An Essential Element

Iodine is an element that is essential to many processes in our bodies. Unfortunately, our bodies do not produce iodine, so we must find ways to supplement our diet with iodine rich foods. Without a proper diet, it is easy to become deficient in iodine, which can cause a host of issues.

How can a lack of iodine effect the human body?

Energy Production and Metabolism

Iodine is required to synthesize thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism, oxygenation, and energy production. When we are iodine deficient, we can feel sluggish and fatigued.

Patients taking thyroid hormones may also need to take an iodine supplement because these hormones may increase the body’s need for iodine. Disorders that involve iodine deficiencies may worsen or become more prevalent, such as the incidence of breast, prostate, and thyroid cancers.

Weight Management

Through the production of thyroid hormones, iodine helps prevent metabolic weight gain and fires up metabolism increasing caloric burn. Without adequate iodine intake, these thyroid hormones cannot be produced.

Hormone Balance and Cancer

Iodine works in the production and balance of all hormones, not just thyroid, and balance is key for disease prevention. It helps regulate and balance estrogen production in female ovaries and adrenal tissues in men that can stimulate the development and progression of hormone-related cancers, such as breast, ovarian, uterine, and prostate cancers.

Estrogen dominance in both men and women is dramatically increased in iodine-deficient hypothyroid states and appears to be a significant risk factor in the development of hormone-related cancers. The incidence of these cancers and others such as stomach, lung, esophagus, thyroid, and throat cancers are markedly increased in iodine-deficient patients.

Goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland due to iodine deficiency, has a direct relationship with breast and prostate cancers. Two studies done in Iceland and Japan — populations with high iodine intake — have significantly lower incidences of these diseases compared to other populations.

Finally, iodine helps prevent fibrocystic breast disease and is successfully used in the treatment of fibrocystic diseases such as uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts.

Cardiovascular Health

Iodine supplementation can reduce the amount of circulating cholesterol naturally by helping to address hormone imbalances and deficiencies — one of the underlying causes of high cholesterol.  According to studies, cholesterol is a precursor to sex steroidal and adrenal hormones.

Adequate iodine can help prevent or alleviate symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome, starting with the hallmark hypothyroidism. Clinical studies show a direct correlation between iodine deficiency and the cascade of other diseases related to Metabolic Syndrome such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Immune System

Iodine is used regularly in the medical industry due to its natural and powerful antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties. It also destroys pathogens and malaria on contact and is beneficial for preventing urinary tract infections and treating H. pylori — a bacterial infection of the stomach that has been connected with ulcers and gastric cancer.

Fetal and Childhood Development

The percentage of pregnant women with iodine deficiency increased by a shocking 690% in the decades between two important medical research studies, the NHANES I (1974) and NHANES II (2000) studies. Low maternal iodine levels in fetal development has been associated with higher levels of cretinism, mental retardation, autism, ADD, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), ALS, and other Myelin disorders. It has been shown that women with higher iodine levels during pregnancy had a decrease in SIDS, an overall higher childhood survival rate, and benefit from a reduced occurrence of high blood pressure.

While helping to support proper fetal development and growth, including speech and hearing development, iodine also helps make children smarter. A study has shown that iodine deficient pregnancies can result in up to a 15-point reduction in children’s IQ.

Reproductive Health

Iodine’s ability to promote healthy hormone balance makes it an important part of infertility treatment in both men and women. It is also used in the prevention and treatment of endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts.

Heavy Metal and Halide Detoxification

Iodine competes against halides such as fluoride (water & toothpaste), chlorine (water), and bromine (bread preservatives and flame retardants) for absorption. Adequate iodine levels therefore reduce halide toxicity in the body by filling binding sites on cells and hormones. For example, when halides like bromine bind with thyroid hormones, it results in inactive hormones. This is often seen in lab tests with “normal” thyroid hormone levels in patients with hypothyroid symptoms. Similarly, iodine helps prevent lead and other metals from being stored in the body.

Radioactivity

Iodine effectively helps prevent the effects of radiation exposure from the use of cell phones and other frequency emitters. Normal iodine levels can protect the thyroid and the rest of the body from radioactivity generated by nuclear accidents, such as the radiation drift from the Fukushima disaster that crossed the Pacific and is now being detected on the U.S. mainland.

Nails, Hair, and Teeth

Iodine is essential in the formation of healthy skin, hair, and teeth. In fact, iodine deficiency results in hair loss (also due to thyroid deficiencies), while adequate intake supports hair growth and follicle strength.

Environmental Challenges

Each and every day, most of us are exposed to environmental conditions that interfere with our ability to absorb and utilize iodine. Specifically, the chlorine and fluorine in the water from our faucets and in our swimming pools, and the bromine in bakery products and the flame retardants in furniture. They all compete with iodine in the body.

On the periodic table of elements, there is a group called halogens which includes iodine, fluorine, chlorine, and bromine. Iodine is found lower on this table compared to the others, meaning it is much less reactive, has difficulty competing with the more reactive elements, and often ends up being displaced. Fluorine, chlorine, and bromine are all more electronegative than iodine, so they saturate the binding sites within our bodies.

When these more reactive halogens bind with thyroid hormones, the hormones cannot function as they normally would when bound to iodine, and this creates a state of thyroid deficiency called secondary hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism then leads to many serious health issues, including obesity.

Fortunately, iodine  supplementation will increase urinary excretion of fluoride, chlorine, and bromide and reduced exposure to these environmental toxins can go a long way in supporting health and wellness.

Are you deficient?

Considering up to 90% of the USA is deficient in iodine, it’s a popular issue. Having the same symptoms of iodine deficiency does not always mean you are iodine deficient, as other issues can also cause these symptoms. It’s easy to test yourself for iodine deficiency at home.