always better to supplement the real hormone.
When deciding which thyroid hormone to take, most doctors offer women a choice between Armour thyroid, which is ground up or dessicated cow or pig thyroid (also called USP thyroid), or one of the thyroxins (levothyroxine sodium), with the most common brand names of Levoxyl and Synthroid. If you're not going to use Armour, which supplies both T3 and T4 in approximately the ratio made by the human thyroid, I would recommend that you take both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyroinine (T3), also called liothyronine sodium, with brand names of Cytomel and Triostat.
Most women diagnosed as hypothyroid are at the age when they are still menstruating but are deficient in progesterone. Why not make it routine in medicine to investigate the potential role of progesterone in their thyroid problem? Hormones are not independent of each other. Their functions are interconnected and complex. The role of the doctor is to find the right blend of hormones to create the best possible balance of all of them, including progesterone, for each individual patient.
My thoughts, with that last statement, is that if you are taking natural thyroid supplement and it is not doing the trick, perhaps a next step to consider would be to try a progesterone balancing transdermal cream.
Other interesting links if you care to read more:
http://www.optimalhealthsystems.com/shownews.asp?id=155
http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/pdfs/NovelPerspectives.pdf
To your health!
Rita S.
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