Want to know exactly what you are taking when you take Armour Thyroid?
If so, you’re in the right place.
As a thyroid patient, you need to be aware that while you may need thyroid hormone to survive and thrive, you don’t always want all of the extra baggage that comes along with these medications.
For this reason, it’s always preferred to use what I refer to as clean thyroid medications.
These are medications that contain the fewest inactive fillers, binders, and dyes, which means they provide you with the real ingredients that you want and need: thyroid hormones.
Let’s talk about the ingredients found in Armour Thyroid and see how it compares to other thyroid medications.
Inactive and Active Ingredients In Armour Thyroid
All thyroid medications contain a combination of active ingredients and inactive ingredients.
Active ingredients are those ingredients that actually provide the benefit of the medication.
In the case of thyroid medications, they are the active thyroid hormones.
The inactive ingredients are really there to stabilize the active ingredients, assist with absorption, and assist in the manufacturing process.
Unfortunately, as a thyroid patient, you can react to a combination of the active ingredients, the inactive ingredients, or both.
For this reason, it’s actually quite important to be aware of the ingredient profile of whatever thyroid medication you are taking.
If you understand the ingredient profile then you can make educated guesses about why a certain thyroid medication does or doesn’t work for you.
And you can opt to avoid ingredients that crossover between different thyroid medications.
With this information in mind, let’s talk about the active ingredients in Armour thyroid:
Active Ingredients in Armour Thyroid
There are multiple active ingredients found in Armour thyroid but only two are standardized.
I’ll explain more about what that means in just a second but, for now, here are the active ingredients (1):
- Liothyronine (T3 thyroid hormone)
- Levothyroxine (T4 thyroid hormone)
Each grain of Armour thyroid contains 38 mcg of T4 (levothyroxine) and 9 mcg of T3 (liothyronine).
These two compounds are thyroid hormones and are standardized to be the same in each lot of thyroid hormone.
Standardized just means that tweaks are made to the final product to ensure that the dosing remains the same from dose to dose and lot to lot.
This is important because you have to remember where Armour Thyroid comes from:
The thyroid gland of pigs.
You can easily imagine that not all pigs are the same. Some are larger, some are smaller, some are more metabolically active than others, some are older, some are younger, etc.
Each of these factors will influence how much thyroid hormone is found in the thyroid gland of the pig it was extracted from.
To ensure that this doesn’t cause fluctuations in Armour Thyroid dosing, the T4 and T3 thyroid hormone doses are standardized in every lot.
This ensures that no matter which pharmacy you get your Armour Thyroid from, you’re getting the dose that’s on the bottle.
As I mentioned, there are other active ingredients found in Armour thyroid that are not standardized.
These non-standardized ingredients include:
- T2 thyroid hormone (2)
- T1 thyroid hormone
- Calcitonin (3)
- Iodine
We can safely assume that each dose of Armour Thyroid contains some of these additional hormones because these hormones are naturally occurring in the thyroid gland.
The difference between these hormones and T4 and T3 is that they are non-standardized.
This means while they are likely in each dose of Armour Thyroid, we don’t actually know how much each grain contains.
This is one major downfall of Armour Thyroid and one reason that I believe this medication is inconsistent in terms of how it’s tolerated by thyroid patients.
We know, for instance, that T2 is a powerful thyroid hormone and definitely exerts an effect on the body.
And it’s very possible that these additional hormones are part of the reason why Armour Thyroid can be so effective for some thyroid patients.
But because these ingredients are non-standardized, it’s possible (and likely) that certain lots contain more of these ingredients than others.
For this reason, you may see variability in terms of how different lots of Armour Thyroid impact your overall health.
This limitation can be solved by just adding an additional T2 thyroid hormone to your dose of Armour Thyroid by using a supplement such as this.
Additional T2 in supplement form allows for you to standardize the dose outside of Armour Thyroid and obtain the benefits mentioned previously.
Inactive Ingredients Found In Armour
In addition to the standardized and non-standardized ingredients found in Armour, you’ll also be getting several inactive ingredients.
Here’s a list of these ingredients and why each one is included:
- Calcium stearate: Calcium stearate acts as a lubricant or a flow agent (4). This ingredient is included more for manufacturing than for your benefit. Flow agents help prevent the ingredients in medications from sticking together or for caking. Another common lubricant used in the manufacturing of supplements is magnesium stearate. There are substitutes for these flow agents that are more natural, but, it’s not always the case that they can be removed from the manufacturing process. As far as supplements go, I’ve switched my supplements over to using a rice concentrate known as Nu-Flow instead of magnesium stearate. I’m not sure if this is on the radar of these pharmaceutical companies, but this is one place where the formula for Armour could be improved.
