# Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

Category: Hormones

Also known as: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, tsh, TSH

TSH itself can produce lipolysis, raising the level of circulating free fatty acids. This suggests that a high level of TSH could sometimes contribute to functional hypothyroidism, because of the antimetabolic effects of the unsaturated fatty acids

11 passages · 2 authors · 2009–2022 · Most-cited: [Ray Peat](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/ray-peat/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/thyroid-stimulating-hormone-tsh

## Synthesis

**Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)** is a pituitary hormone whose elevation Ray Peat considered not merely a marker of hypothyroidism but a direct *cause of tissue damage* and inflammation. [Source 3, 5] Peat argued that all of the known effects of TSH are harmful, recommending that blood levels be driven as close to zero as possible for optimal health. [Source 1, 7] He maintained that the conventional laboratory reference ranges for TSH are historically arbitrary, derived from a meaningless protein-bound iodine test that falsely established that only 5% of the population could be hypothyroid. [Source 1, 5] This statistical artifact was then applied to the more precise TSH immunoassay, leading doctors to ignore traditional diagnostic signs like low body temperature and metabolic rate. [Source 5, 9]

Peat detailed several direct pathogenic mechanisms of TSH. He noted that TSH itself can produce **lipolysis**, raising circulating free fatty acids, which suggests that a high TSH could contribute to functional hypothyroidism through the *antimetabolic effects of unsaturated fatty acids*. [Source 2] He further explained that TSH activates inflammatory systems, acting on the bone marrow, liver, and other tissues to increase inflammatory cytokines, making it a fundamental problem in hypothyroidism. [Source 3, 5] Peat specifically refuted the medical argument against suppressing TSH to protect bone density, explaining that TSH, like estrogen, increases **osteoprotegerin**, a protein that despite its name is associated with bone loss and the movement of calcium into soft tissues. [Source 7]

The elevation of TSH is often a response to dietary and hormonal interferences with thyroid function. Peat identified that chronic consumption of thyroid-blocking foods, such as raw cabbage-family vegetables or **polyunsaturated fats**, forces the pituitary to drive the thyroid gland harder to compensate, leading to nodule formation and enlargement. [Source 4, 9] He also noted that estrogen inhibits the liver's ability to convert thyroxine (T4) into the active T3 hormone, which explains why women have a much higher incidence of thyroid disease and why TSH can become elevated during times of estrogen imbalance like puberty or menopause. [Source 3, 4] Danny Roddy has synthesized this perspective, noting that TSH increases in stress and aging and that even a small increase can cause the formation of **mucopolysaccharides**, which are associated with the initial stages of pattern baldness. [Source 8]

Peat consistently cited epidemiological evidence to support a lower optimal range for TSH. He referenced a study finding that a population with a TSH of 0.4 and below had the lowest incidence of thyroid cancer, while another study associated a "normal" TSH of 1.5 to 3.5 with developing fatal coronary heart disease. [Source 6, 8, 10] From his own clinical observation, Peat stated he never saw a comfortably healthy person whose TSH was over 2.0, and that everyone he saw with a level of 4.5 had intense symptoms. [Source 8, 11] He cautioned that TSH is not a reliable standalone diagnostic tool because stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol can lower TSH, creating a misleading picture of thyroid status. [Source 10] Roddy has noted that the accepted normal range has been repeatedly revised downward over the decades, and that thyroid specialists at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco prefer a corrected level around 0.2. [Source 8]

## People also ask

### What direct harms did Peat attribute to TSH itself?

Peat argued TSH directly causes tissue damage by triggering lipolysis, which raises free fatty acids, and by activating inflammatory systems to increase cytokines, making it a fundamental problem in hypothyroidism rather than just a marker.

### Why did Peat believe standard TSH lab ranges are misleading?

Peat maintained that conventional TSH reference ranges are historically arbitrary, derived from a flawed protein-bound iodine test, and that stress hormones like adrenaline can lower TSH, masking true hypothyroidism.

### How can diet influence TSH levels according to this perspective?

The corpus describes how chronic consumption of thyroid-blocking foods like raw cabbage-family vegetables or polyunsaturated fats forces the pituitary to drive the thyroid harder, elevating TSH and potentially causing gland enlargement.

## Related concepts

- [Body temperature and pulse](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/body-temperature-and-pulse/index.md)
- [Essential fatty acids (EFA)](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/essential-fatty-acids-efa/index.md)
- [Hashimoto's Thyroiditis](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/hashimoto-s-thyroiditis/index.md)
- [Hyperthyroidism](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/hyperthyroidism/index.md)
- [Pregnenolone](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/pregnenolone/index.md)
- [Thyroid](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/thyroid/index.md)

## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — Interview with Raymond Peat, Ph.D.

