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By Todd Lee M.D.
I am afraid to write this because I know I’m going to get a barrage of women asking me if they are taking the right thyroid medication for them.
This is not an article about people who take thyroid medication prescribed to them by a doctor. Although It could be.
This article is for people that want to lose fat, and possibly gain strength, side effect free.
If you are on thyroid medication adding the CORRECT amount of T2 will only help you not hurt you.
Thyroid Hormone
When the thyroid gland releases hormones these hormones are referred to as “Thyroid Hormones”. T4 and T3 are the real names of the thyroid hormones. T4 is relatively inactive and is a prohormone to the active T3. For years people have used T3 to lose fat. From housewives to pro bodybuilders Cytomel, or the generic name T3, has been the drug of choice.
But science advances and there is a new thyroid hormone, T2. T2 has 2 Iodide atoms, T3 has 3, and T4 has 4. As the body removes these Iodide atoms from the hormone it becomes more active.
The thyroid hormone’s function within the body is to be a thermostat if you will, for the metabolism. They determine the speed which every cell operates. Increase your metabolism with T3 and you lose fat and muscle. Increase your metabolism with T2 and you lose fat and GAIN muscle.
T2: The Best Thyroid supplement
T2: The Best Thyroid supplement
T2
3,5 DIiodo-L-thyronine is the chemical name for T2. There is a 3,3 version but that is inactive, 3,5 is what you want. T2 is a supplement, as in it adds a thyroid hormone to your body. It is not a prohormone like T4 (synthroid). Unlike T4 or T3 it will not shut down natural T4 or T3 production. T2 functions very similar to T3 but unlike T3 it doesn’t burn muscle while it is burning fat. In fact T2 converts your slow twitch muscle fiber to fast twitch fibers!
T2 and Fat Loss
Most people use Thyroid medication for fat loss and thats what will be covered first.
In a study addressing T2’s ability to burn fat it was seen that T2 decreased weight from fat of rats fed with a high fat diet by 13% while the rats fed the same diet without T2 gained 13% mass, all fat. The control group had a normal diet and did not change in total body mass, fat or otherwise.
Best part is the visceral fat, the fat that kills, is half that in the T2 group than the high fat diet without the T2. And it is the same as the control. This means while on T2 rats gained no visceral fat while on the high fat diet. The livers of the T2 rats were darker in color as well indicating there was less fat in the liver.
In this same study it was shown that there were no negative consequences of 30 days of T2 use, that TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), Thyroid Releasing Hormone (TRH), heart size, heart rate, and all other markers were the same as the control group. The muscle mass was not reduced in the T2 tested group. This is different from studies on T3 which has shown a propensity of T3 to eat away at fast twitch fibers.
This means T2 is a thyroid supplement like the prescription T4 and T3 but without the side effects and more benefit according to these studies.
Muscle Fiber Types
Slow twitch fibers also called type I fibers are small and red. They contain myoglobin which stores oxygen, this is why they are called red fibers. The red fibers use oxygen and fat for energy and are the fibers used in aerobic (with air) exercise.
Fast twitch fibers are also called type II or white fibers. They are white because they are filled with glycogen, or starch. This is their prefered fuel source. These fibers are for strength and speed/power. These are the fibers which grow larger when you train them and give the muscular look.
Effect of T2 on Muscle Fiber Types
T2 decreases circulating triglyceride levels and stops fat depositing in the white and red muscle cells. Less fat in the muscle cells results in an increase muscle cell insulin sensitivity. This results in GLUT4 transporter expression which means more circulating amino acids, carbs, and creatine are absorbed by white muscle cells to make them grow bigger. This makes the red fibers smaller and the white fibers bigger, and eventually converts red fibers to white fibers!
The reason this is important is since T2 can convert a red fiber into a white fiber then it PERMANENTLY INCREASES THE MAXIMUM STRENGTH AND SIZE YOU CAN REACH. Read that again.