- Dextrose: Dextrose is used in the pharmaceutical industry as a binder. Its purpose is to help bind together powders to create a tablet. Dextrose is commonly sourced from corn, wheat, or rice, which means it may not be ideal for people trying to avoid these parent ingredients. It’s been reported that some people with corn allergy may see issues if they take dextrose but the data is inconsistent. And even though dextrose may be derived from wheat, it is still considered gluten-free. Even though dextrose is a form of sugar, it’s very unlikely to cause issues with blood sugar if you have an existing condition like diabetes or insulin resistance.
- Microcrystalline cellulose: Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is really just wood pulp and is primarily used as a filler or dry binder. Because the dosing of active thyroid ingredients exists in mcg doses, additional ingredients are needed to build up the dose to an amount that can fit into a tablet. When used in medications and supplements, MCC is non-absorbed and eliminated from the GI tract after processing (5).
- Sodium starch glycolate: This ingredient is used to promote the rapid absorption of the active ingredients by assisting in the dissolving process (6). Because of issues in the absorption of thyroid medication and the need to get the medication absorbed into your body as quickly as possible, theoretically, the addition of this ingredient does make a lot of sense. Having said that, we know that some medications are absorbed rapidly and they don’t include this particular ingredient (such as Tirosint). Another downside potential downside is that it’s sourced from rice, potato, wheat, or corn which means it has the potential to cause issues for certain individuals.
- Opadry white: Opadry white is a combination of ingredients used to coat tablets and provide them with a nice-looking finish. It’s difficult to find information on this ingredient and its contents so I can’t say very much here but what I can tell you is that it doesn’t appear that this ingredient serves a functional purpose but more of an aesthetic one.
Even though each dose of Armour contains a very small amount of these ingredients, don’t be fooled into thinking they won’t have an effect on your body.
Time and time again I’ve seen thyroid patients respond negatively to these ingredients, even in very small amounts.
The biggest offenders include dextrose, calcium stearate, sodium starch glycolate, and likely Opadry white.
If you are having trouble feeling well on Armour thyroid then here’s where you want to look:
Armour Thyroid Not Working? Here’s Why
Like any other thyroid medication, there will be some people who respond to Armour and some who do not.
If you are someone who is what I would consider a non-responder (meaning you’re taking the medication and not seeing any improvement), here are a few things to consider:
- Are you compliant with your medication? If you want your thyroid medication to work then you must be taking it correctly! Part of that is taking your medication at the same time each and every day. You can’t say your thyroid medication is working if you aren’t taking it consistently. This usually isn’t a big deal for most people but there are some who don’t realize how important it is to not miss a single dose if you can help it.
- Are you actually absorbing it? The next place to look is inside your GI tract. You could be taking your thyroid medication by mouth faithfully every day but it won’t do you much good if it doesn’t make it isn’t getting absorbed into your body through your intestinal lining. This is actually a fairly common issue for thyroid patients due to interactions with inactive ingredients or due to problems from damage to the gut lining from inflammation. Improving the overall health of your gut with the use of dietary changes and supplements like probiotics may help increase the effectiveness of your Armour Thyroid by improving its absorption.
- Is it being eliminated in your stool? Going back to the issue of absorption, it’s estimated that roughly 48 to 79% of your dose of thyroid medication may actually get absorbed based on many different factors. If your Armour isn’t getting absorbed it will be simply eliminated in your stool and it won’t have any impact on your body. This is why it’s so important to take your medication as intended, away from food, away from other supplements, away from other medications, and away from coffee, to ensure that you can limit how much is being eliminated in your stool.
- Are you using all of the active ingredients? After the ingredients in your thyroid medication get absorbed into your body, they still need to be converted in order to work on your cells. This process is known as T4 to T3 conversion and it’s the process that your body uses to activate T4. Problems in this conversion process can be due to genetics (or other issues) which may reduce the effectiveness of your medication. You can treat these problems naturally or by changing your thyroid medication.
- Are you resistant to thyroid hormone? You can be doing everything right including taking your thyroid medication faithfully, absorbing it fully, and even converting it adequately, but still experience issues due to thyroid hormone resistance. This resistance syndrome can prevent your cells from seeing thyroid hormone and from properly using it. This condition is more common than you might think and you can learn more about it here.
- Are other medications interfering with your medication? Finally, you should be aware that many additional prescription medications can interfere with the ingredients found in Armour Thyroid. Even if you take your thyroid medication away from these other medications, they can still cause problems by influencing thyroid-binding proteins. You can see a list of many other prescription medications and how they impact thyroid medications here.
