How to Supplement Iodine for health benefits - Sources of Iodine
Iodine Food Sources
The body needs
iodine to make thyroid hormones (in addition
to other important functions). Needed
iodine must come from diet or
iodine supplements
Natural sources of iodine
In nature, iodine is rarely found uncombined, and is usually found in its iodide
(I- )
form.
Very little is found in its elemental iodine (I2 )
form
- Iodide
is a single, negatively charged iodine
atom.
It is usually found bound to an inorganic mineral or bound to the amino acid
tyrosine as part of the mammalian thyroxine hormone
Of the natural sources, ocean fish, seaweed and
seafood contain the highest levels of
iodine
Iodine is also found in plants (depending on
amount of iodine in soil where they were grown) and
animal sources (depending on iodine content in their diet).
Poor Iodine Sources (microgram range)
Land vegetables contain very little iodine
There is very little iodine
in the soil. Iodine
content can be improved by fertilizing with kelp, or irrigation with iodine-rich
water; coastal regions have richer iodine content than inland, since iodide ions
in seawater are oxidized to elemental iodine , which is volatilized by UV into
the atmosphere and returned to the soil by rain.
Vegetables (high to low) - kidney beans, asparagus,
cabbage, garlic, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes. Also lima
beans, sesame seeds, radishes, rhubarb, peas, mushrooms,bananas, soybeans, spinach, Swiss chard, summer squash, turnip greens,
onions.
Fruit - (high to low) - pineapple, strawberries, grapes, and pears.
Iodized Salt and Sea Salt are not good sources of iodine
Iodized salt is not the wonderful iodine source frequently portrayed.
Iodized salt contains only ~74 mcg iodide/gram
(typically providing only ~200 mcg/day in the
U.S.). The addition of an iodate (in E.U.) or iodide (in U.S. e.g. potassium or sodium iodide) to salt was designed to prevent
goiter and cretinism, and never intended to supply the whole body's optimal iodine
requirements. To make matters worse, only 10% of sodium iodide in table
salt is bio-available, due to competition for intestinal absorption with its
chloride content
Abraham, G.E.: The
concept of orthoiodosupplementation and its clinical implications.
The Original Internist , 2004
Sea-salt is also not a significant source of
iodine
Dairy contains a little iodine if cow consumes it
The breast concentrates milk making it a source of iodine, but only if the
cow receives iodine in her diet. Sources include: Yogurt, cow's milk, mozzarella Cheese (part skim)
Eggs
Egg yolks
contain a small amount of iodine.
More concentrated iodine sources
(but still in the microgram range)
Sea vegetables / animal sea life
Seaweed located near coral reefs have inherent biologic
capacity to
concentrate iodine from seawater . The reef fish which thrive on it are also rich
in iodine.
Seawater is not a particularly high source for
iodine. With a weak concentration of 0.05 PPM; sea salt contains a
negligible amount of iodide;
- Seawater has an extremely high concentration of
the goitrogen/carcinogen bromide.
1400 times more bromide than iodide
(0.05PPM iodide; 70PPM bromide); not only a goitrogen, bromine is considered a
carcinogen with narcoleptic properties; seaweed also concentrates other halides.
Goitrogens
vs. Iodine
Shellfish, white
deep-water fish, Cod liver oil. However, one would have to eat
4 - 6 pounds of fish to get 3 mg of iodine;
Sea Vegetables / Seaweeds.
This high protein-food is a standard component of the Asian
diet and their highest dietary source of iodine; coastal populations have an
especially high iodine intake. Finding toxin-free sea
vegetables can be a problem
- Brown seaweeds (Highest in
iodine): include all forms of
kelp (Hijiki/Hiziki and
Sargassum are two other forms of brown seaweeds); Kelp supplies ionic
trace minerals and plant processed vitamins; Kelp is high in the essential
sugars, which are integral to our immune proteins (gamma globulins), important
in intercellular communication and are involved in red blood cell metabolism.
Focus (aka. Bladder-wrack) is considered the
best for underactive thyroids because it contains the most iodine.
Kelp has been found to contain toxic arsenic and halides.
-
Red seaweeds: include
dulse, nori, Irish moss, and Gracilaria.
Some examples of iodine content in seaweeds are:
Arame ( 732mcg /Tbsp); Hiziki (786mcg /Tbsp); Kelp
(1986mcg/Tbsp);
Kombu (1454mcg /1-inch piece); Nori (40mcg
/sheet); Wakame (82mcg /Tbsp)
Forms
of Iodine in nature
Soil, Saltpetre
NaIO2
Sodium Iodine
NaIO3
Sodium periodate
(periodate is the anion IO3 -
)
Seaweed
(e.g. wakame, nori, mekabu)
/ Algal Phytoplankton
KI
Potassium Iodide
NaI
Sodium Iodide
I2
Iodine
I-
Iodide
Seawater
I-
and IO3-
Iodide and Iodate
Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Jan-Mar; 14(1): 13-17.