[HEALTH] Aloe vera usually gets invited to the party to deal with sunburns, not thyroid hormones - but some researchers have been asking the question, “What else can this plant do?” One 2018 study had women with subclinical hypothyroidism from Hashimoto’s drink 50 mL of aloe juice each morning for nine months. Not gallons - literally a couple of sips.
Over that time, researchers documented measurable changes:
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TSH levels decreased significantly, moving many participants into normal thyroid function
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Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies dropped, indicating reduced autoimmune activity
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The control group showed no improvement, suggesting aloe wasn’t acting by coincidence or placebo
A 2022 in-vitro study helped explain the possible mechanism. Researchers found that aloe compounds can influence how thyroid cells express thyroid peroxidase (TPO) - an enzyme essential for the production of thyroid hormones - and reduce inflammatory activity within cells. This provides a biological rationale for the antibody and hormone improvements seen in the human study.
Larger human trials are needed to confirm whether aloe has consistent benefits and whether the effect applies to other thyroid conditions. The evidence so far makes it one of the more interesting candidates being studied in the hypothyroid and Hashimoto’s space.