Why are we Iodine Deficient
Why are we Iodine Deficient?
#1 Likely Reason - Presence of goitrogens
that compete with iodine for body's receptors
Goitrogens:
fluoride, chlorine and bromine, are excessively present today in our food and water
Fluoride, chlorine and bromine all "beat
out" iodine.
A tomic weight determines which overpowers
the other - fluoride is the overall winner, and
iodine the loser .
Goiter-countering
iodine used to be added to bread, but now
goiter-causing bromate is added instead. From 1960-1980,
iodine -containing dough conditioners added 150 mcg of iodine to each slice!
But over the past 20 years, food processors have substituted this conditioner with
bromate, a goitrogenic substance that easily binds to the thyroid gland's iodine
receptors and so inhibits iodine activity and contributes to goiters (Too much bromine
can also cause impaired thinking and memory, drowsiness, dizziness and irritability).
The substitution of bromine for iodine has resulted
in nearly universal deficiency of iodine in the
U.S..
Goitrogens vs. Iodine
Iodate in bread is very bioavailable, whereas
only 10% of iodide in iodized salt is absorbed :
Pittman, et al, measured serum inorganic iodide levels in two groups
of subjects:
• GROUP 1: after iodization of salt, with an estimated daily
intake of 750 mcg iodide, and • GROUP 2: after iodization of bread, with a similar average
intake of iodates.
The expected mean blood level at equilibrium would be 17.2 mcg/L
(750 mcg/43.5 L). The mean values observed by Pittman, et al, were 1.7
mcg/L for subjects after iodization of salt, and 18.7 mcg/L for subjects
after iodization of bread.
There is 30,000 times more chloride than
iodide in iodized salt (on a molar basis). Chloride
competes with iodide for absorption in the intestinal tract.
The low bioavailability of iodide in iodized
table salt (sodium chloride) has
not generally been reported.
Pittman JA, et al. "Changing normal values
for thyroidal radioiodine uptake." NEJM, 1969; 280:1431-1434.
PubMed
Iodized table salt isn't providing
sufficient iodine
To get enough iodine to provide a maintenance dose
for whole-body sufficiency (i.e. ~3mg), you would need to consume over
an ounce of salt every day.
• Iodized salt contains a mere 0.076 mg of
iodine / gram of salt.
• Sea salt, soy sauce, and Bragg's liquid amino
acids are all salty condiments that contain NO iodine .
Contrary to instinctive opinion, sea salt has very little iodide compared to
iodized table salt. The concentration of iodide/iodate
in the oceans is a very dilute 0.05 PPM (compare this to bromide, which is 1400
times more concentrated).
Only ~50% of Americans use iodized salt.
Many people are persuaded to reduce salt intake, usually because of high
blood pressure concerns.
Low iodine content in soil
Some areas of the US, known as the Goiter Belt, simply
have a very low iodine
content. This includes mountainous regions, the Mississippi River
Valley, the Ohio River Valley, and the Great Lakes regions (e.g. 40% of the
people living in Michigan suffered from goiter in the 1930's). Also, over-farming
has depleted iodine content in soils previously-rich
in iodine. All soil containing granite is
poor in iodine. E.g. Vermont. Coastal regions have a richer
iodine content than inland (Iodide
ions in seawater are oxidized to elemental iodine ,
which is volatilized by UV into the atmosphere and returned to the soil
by rain, completing the cycle)
A Biblical Explanation. After the Great
Flood, the receding waters washed away the topsoil with all its elements into
the oceans and seas. The new topsoil became deficient in iodine and other essential
elements. Mountainous areas became the most iodine-deficient because the receding
waters were the most rapid over the steep slopes, eroding deeper into the soil
and washing it into the seas.
Body's iodine is used to detoxify
toxic metals
Toxic metal contamination is now abundant in many
places and products. Here's just a few examples:
• Mercury in fish.
Especially high in large tuna, shark and swordfish;
• Mercury leaching
from dental fillings
• Cadmium from tires
(in road dust)
Thyroid hormone medications (e.g.
Synthroid)
Long-term use of these drugs depletes thyroid
and tissue iodine
levels. This is associated with increased cancer
rates . Fluorescent scanning of the thyroid clearly shows how drug and
other medical thyroid therapies deplete the gland and body of critical
iodine .
Synthroid or other thyroid-destructive therapies should
never be taken without iodine therapy to ensure
whole body iodine sufficiency
Lithium
Lithium can block the release of thyroid hormones
from the thyroid gland. O ccurs in 5-15% of patients
on long term therapy.