Ray Peat · Interview · 2011 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/east-west-the-thyroid.mp4

> **Josh Rubin:** So it’s interesting, because a lot of doctors focus so much on TSH, and you’re saying don’t focus on TSH?
>
> **Ray Peat:** That was developed by the actual biological indicators that were developed in the 1930s. About 40% of the American population showed low metabolic rate associated with symptoms which were cured by giving thyroid, enough to bring their metabolic rate up. But in the late 1940s, the drug companies synthesized Thyroxine and they tested it on 25 year-old male medical students, and in these healthy young men, they said it worked just like Armour thyroid; it worked just like the thyroid hormone. And on the basis of that almost nonexistent evidence that it was equivalent to the thyroid hormone function, they began selling it. They were developing tests to diagnose who needed it, and they didn’t have tests to measure very small amounts of the actual hormone. So they measured protein-bound iodine, and it seemed that 95% of the population had enough protein-bound iodine. That idea came to be accepted as the “normal”. In the 1960s and 1970s, the immunoassays were developed that could actually measure the amount of thyroxine in the blood, and it turned out that protein-bound iodine didn’t have anything to do with thyroid function. But doctors had learned that the 95% of the population were not hypothyroid, so when they learned to measure thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), they applied the measurements to this meaningless doctrine — that only 5% of the population were hypothyroid. So it’s a good test, but the context and history have made it irrelevant to actual diagnosis.

### Source 2 — Glossary

Ray Peat · Glossary

> Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
>
> TSH itself can produce lipolysis, raising the level of circulating free fatty acids. This suggests that a high level of TSH could sometimes contribute to functional hypothyroidism, because of the antimetabolic effects of the unsaturated fatty acids

### Source 3 — Hashimotos Antibodies Temperature and Pulse KMUD 2013

Ray Peat · Interview · 2013

> **Ray Peat:** Yeah. It’s well established, lately, the last several years, that TSH itself causes many of the symptoms blamed on hypothyroidism; it acts on the bone marrow, and many other tissues ( the liver, producing, increasing the inflammatory cytokines chemicals). So, in itself it’s the basic problem with hypothyroidism, I think.
>
> **Herb Doctor:** You’ve always said that TSH in its own right is a chaperone for other inflammatory molecules. In a normal healthy person, it’s a good idea to try to get the TSH as close to zero as possible. Does TSH have any benefits, apart from stimulating the production, or release, of thyroid hormone ?
>
> **Ray Peat:** My newsletter on osteoporosis a couple of years ago, went over the arguments they’re using to say that it prevents osteoporosis. I think that the references that I give in there show that basically it’s just increasing the load of inflammation.
>
> **Herb Doctor:** Thyroxin is the main compound given to treat Hashimoto.
>
> **Ray Peat:** Yeah. If they give enough…there has been some studies in which the antibodies tend to disappear after about six months of keeping the TSH under control.

### Source 4 — One Radio Network: Ray Peat with Patrick Timpone — September 21, 2021

Ray Peat · Interview · Sep 21, 2021

> And it helps with sleep because it's anti-inflammatory? Yeah. Wow, that's pretty cool. Here's an email for you from Sharita. My daughter went to the gynecologist yesterday and the doctor saw right off that she had a lump on her thyroid. My daughter is very thin, exercises every day, is cold most of the time and her neck and ears have been bothering her. What is, Dr. P, think that this could be the cause, the lumps and what could she do to shrink it? Did she get blood tests? She doesn't say, Doc. When your TSH, thyroid-stimulating hormone, is chronically elevated because you have eaten thyroid-blocking foods, which could be polyunsaturated fats or too much cabbage or related vegetables containing thyroid suppressors. The TSH keeps driving your thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone to compensate for the toxins in your diet and that constant stimulation. For example, if you spend 40 years consuming iodized salt, the incidence of thyroid cancer is much higher. But the nodules are the first sign of something interfering with the function of your thyroid hormone, tending to keep your thyroid stimulating hormone elevated unnecessarily. The TSH keeps driving your thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormone to compensate for the toxins in your diet and that constant stimulation. Evidence of the thyroid being driven beyond its capacity, something, for example, estrogen inhibits the release of active hormone, but it doesn't inhibit the creation of the protein called thyroglobulin, which leads to the active hormone. So a high estrogen person, late teens or around menopause are the times that the estrogen can get out of balance. Those are the times when the thyroid very often enlarges in women, but sometimes instead of enlarging evenly, it's being interfered with in ways that......favor just a nodule formation. That would coincide with, often times, for low thyroid, some of the symptoms are often difficulty swallowing. So, because the thyroid is enlarging? Yeah, hoarseness, vocal problems, sometimes loss even of vocal ability to make speech sounds. And a scrapey, sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and so on. And you can pretty much see whether your own thyroid is enlarged.