T2 alters your muscle fibers so there’s less fat stored in the red fibers (their fuel source) and more carbohydrates stored in the white fibers (their fuel source). It also increases the enzymes in the pathways to generate energy from these fuels, thus increasing the metabolism of the muscle to grow.
This means it not only will shift your fibers to the better type but it will dry out your muscles making them harder then swell them with glycogen making them bigger.
Last I checked the bigger and harder the better. THIS IS A FAT LOSS DRUG, THAT ALSO IMPROVES YOUR MUSCLE!!!
DOSING T2
The studies on rats had it dosed equivalent as T3 for suppressing high TSH down to a normal range. TSH would be elevated in a thyroid deficiency so this means that T2 is equivalent as T3 on a mg for mg basis for treating thyroid disorder.
T2 needed 4 times the dosage as T3 for elevating GH levels, so in this regard it is effective but not as effective as T3.
The half life of T2 is shorter than T3 at a mere 4-6 hrs. A good dosing protocol would be morning, noon, and 6 pm at the latest would be a good approach with average doses ranging from 150-600 mcg. I feel T3 is safe at doses of 25 mcg per day so i am surprised the T2 is dosed so high. Makes me think the street grade T2 is cut with something like rice flour. After plenty of feedback, I now suggest a dose of as low as 60mcg, which is what I use. the 150mg dose was to strong. (0.2 ml two times a day, not 0.5 and certainly not 2.0 ml)
T2 is the best legal non-prescription thyroid hormone, and perhaps better than T4 (Synthroid) or T3 (Cytomel).
References
Effect of 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine on thyroid stimulating hormone and growth hormone serum levels in hypothyroid rats. - PubMed - NCBI
3,5-Diiodo-l-thyronine prevents high-fat-diet-induced insulin resistance in rat skeletal muscle through metabolic and structural adaptations
http://www.fasebj.org/content/25/10/3312.full
http://www.fasebj.org/content/19/11/1552.short
3,5-Diiodo-l-thyronine rapidly enhances mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rate and thermogenesis in rat skeletal muscle: AMP-activated protein kinase involvement | Endocrinology and Metabolism
I am afraid to write this because I know I’m going to get a barrage of women asking me if they are taking the right thyroid medication for them.
This is not an article about people who take thyroid medication prescribed to them by a doctor. Although It could be.
This article is for people that want to lose fat, and possibly gain strength, side effect free.
If you are on thyroid medication adding the CORRECT amount of T2 will only help you not hurt you.
Thyroid Hormone
When the thyroid gland releases hormones these hormones are referred to as “Thyroid Hormones”. T4 and T3 are the real names of the thyroid hormones. T4 is relatively inactive and is a prohormone to the active T3. For years people have used T3 to lose fat. From housewives to pro bodybuilders Cytomel, or the generic name T3, has been the drug of choice.
But science advances and there is a new thyroid hormone, T2. T2 has 2 Iodide atoms, T3 has 3, and T4 has 4. As the body removes these Iodide atoms from the hormone it becomes more active.
The thyroid hormone’s function within the body is to be a thermostat if you will, for the metabolism. They determine the speed which every cell operates. Increase your metabolism with T3 and you lose fat and muscle. Increase your metabolism with T2 and you lose fat and GAIN muscle.
T2: The Best Thyroid supplement
T2: The Best Thyroid supplement
T2
3,5 DIiodo-L-thyronine is the chemical name for T2. There is a 3,3 version but that is inactive, 3,5 is what you want. T2 is a supplement, as in it adds a thyroid hormone to your body. It is not a prohormone like T4 (synthroid). Unlike T4 or T3 it will not shut down natural T4 or T3 production. T2 functions very similar to T3 but unlike T3 it doesn’t burn muscle while it is burning fat. In fact T2 converts your slow twitch muscle fiber to fast twitch fibers!
T2 and Fat Loss
Most people use Thyroid medication for fat loss and thats what will be covered first.
In a study addressing T2’s ability to burn fat it was seen that T2 decreased weight from fat of rats fed with a high fat diet by 13% while the rats fed the same diet without T2 gained 13% mass, all fat. The control group had a normal diet and did not change in total body mass, fat or otherwise.
