South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
How does eating walnuts affect thyroid medication?
Q: How do walnuts affect people who have to take thyroid medication? My pill bottle comes with a warning that walnuts can interfere with the desired medical benefits of levothyroxine. If I eat walnuts several hours after taking my thyroid med, will that solve the problem?
A: We searched the medical literature for an answer to your question. It is surprisingly murky. The maker of brand name Synthroid (levothyroxine) cautions that “certain foods and supplements can interfere with Synthroid. Foods containing soy and cottonseed meal can make Synthroid less effective. Walnuts, grapefruit juice, and dietary fiber can also make Synthroid less effective. If you eat any of these on a regular basis, check with your doctor. He or she may need to adjust your dose of Synthroid.”
That seems clear-cut, but the research supporting this statement is a bit confusing. We could not confirm that walnuts reduce levothyroxine absorption. If, instead, they interfere with thyroid function, eating them at a different time would not solve the problem.
Q: Long ago, I would go through several boxes of bandages every winter to help me deal with painful cracked fingertips. A few years ago, my doctor recommended a hot wax spa for arthritis in my fingers. I try to use it twice a day, since the relief is great but not long-lasting. Because of the oil in the wax, I no longer have to deal with
cracked fingertips.
A: That is an unusual solution for cracked fingertips. However, it makes sense. The hot wax spa uses liquid paraffin to soften skin on the hands. Soothing sore joints is another use. Winter is especially hard on the skin of the hands because we wash our hands so often. Without heavyduty moisturizer, skin on the fingertips can dry out and split.
Some readers have found that barnyard beauty aids such as Udder Cream or Bag Balm are effective. A & D Ointment and Vaseline also work well, although they are quite greasy. Many people get relief by rubbing lip balm into the cracks. Others recommend manuka honey applied under a bandage. Instant glue or liquid bandage can also be used to seal the split quickly.
Q: What can you tell me about the natural product berberine? One friend takes it to ward off a recurrence of his prostate cancer. Is there anything to this?
A: There is actually science to support the antitumor activity of berberine
(Frontiers in Pharmacology, Feb. 14, 2019). It is an active ingredient in several plants used in traditional Chinese medicine. Berberine has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antidiarrheal activity.
One reader shared this testimonial: “I was having terrible diarrhea every morning. None of the medications my gastro doctor prescribed worked, except for a pricey antibiotic. “Then I noticed a section on diarrhea in one of your books. It mentioned berberine, a 3,000-year-old medicine. I started taking one 500 mg capsule in the evening and it has stopped my diarrhea almost every day for three months. If I have a little diarrhea, I take a second capsule in the morning and my diarrhea is gone.”
Anyone planning to take berberine should check with their physician. Excess amounts of this compound can cause, rather than calm, diarrhea and may lead to kidney inflammation.