Endo/Ectos - Hypothyroid?

[Warrior]

I was doin' some searches on somotypes and thyroid hormones on the Net and came up with some interesting stuff from R. M. Alford, M.D... for the record, I was not sure where to put this thread... but I figured it would be good info for people considering T3/T4 use... according to Alford it sounds like Ectos and Endos would benefit from some sort of hypothyroid treatment...

"What are the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism? Usually the hypothyroid patient is characterized as being slow, dull, obese with dry skin, requiring a lot of sleep. The patient may also be of the opposite extreme. Coldness is the most prominent and absolute symptom, a result of the decreased metabolic rate. If a patient's hands are cold or cool in an inappropriate setting, that patient is hypothyroid. Hypothyroid patients may be overweight or underweight; have dry or oily skin with acne in the latter instance; have dry or oily hair that may be fine or coarse; have reduced intelligence or be very intelligent; have insomnia or hypersomnia; have constipation or spastic gut; bradycardia or tachycardia; absence of sweating or hyperhidrosis; and any of the following diseases."

"Finally, why is such a high percentage, well over ninety percent, of our population relatively hypothyroid? The continental US is practically devoid of iodine, essential for the production of thyroid. When our ancestors started across the continent and left their source of iodine behind, they soon became relatively hypothyroid, the women suffering most because they had to share their meager supply with each succeeding child, and they usually had large families. With each pregnancy, mothers became more deficient and each succeeding child also became more deficient. The larger the families, the faster the incidence of hypothyroidism progressed. As a result, each generation has become more deficient. This explains why the inner city poor of all nationalities have the greater deficiency with their history of large families. The supplementation with iodine only slowed the progression of hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism and the incidence of its progression can only be successfully treated with thyroid hormone."

"All individuals with normal thyroid function will be mesomorph or of a muscular habitus. This would indicate that both the ectomorph and the endomorph are hypothyroid. Muscle tissue is heavy compared to fat tissue. The latest tables released for optimal weights would seem to be slanted toward the ectomorph, certainly not for a muscular individual, whom should be the ideal for determining optimal weights. The enhanced muscularity does not just apply to the visible musculature, but also to the heart and muscles in the other organs. The optimal perfusion of all body parts will also ensure that muscles present will have optimal function and endurance."

"Being too heavy as well as being too thin are both health problems. A true euthyroid is always a mesomorph. The ideal level of body fat is in a range of about 10-17%. Less than 10% body fat can be just as much a life threatening problem as obesity. The use of the appropriate thyroid will assist in weight loss for the obese along with dieting, but is not a panacea. It takes work and dedication, but with weight loss, such individuals will have an increased sense of well-being with an increased incentive to keep it off. Weight loss may seem slow in the early stages because of a concomitant weight gain in the form of increased muscle mass. They need to follow their measurements to show that there is a loss of fat. The ectomorph will have fewer problems. Thyroid seems to work in their case by assisting in better assimilation and utilization of food with a relief of the hyperkinesis seen in many of them. They also do better as they develop an insulating layer of fat."

[Warrior]

Weird ---> "It has long been known that a child born without a thyroid gland will have no intelligence unless supplemented early with thyroid. A cretin, a child with limited thyroid function, will only have an intelligence level relative to the degree of thyroid deficiency unless supplemented early.

"It would then seem logical that thyroid deficiency would lead to a universal relative deficiency of intelligence. This is not the case. A very high percentage of very intelligent individuals today have relative degrees of hypothyroidism. After years of observation, it would appear that those intelligent individuals with the more normal thyroid function are smarter. That is, they have more common sense, probably related to more normal brain perfusion and production of serotonin. The euthyroid brain is like a perfectly operating computer, able to function faster and solve more complicated problems with greater storage capability. It is reported that the brain begins losing brain cells steadily from the time of birth. Better perfusion and oxygenation should slow the process. The higher blood sugar levels found in patients taking thyroid would seem to indicate that the core organs, especially the brain function better with higher glucose levels."

[OTC]

Damn good read as always Warrior, however I'm not quite sure every ectomorph, myself included, is hypothyroid. Although, it kinda makes me wanna get a thyroid profile run just to see! Anyone on the forum currently on thyroid stimulating drugs for their hypothyroidism?
On another note I am pretty sure all salt in the cont. U.S. are supplemented with Iodine, but countries like India are another story.
-OTC

[Warrior]

Yeah - I would deffinitly like to hear from some of our endos and ectos who have had their thyroid levels checked and compare results. For that matter - it would be nice to see what the levels of our true mesos are too. I think it was a very bold statement saying "A true euthyroid is always a mesomorph" - words like "always" aren't used very lightly by medical professionals...

I am an endo-meso - I have always put on weight pretty easily but never really had deep cuts and garden hose viens... lean weight gains are usually accompanied by fat mass... even with a good diet (never really eat junk anyway) and routine for fat loss. I started thyroxine (T4) recently. Probably work up to about 400mcg per day (starting at 150mcg) and then come down... and then off and get a blood profile done once I am off everything.

[motoxxxguy]

This is very interesting. Thanks Warrior. I am beginning to look at the effects of different thyroid drugs like T3 and T4 for my next cutting cycle. I want to learn more about this, as my mother and her mother have Grave's Disease, a disease that causes severe hyperthyroidism. I will be getting a thyroid profile done sometime soon. I would like to see where I fall on this scale as well, as I consider myself an ecto-mesomorph. I'll be sure to post my results when I get the tests done.

-moto

[Billy_Bathgate]

It it interesting, but I think it goes beyong just the thyroid and extends throught the entire HTPA. Notably, more obese men, hypothyroidic or ectomorph as this article would probally label them, also have a higher frequency of estrogen related fat patterns and slight gyno.

I think it woudl be interesting to see the testosterone and estrogen levels throughout a population for different body types and see the correlation to this. Actually, I proposed to do a thesis on this with mice, but got rejected my junior year lol.

I dont understand why they didnt mention hyperthyroidism, but yet concluded ectomorphs as being hypothyroidic.

[OTC]

The more I thought about this, the more I speculate. Is it really possible that there are this many undiagnosed cases of hypothyroidism, mainly those being ecto/endo's? I think it would be safe to assume that there are a ton of them out there, making up a large percentage of our population. I know for me, I am usually tired, prolly to the point where I could always take a nap, but that is really the only symptom I would consider relative to me being hypothyroid.
-OTC

[Warrior]

Billy_Bathgate - that was the biggest thing that shocked me here too. He doesn't really refer to hyperthyroidism at all... and I had always concluded that an ectomorph would fall within that category - certainly not hypo... You can slow a person's thyroid activity by giving them a replacement does at normal values. But again - he seems to think an ecto is hypo instead of hyper...

BTW - I linked the doc's name to the entire article in my first post... but here is part of his explanation for the ectos being hypo (from the "Weight Problems" section)... "Thyroid seems to work in their [ectomorphs] case by assisting in better assimilation and utilization of food with a relief of the hyperkinesis seen in many of them. They also do better as they develop an insulating layer of fat."

[Warrior]

BTW - BUMP for some of you who have had blood tests. Post your thyroid stats and your somotype. Lets see what the trend actually is...