Recap & Final Thoughts
Armour Thyroid is an overall solid thyroid medication that contains many additional active ingredients compared to other more popular thyroid medications like levothyroxine.
Problems that exist with the use of Armour Thyroid most often stem from its inactive ingredient profile or from complications relating to its absorption and activation in the GI tract.
While it’s not the cleanest thyroid medication on the market (that honor goes to Tirosint-Sol), it’s still a solid option for many thyroid patients.
Now I want to hear from you:
Did any of the ingredients listed here surprise you?
Are you currently taking Armour Thyroid? If so, how is it working for you?
If not, are you thinking about taking it after this?
If it’s not working, why do you think that’s the case?
Leave your questions or comments below!
Scientific References
#1. rxabbvie.com/pdf/armour_thyroid_pi.pdf
#2. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9343306/
#3. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537269/
#4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20080179/
#5. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7393347/
#6. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12229266/
Is there a big difference between taking 60 mg of Armour Thyroid or Nature Thyroid and taking 65 mg of Raw Desicated Thyroid Glandular from Bovine Thyroid? I actually take Armour in the morning and the Bovine Thyroid Glandular 6 or 7 hours later in the day.
Thank you for all your helpful articles and for your Thyroid bundle I have been using for 6 months now! I love them!
Thanks again, Barbara Monahan
Hi Barbara,
Thyroid glandulars, depending on where you get them from, shouldn’t have any thyroid hormones unlike Armour thyroid and Nature-throid which do.
My doctor did see my TSH was .023 and said I was over medicated. He insisted on lowering it . New doctor in rural community. I don’t have many options without driving for hours. After 3 months I asked for all the test you recommended. I have the results and it appears I’m pooling. I’ve been taking Armour at different doses for over 5 years. After spending extensive time reading your resources and other blogs, I have gained valuable knowledge. The one thing no one advises, is how to talk to your doctor and what do you ask for? I’m confident he will be open to the conversation, but I don’t know (except for increasing again) what to ask for to move All my numbers in the right direction. I get the jest of adding supplements and cleaner eating habits. I just feel I need to be prepared with a better plan to speak to the doctor. I have 15 minutes to convince my doctor to change my medication (but to what??) or 3 more months of not feeling well and then more expensive tests.
Your information has been the most helpful of all that I’ve read
Hi Lori,
I would recommend reading this article which explains how to talk to your doctor about your thyroid: https://www.restartmed.com/ways-to-get-your-doctor-to-work-with-you-on-your-thyroid/
Hello Dr.
I’m taking Armour thyroid almost 20 years. I’m taking currently at 75 mg. My Lab test is show within the range, but sometimes I feel something is off. I spent sometime to read the information on your website which is very helpful and I came across T2 hormone. Would you recommend to take T2 in addition to my medication.
Thank you in advance for your response
Mike
Hi Mike,
I can’t provide personal medical advice, but I can tell you that many people who don’t feel well just on levothyroxine see an improvement in their symptoms when adding additional thyroid hormones like T2 and T3.
For many years I took Armour thyroid without any issues; then, about the time the smell was reduced the manufacturers added Opadry white as a coating to the tablet. Gradually thereafter I began to need more thyroid and not to feel as well as previously. It was hard to discover why. One time I was running short of the larger size tablet so I took several of the smaller sized ones–this went on for over a week–then my skin broke out in a rash. I already know I’m allergic to dairy and artificial colors, so I assumed that the newer ingredient Opadry white might be the cause. In any case, it was no longer possible to use Armour, so I switched to NP. I had no rash and over time became stabilized. I also discovered that crushing and slowly dissolving the NP tablet in my mouth gave me a much better response and my low thyroid numbers began again to be normal. NP has a pleasant meaty taste and no smell; I once accidentally chewed an Armour thyroid tablet, and it wasn’t a pleasant taste at all. Hope this helps. Had I not run out of the larger size tablet, I might never have been able to make the connection.
Hello, do you have any idea what is used to provide the “beige” color of the 180 mcg tablet? I have Celiac Disease and experience symptoms after taking the tablet every morning. Im wondering if it isn’t barely malt. I have used Armour for @ 40 years and it hasn’t always been like this. Thank you.
Hi Rebecca,
There are no stated differences in ingredients for the various strengths of Armour Thyroid but you can always call the manufacturer to get more information if you’re concerned: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=56b41079-60db-4256-9695-202b3a65d13d
As far as changes to the formula go, Armour is notorious for swapping out the sourcing for the same ingredients leading to changes in how it’s tolerated among thyroid patients. This is one of the biggest downsides to using NDT formulations, unfortunately.
