In previous posts we talked about how goitrogens affect the iodine in our bodies, now I’m going to talk about iodine intake, how it works with and how it affects the thyroid.
Iodine and Your Thyroid
You might be asking; what does iodine have to do with hypothyroidism and thyroid dysfunction? Well iodine plays a major role in the overall function of the thyroid and its production of thyroid hormone. It’s for this reason that the bodies iodine intake needs to maintain a healthy balance.
Iodine is the key component in thyroid hormone production. There are two hormones produced by the thyroid gland T3 and T4. The numbers 3 and 4 are the actual number of iodine atoms found in each thyroid hormone molecule.
Just too briefly explain the complex manner of how T3 and T4 hormones are used by our bodies I’ll try to summarize it in laymen’s terms. The cells in our bodies use T3 thyroid hormone for gene control. However the majority of thyroid hormone that the thyroid gland produces is T4. The bulk of the T3 and T4 hormones stick to proteins that are produced by the liver, the remainder of the hormones actually make it into the bodies cells where T4 is converted to T3 by the cells deiodinase enzymes and use it to control the cells genes.
Iodine deficiency
When there isn’t enough of iodine in a person’s diet the thyroid gland can’t produce enough thyroid hormone to meet the body’s demands. This is when goiter develops because the thyroid gland enlarges as it works harder and harder to try to meet those demands. I’ve seen instances where the recommended daily allowance of iodine intake can range anywhere from 90 on up to 290 micrograms per day depending on age and whether you are pregnant or nursing. Pregnant women require around 220 and nursing women require around 290 micrograms of iodine per day.
Thyroid dysfunction caused by iodine deficiency in the United States is very rare because in this country our salt as well as many of the foods that we eat contain iodine. The lack of iodine is more common in countries around the world that don’t have iodized table salt or readily available sea food and kelp.
Iodine excess
More common in the United States are issues where excessive iodine intake is prominent. As I stated above, in the United States there is more than enough iodine in our daily diets to fulfill the iodine needs of our thyroids. With this being the case in the United States there is no need for iodine supplements. As a matter of fact taking iodine supplements can be detrimental to your thyroid health.
When there is excessive iodine intake in the human body the thyroid gland starts to overproduce thyroid hormone and when this happens the bodies autoimmune system starts to attack and shut down the thyroid gland to a point where it actually causes hypothyroidism if you have an underlying potential for hypothyroidism such as a family history of this disease. On the other side of the coin if you are pre-disposed to either Grave’s disease of nodular goiter then too much iodine can cause hyperthyroidism. A healthy thyroid gland handles excessive iodine intake by controlling how much iodine it takes in and last with Hashimoto’s too much iodine intake will cause your thyroid gland to slow down thyroid hormone production even more than it already is.
So again when you are looking to provide yourself with a healthy hypothyroidism diet much like with goitrogens and everything else that you include in your diet, it’s important to maintain a healthy balance of foods that contain iodine. Always consult your doctor to treat your thyroid disease then look into the diet and exercise program that works best for you.
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29. November 2009 at 7:39 pm
Is Soy Milk a good product for people with hypothyroidism?
29. December 2009 at 12:11 pm
Judy,
During my last visit to my thyroid Doctor I asked if it was true that soy is bad for people with an under active thyroid and she verified that soy products are bad for people who have hypo and that soy should be avoided or extremely limited.
Some vegetables that contain goitrogens can or actually should be included in your diet because of the other nutritional benefits that they provide your body with. Most of the goitrogens in these common vegetables like broccoli are counteracted by iodine levels also found in those foods and if you eat those later on in the day, a good while after taking your thyroid meds then your body should have already absorbed the necessary synthetic hormones from your meds and there will be very little interference at that point. But as far as soy goes. It really should be avoided.
9. January 2010 at 10:26 pm
Iodine/Iodide supplementation has been a very difficult decision for me. What I have read seems to indicate that we get enough iodide from an american diet for the thyroid, but not enough iodine (notice the difference in iodine/iodide) for the health of other organs, in particular the breasts. Fluoride possibly further complicates the issue by mimicing iodide to the thyroid with a resulting overreaction to additional supplementation. Then one is faced with a decision to supplement for organ health and risk hypothyroidism or having fibercystic disease with bad mammograms.
sigh… I have decided to supplement iodine 12.5 mg daily,which eliminates my fibrocystic breast disease and take thyroid medication for what seems to be a resulting hypothyroidism. My mother and sister already had hypothyroidism so the predisposition was always there whether the iodine would have caused it in any person without the predisposition I can not say.
In addition I am now filtering fluoride from my water and supplementing my body with bioidentical hormones,selenium,Atp cofactors, and other vitamins to help my thyroid try to recover. fingers crossed
16. January 2010 at 12:16 pm
Hi Kathleen,
Great informative comments. In the US we do have iodine rich foods, especially in foods that come from coastal areas and in sea foods. This is because of the iodine found in the ocean. Be careful with the amounts of iodine supplements that you take in because too much iodine can be bad for your thyroid as well. There needs to be a healthy balance in your diet. Soy products are very bad for people who have hypothyroidism because the goitrogen levels found in soy and soy products will attack and deplete your iodine levels.