### Source 5 — One Radio Network: Ray Peat with Patrick Timpone — April 18, 2022

Ray Peat · Interview · Apr 18, 2022

> **Ray Peat:** I've been attending to the TSH issue ever since it came into use. First, when Synthroid substituted for Armour thyroid, Armour had been the standard thyroid potency for about 50 years and then when synthetic thyroxine was developed a huge advertising campaign convinced doctors that the T3 they didn't know at the time that T3 was the only active thyroid hormone and so they said scientifically you should use the pure thyroxine not the random mix that you find in the armor thyroid and they used a blood test protein bound iodine and found that only 5% of the population was deficient in protein bound iodine And so they said almost no one needs a thyroid supplement, but when they need it, thyroxine should be the thing. And using the meaningless protein-bound iodine test all through the 1950s into the 1960s, they were saying almost no one needs a thyroid supplement. there was absolutely no biological basis for saying that protein bound to iodine had anything to do with your thyroid function. At that point, they were convinced that T4 thyroxine was the only scientific way to treat thyroid and that only 5% of the people might need it. And so they discovered, very precise ways of measuring TSH using radioimmunoassay. And so they picked out the 5% of the population who had the highest TSH and said that's the number that is justified to give thyroxine to. But it was an entirely phony based on a meaningless test that that 5% of TSH was established. So ever since 1960s, that has been refined, discouraging, literally telling doctors to ignore all of the traditional signs of hypothyroidism, to ignore body temperature, all of the signs like falling hair and... problems maintaining the weight, either being too thin or too fat. Ignore all of those. Go only by TSH. But without looking at the history of it, it might sound scientific in some way, but it's totally irrational.

### Source 6 — Life Supporting Substances Its Rain Making Time 2011 07 04

Ray Peat · Interview · Jul 4, 2011 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/rarinmaking-time-life-supporting-substances.mp4

> **Ray Peat:** Well, first the whole idea of a free hormone, it means something. But when you start applying it as if it was really a physical reality, people get confused and start thinking about membranes, and barriers, and things that don't really have anything to do with reality. But the tests that they call “the free T3 test” does correspond fairly well to functions. But I just don't pay much attention to it, because the function is what you should be attending to, rather than a blood test that, even though it's right 90% of the time, sometimes it isn't right because other things are interfering. To interpret the free T3 you still have to really know what the reverse T3 is, because that can interfere with it. And high T4, in itself, can interfere, at a certain point, with the T3 (they can compete for the same functions). And of the blood tests that people ordinarily do, I think the TSH is useful. I pretty much go by a study that found that a population that had the lowest incidence of thyroid cancer had a TSH of 0.4 and below (where people are often still claiming that if you have a 2.0 TSH you're normal). But I think there is good evidence that health improves when you lower the TSH, down to somewhere in that range (less than 0.4).

### Source 7 — Interview with Raymond Peat, Ph.D.

Ray Peat · Interview · 2011 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/east-west-the-thyroid.mp4

> **Ray Peat:** Yeah, I don't recommend it as a way to diagnose hypothyroidism, but I do recommend if you’re looking at a blood test, I would recommend having as close to zero TSH as you can get, because all of the known effects of TSH are really harmful in some way. The main reason doctors are giving currently for not wanting to suppress TSH, is they think because TSH reduces the turnover indicators of bone and this idea developed as a way to sell estrogen. Estrogen was never shown to increase bone growth in humans, but it did stop the osteoclast function, so it reduced bone turnover, and so they said this is evidence that estrogen is preventing osteoporosis, because it stops the breakdown of bone. And since TSH also stops the osteoclasts and the turnover of bone, doctors said “If we suppress it, that will cause osteoporosis.” But in fact, it's the indicators that were used to argue that estrogen was protecting the bones. They named the protein osteoprotegerin meaning “bone protecting protein”, and for several years, they were using that as a way to sell estrogen and other drugs that would increase it, but pretty soon it turned out that osteoprotegerin is closely associated with bone loss, osteoporosis, osteopenia and calcification of the soft tissues. And it turns out that thyrotropin (TSH), like estrogen, increases osteoprotegrin, increases the movement of calcium into your arteries and heart and out of the bones. So the main argument doctors have for keeping your TSH up to not below one is often what they say but their very evidence is the opposite of what they think it is.