Hi Dr. Childs,
Re Opadry white: “It’s difficult to find information on this ingredient.” Because of how Google has changed to using AI now, you can get the ingredient info for Opadry white right away now and update your post here. And it’s frankly very concerning stuff imo. I hate it.
That disgusting and undesirable additive was imposed because people are selfish foolish cry babies, and a pharma whale that gobbled up the original maker and hugely jacked up the price is happy to oblige.
When I started taking Armour over 20 years ago it was great. It had a nice golden color, and a nice natural pungent smell that really conveyed a sense of being natural and the way it should be. But *only some* people were cranky and upset about the smell (personally I loved it), and not just patients, but one of my pharmacists was really bent about it and frequently bashed it, so I’m guessing there were probably more of them.
Now I’m very concerned about all the new inactive ingredients (I’m still on it, long story). NP Thyroid isn’t much better, and apparently WP Thyroid can’t even be obtained anymore (that was a good one for ingredients).
But wait, Dr. Childs – there’s more! More to file under, what on earth is going on, explain it to me like I’ve five:
When you get thyroid med, they always tell you (if they tell you) to make sure to avoid calcium (including in food/drink) because it binds up the hormone.
So then someone explain this madness to me: for both Armour and NP, one of the inactive ingredients is Calcium Stearate.
And when you do a search, sure enough calcium stearate is mentioned as a form of calcium that interferes with thyroid hormone. So how insane is that?
I subscribe to your YT channel and have tried one of your products too (different email, undercover commenter here). You do great valuable work from what I’ve seen, so I appreciate that.
Best,
John
When I first started thyroid medication I was put on Nature-thyroid, I felt amazing! Then they quit making it and put me on either Armour or NP and I’ve felt horrible ever since. What is the difference? Just the fillers? Would having it compounded be better or go compounded synthetic?
If getting it compounded is something convenient for you then at this point I would recommend doing so.
See my comment just before yours. They add calcium to Armour now – one of the very things you’re supposed to avoid consuming at the same time as thyroid meds. They’ve just piled on more and more additives.
Exactly what I doing with no reactive fillers. Fingers crossed
To answer your other question – no, not the synthetic. Get compounded NDT. T4-only is a huge risk. Your body may not be able to use it well, so it’s better to have some T3 also coming in. And try including the T2 supplement too.
Okay back to Opadry White.
I happened to be a YT subscriber and even a Restart Medical customer, but the only reason I found this post to begin with was because I was in the process of searching on the ingredients. When this post appeared naturally I wanted to come here to check it out.
One of the searches I was doing was along the lines of “What are the ingredients of opadry white.”
I don’t know why whatever search Dr. Childs did yielded nothing and he had to say it was difficult to find info on it, but when I did the search, the relatively new AI mode immediately gave up the goods. He’s what it says now for example:
“Opadry White’s ingredients include hypromellose, titanium dioxide (for color and opacity), and macrogol/PEG (polyethylene glycol), which acts as a plasticizer. Specific formulations, like Opadry II White, may also contain polyvinyl alcohol, talc, and lecithin, while other Opadry White variants like Ys-1-7068 can include hydroxypropyl cellulose or lactose monohydrate.
Common Ingredients in Opadry White:
Hypromellose (HPMC): A polymer that forms the film and provides a smooth finish.
Titanium Dioxide (TiO2): A white pigment that provides opacity and color.
Macrogol/PEG (Polyethylene Glycol): A plasticizer that helps to make the film flexible and non-brittle.
Ingredients in Specific Opadry White Formulations:
Opadry II White:
.
This variant contains hypromellose, titanium dioxide, and macrogol, along with polyvinyl alcohol, talc, and lecithin (soy).
Opadry White Ys-1-7000:
.
Contains hypromellose, titanium dioxide, and macrogol.
Opadry White Ys-1-7068:
.
Contains hypromellose, titanium dioxide, macrogol, and hydroxypropyl cellulose.
Opadry White 13B58894:
.
Contains hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400, polysorbate 80, and titanium dioxide.”
You can also “dig deeper” there.
For starters, two points of concern stand out to me, the titanium dioxide and the polyethylene glycol. Leading to searches such as this:
“What are the potential harmful side effects of consuming titanium dioxide” (and also for the polyethylene glycol).
The titanium dioxide search is more concerning, yielding this:
“Consuming titanium dioxide may cause DNA damage, which can lead to cancer, and potentially harm the immune and nervous systems. Animal studies have shown it can induce oxidative stress, inflammation, and lung cancer, though researchers note these results are difficult to apply directly to humans. The European Union banned titanium dioxide in food in 2022 due to these safety concerns, though it is still permitted in food in the U.S.