Best part is the visceral fat, the fat that kills, is half that in the T2 group than the high fat diet without the T2. And it is the same as the control. This means while on T2 rats gained no visceral fat while on the high fat diet. The livers of the T2 rats were darker in color as well indicating there was less fat in the liver.
In this same study it was shown that there were no negative consequences of 30 days of T2 use, that TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), Thyroid Releasing Hormone (TRH), heart size, heart rate, and all other markers were the same as the control group. The muscle mass was not reduced in the T2 tested group. This is different from studies on T3 which has shown a propensity of T3 to eat away at fast twitch fibers.
This means T2 is a thyroid supplement like the prescription T4 and T3 but without the side effects and more benefit according to these studies.
Muscle Fiber Types
Slow twitch fibers also called type I fibers are small and red. They contain myoglobin which stores oxygen, this is why they are called red fibers. The red fibers use oxygen and fat for energy and are the fibers used in aerobic (with air) exercise.
Fast twitch fibers are also called type II or white fibers. They are white because they are filled with glycogen, or starch. This is their prefered fuel source. These fibers are for strength and speed/power. These are the fibers which grow larger when you train them and give the muscular look.
Effect of T2 on Muscle Fiber Types
T2 decreases circulating triglyceride levels and stops fat depositing in the white and red muscle cells. Less fat in the muscle cells results in an increase muscle cell insulin sensitivity. This results in GLUT4 transporter expression which means more circulating amino acids, carbs, and creatine are absorbed by white muscle cells to make them grow bigger. This makes the red fibers smaller and the white fibers bigger, and eventually converts red fibers to white fibers!
The reason this is important is since T2 can convert a red fiber into a white fiber then it PERMANENTLY INCREASES THE MAXIMUM STRENGTH AND SIZE YOU CAN REACH. Read that again.
T2 alters your muscle fibers so there’s less fat stored in the red fibers (their fuel source) and more carbohydrates stored in the white fibers (their fuel source). It also increases the enzymes in the pathways to generate energy from these fuels, thus increasing the metabolism of the muscle to grow.
This means it not only will shift your fibers to the better type but it will dry out your muscles making them harder then swell them with glycogen making them bigger.
Last I checked the bigger and harder the better. THIS IS A FAT LOSS DRUG, THAT ALSO IMPROVES YOUR MUSCLE!!!
DOSING T2
The studies on rats had it dosed equivalent as T3 for suppressing high TSH down to a normal range. TSH would be elevated in a thyroid deficiency so this means that T2 is equivalent as T3 on a mg for mg basis for treating thyroid disorder.
T2 needed 4 times the dosage as T3 for elevating GH levels, so in this regard it is effective but not as effective as T3.
The half life of T2 is shorter than T3 at a mere 4-6 hrs. A good dosing protocol would be morning, noon, and 6 pm at the latest would be a good approach with average doses ranging from 150-600 mcg. I feel T3 is safe at doses of 25 mcg per day so i am surprised the T2 is dosed so high. Makes me think the street grade T2 is cut with something like rice flour. After plenty of feedback, I now suggest a dose of as low as 60mcg, which is what I use. the 150mg dose was to strong. (0.2 ml two times a day, not 0.5 and certainly not 2.0 ml)
T2 is the best legal non-prescription thyroid hormone, and perhaps better than T4 (Synthroid) or T3 (Cytomel).
References
Effect of 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine on thyroid stimulating hormone and growth hormone serum levels in hypothyroid rats. - PubMed - NCBI
3,5-Diiodo-l-thyronine prevents high-fat-diet-induced insulin resistance in rat skeletal muscle through metabolic and structural adaptations
http://www.fasebj.org/content/25/10/3312.full
http://www.fasebj.org/content/19/11/1552.short
3,5-Diiodo-l-thyronine rapidly enhances mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rate and thermogenesis in rat skeletal muscle: AMP-activated protein kinase involvement | Endocrinology and Metabolism