### Source 8 — [4/4] The Male Pattern Baldness Myth - Safe Supplements

Danny Roddy · Interview · Aug 3, 2015 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuCcAwKnA7Y

> Likewise, the pulse may drop after breakfast if the metabolism was being maintained by both cortisol and adrenaline. An excess of adrenaline is often associated with cold hands, feet, and nose, and feelings of anxiety and clear urine. So before taking a thyroid supplement, measure your thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. The pituitary hormone thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH is sometimes referred to as the gold standard in evaluating thyroid function. This is ironic as the TSH test has gone through a lot of changes over the years. While 7.0 microinternational units per milliliter was considered normal at one point, years later the cutoff was 6.4. Still later, the cutoff was moved to 5.5 and then 4.2. While taking a thyroid supplement, some doctors prefer the lower limit of TSH to be 1.0, while some others are comfortable with 0.5. Thyroid specialists in the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco like to see the corrected level around 0.2. which is slightly below the normal range of 0.3 to 3.0. Regardless of lab values, it's helpful to think about any given hormone in context. Pituitary hormone like TSH increases in stress and aging and tends to interfere with efficient respiratory energy promoted by thyroid hormone by liberating free fatty acids and decreasing the rate of metabolism. The currently accepted range of 0.3 to 3.0 seems to be too lenient, however. For example, one study found that normal TSH of 1.5 to 3.5 was associated with developing fatal coronary heart disease. Another study found that TSH under 0.4 was associated with the most freedom from thyroid cancer. In animals, a small increase in TSH can cause mucopolysaccharides to form. If you recall from week number two and three, the formation of mucopolysaccharides is associated with initial stages of pattern baldness. Dr. Peat has said, over a period of several years, I never saw a person whose TSH was over two micro international units per milliliter who was comfortably healthy. And I formed the impression that the normal or healthy quantity was probably something less than one.

### Source 9 — Herb Doctors: Thyroid, Polyunsaturated Fats And Oilsnew

Ray Peat · Interview · Apr 1, 2009 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/herb-doctors-thyroid-polyunsaturated-fats-and-oils-new-56-mins.mp4

> **Sarah Johannesen Murray:** And what about the TSH that’s used today. Do you think that’s relevant?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Yeah. When the protein-bound iodine test was thrown out, they looked for other tests which conveniently proved to be even more expensive than the protein-bound iodine. And that, finally, has settled in on the TSH test as a favored one, and they can measure it very precisely. But it just isn’t – it isn’t clear what it means in many cases because other things can raise it or lower it other than the absence or excess of the thyroid hormone.
>
> **Sarah Johannesen Murray:** So if someone is low thyroid or is not low thyroid, they can have varying levels of this TSH, which the doctors are saying is thyroid stimulating hormone, but which you are suggesting – and other scientists are suggesting – doesn’t really relate specifically to thyroid.
>
> **Ray Peat:** That’s true. It has some bad side effects. It promotes inflammation in itself, so low thyroid people not only lack the metabolic energy, but they tend very often to have very high TSH levels and the TSH is causing some tissue damage chronically.

### Source 10 — One Radio Network: Oxygen Saturation, Lactic Acid, Thyroid, Vaccines, PUFAs

Ray Peat · Interview · Jan 20, 2020

> ## Thyroid Health and TSH
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** If people are working with a doctor and using TSH numbers, are they on solid ground?
>
> **Ray Peat:** No. I keep seeing people being diagnosed exclusively on the basis of their TSH. You have to look at the whole metabolism and how many calories they are eating. You can't be hyperthyroid and maintain your body weight on 1800 calories a day. I keep seeing people treated for years with a thyroid suppressive drug when their metabolic rate is already too slow. Stress hormones will lower the TSH, so it looks like you are hypothyroid, but you are really just under stress. Looking at large populations, one study found that people with a TSH of 0.4 and below were free of thyroid cancer. As their TSH went up, so did the incidence of thyroid cancer.

### Source 11 — One Radio Network: The True Nature of a Virus (September 21, 2020)

Ray Peat · Interview · Sep 21, 2020

> **Patrick Timpone:** The Unsuspected Illness. And that really lays it out.
>
> **Ray Peat:** Another book is Solved, The Riddle of Heart Attacks. He gave almost all of his patients the thyroid that he thought they needed. And in his whole career, he never had a patient die of heart disease. He said statistically there should have been several hundred of them, but that's why he called it solved the riddle of heart attacks.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** just by getting their TSH and their body temperature, everything in balance.
>
> **Ray Peat:** Yeah, the higher the TSH is, the more inflamed your circulatory system is. It throws your immune system out of whack. And the lower your TSH is, the happier your immune and circulatory systems are.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** And in this emailer's case, so a 4.5 is a little bit high?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Oh, I've never seen a very healthy person whose TSH was even 2 or above.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** Really? Wow.
>
> **Ray Peat:** And everyone I've seen with 4.5 has pretty intense symptoms.
>
> **Patrick Timpone:** So then she could start easily at 30 and then work her way up like you just talked her through, right? Yeah. Pretty safely.

_Generated 2026-07-20 from the Bioenergetic Oracle corpus._