Potential Health Effects
Genotoxicity and Cancer:
Studies, particularly those involving nanoparticles of titanium dioxide, suggest it may cause damage to DNA, a mechanism linked to cancer development.
Immune System Effects:
Exposure to titanium dioxide has been linked to immunotoxicity, suggesting potential harm to the immune system.
Nervous System Effects:
There is evidence that titanium dioxide may act as a neurotoxin, potentially affecting the nervous system.
Organ Accumulation:
The particles can accumulate in the body, particularly in the liver, and may persist in organs over time.
Oxidative Stress and Inflammation:
Toxicological studies show that titanium dioxide can induce oxidative stress and inflammation, which contribute to cell damage.
Intestinal Effects:
Animal studies have shown adverse effects, such as intestinal lesions, from titanium dioxide exposure.
Regulatory Status
European Union:
.
The EU banned the use of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive in 2022, based on safety concerns.
United States:
.
The FDA currently still allows its use in food. However, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have petitioned the FDA to review and ban it, citing potential risks.
What You Can Do
Check Labels:
Look for titanium dioxide (or E171) listed in the ingredients of processed foods, especially candies and snacks, though it can also be listed under “color added” or “artificial color”.
Avoid Processed Foods:
As titanium dioxide is commonly used in processed foods, avoiding them can help reduce your intake.
Stay Informed:
Keep up-to-date on ongoing reviews and regulatory changes regarding titanium dioxide’s safety as a food additive.”
One of the search results also says this:
“Animal studies show exposure to titanium dioxide is linked to immunotoxicity, inflammation and neurotoxicity.”
And it happens that I had a hunch the titanium dioxide might be a problem for some of that too. Banned in Europe, still forced on people here.
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing. Back when I originally wrote this article, less information was available.
Hi Dr. Childs,
I’m sure you are aware of the BIG to-do about NDTs. On August 6, 2025 the FDA firmly decided to remove all NDTs from the market. What makes this especially scary is the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that George Tidmarsh, a Stanford University adjunct professor and biotech industry veteran, will lead its drug center.
On 21 July, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary notified staff in an email reviewed by Focus that Tidmarsh has been appointed director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). He touted Tidmarsh’s more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology, clinical medicine, and regulatory science.
This is what Tidmarsh has to say about NDTs
Tidmarsh has been critical of desiccated thyroid extract, an unapproved drug that was first used to treat hypothyroidism in the 19th century.
“The new FDA needs to remove harmful, useless drugs from the market,” said Tidmarsh on LinkedIn. “Let’s start with desiccated thyroid extract.”
“An unapproved, crude pig tissue extract that is proven worse than synthetic thyroid hormone and harmful,” he added. “Working with the new FDA to remove it permanently from the market.” This is the link for his comments: https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2025/7/fda-names-biotech-entrepreneur,-stanford-professor
With someone like this in charge of the CDER
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/center-drug-evaluation-and-research-cder
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/center-biologics-evaluation-and-research-cber
I think this is quite serious.
Hi Rhonda,
Yes, I am aware. I wrote my thoughts about it here: https://www.restartmed.com/the-fda-ban-on-ndt/
I’m an 73-year-old autoimmune type 1 diabetic on levothyroxine 75 mcg one day, 88 mcg the next day. I’ve been very stable over the years. My thyroid has been ablated. I ordered raw desiccated thyroid, and I’m in the researching process. I’m holistic and don’t like taking levothyroxine, knowing it’s not good for you.
Hi Deanna,
Just to clarify, levothyroxine is not automatically bad. It has developed a bad reputation mostly because it only contains T4 and does not include T3 or other thyroid hormones found in natural desiccated thyroid (NDT). As a result, many people who take it do not feel quite as good as those who use Armour or similar medications, and they often attribute this to levothyroxine being “synthetic.” In reality, the T4 molecule in levothyroxine and the T4 molecule in Armour thyroid are chemically identical.
The difference comes down to the hormone profile. NDT provides both T4 and T3, while levothyroxine only provides T4. Some people convert T4 to T3 very efficiently and do well on levothyroxine alone, while others need some T3 in their regimen to feel their best. So it is not really about whether the source is “natural” or “synthetic,” but rather about matching the medication to your body’s needs and finding the right dose and hormone combination.
If you are stable and feel good on your current dose of levothyroxine, that is a positive sign. If not, discussing combination therapy or NDT with your doctor could be worthwhile, but any change should be carefully monitored to keep your thyroid and overall health balanced.