Your Body Needs Iodine for More than Just Your Thyroid
There’s a number of interesting facts about iodine that are not widely known. For example, did you know that thyroid hormones are created not just in your thyroid, but also in a woman's ovaries (thyroid T2), and in the white blood cells of your bone marrow? This is because iodine is not only required for your thyroid, but tissues that absorb and use large amounts of iodine like:
Breast Salivary glands Pancreas Cerebrospinal fluid Skin Stomach Brain Thymus
Iodine deficiency or insufficiency, in any of these tissues will lead to dysfunction of that tissue. Hence the following symptoms could provide clues that you're not getting enough iodine in your diet. For example, iodine deficiency in:
Salivary glands = inability to produce saliva, producing dry mouth Skin = dry skin, coarse skin, and lack of sweating (3-4 weeks of iodine supplementation can typically reverse this, allowing your body to sweat normally again). Brain = reduced alertness, lowered IQ, frustration, depression, and poor perception levels. goiter, abnormal weight gain, decreased fertility, constipation, and fatigue
Iodine is an essential trace element vital for normal growth and development. Around 60% of the iodine in the human body is stored in the thyroid gland. Its health benefits play a very important role in the normal functioning of the thyroid gland, which secretes thyroid hormones that control the base metabolic rate of the body. It helps in the optimum utilization of calories, thereby preventing the storage as excess fat. So without iodine, thyroid hormones could not even be synthesized.
Health Benefits Of Iodine
Improves Skin & Hair Quality; formation of healthy, shiny skin, teeth, and hair. It is an important element for hair as lack of this mineral can result in hair loss. It can also speed up hair growth, and increases follicle strength.
Boosts Immune System It is a scavenger of free hydroxyl radicals, and like vitamin C, it also stimulates and increases the activity of antioxidants throughout the body to provide a strong defensive measure against various diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Improves Fibrocystic Disease Iodine can significantly reduce conditions like fibrosis, turgidity, and breast tenderness. It acts as a relief for fibrocystic diseases and is widely used in therapies, both, traditional and modern.
Reduces Risk of Cancer Probably the most important health benefit of iodine apart from its thyroidal influence is its anti-carcinogenic properties. Studies have shown that cancer cells shrink after being injected with iodine, and are then replaced with healthier cells.
Removes Toxic Chemicals Iodine can flush out chemical toxins like fluoride, lead, mercury, and biological toxins, while also assisting the body in utilizing various minerals, like calcium and silicon.
Important Sources Of Iodine
It is present in large quantities in both marine plants and animals, including shellfish, deep-water whitefish, and brown seaweed, kelp, which can absorb iodine from sea water. Garlic, lima beans, swiss chard, summer squash, sesame seeds, soybeans, turnip greens, and spinach are some of the other sources of iodine.
How can it become deficient
In total the human body can hold 1,500 mg of iodine, with about 50% held in the thyroid, 20% held in your skin (so if your skin is depleted of iodine, you can’t sweat) and 32% in your muscles (so if muscles are depleted, pain and other fibromyalgia symptoms can develop). The body requires 100-200 mcg of iodine per day, and 1/4 teaspoon of iodized salt contains approximately 95 mcg of iodine. Bromide, chloride, fluoride, and pesticides in your body, build up on the iodine receptors making it difficult, even impossible for the iodine to be absorbed. There's been some mention that too much apple cider vinegar can inhibit iodine absorption.
What is a good daily dose
Well, it depends if you have a diet that includes food sources of iodine, or you have a diet that does not. Do you currently suffer with any of the deficiency symptoms, or have you had difficulties with your thyroid function. These are all variables to consider, along with having a laboratory test to determine your levels.
A good dose would be between 6-12mgs maximum.