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The trace mineral iodine is well known for his crucial role in allowing the body to the production of thyroid hormones vital, but it is also important for the health of the immune system and for optimal brain function. In general, is considered by many authorities that iodine deficiency should never be seen in the affluent West, although this problem affects millions across the developed world.

Some nutritionists argue, however, that this conventional view is too optimistic, because the content of all minerals in food depends in large measure the mineral content of the soil from which foods are derived. The assumption, therefore, should be that the continuation of the mineralization of farmland has led to a reduction in the amount of iodine in the diet commonly consumed.

Fish and other seafood, however, remain a relatively rich source because these creatures of the ocean concentrate iodine from the sea in their flesh. Though not commonly eaten in the West, algae, or seaweed, is also an excellent source of iodine for this reason, and is readily available in the form of dietary supplements. Milk and milk products and some meat may also be a good source, especially when the iodine is routinely added to feed for farm animals. However, in countries, including most of Western Europe, where the animals are growing fields of grazing on soils depleted of iodine, levels tend to be much lower.

Therefore, even in the West, those not including fish or shellfish in their diets, and not using iodized salt or sea, may be at real risk of deficiency. In an effort to offset the low levels of iodine in the diet, the mineral has been routinely added to table salt common in the U.S. for many years. But the practice is not as common in the UK and other European countries, particularly when iodized or natural “sea salt” has been marketed more as an alternative to luxury. The problem of insufficient iodine in the diet has been compounded on both sides of the Atlantic, however, about the growing concern about possible adverse health consequences, including high blood pressure, the excessive intake of salt. Many nutritionists, however, for such fears exaggerated, and I think that any of these potential problems are much less serious than the consequences of a lack of iodine, and can be easily solved by the use of low sodium salt alternatives available.

Iodine, however, under no circumstances can be considered a luxury. Its role is essential in the production of thyroid hormones vital; thyroxine, sometimes known as T4, and tri-iodothyronine, or T3. And as everyone knows, these hormones are crucial to ensuring a healthy metabolic rate and release of energy from food, and an underactive thyroid gland is commonly the villain in cases of excessive weight gain, particularly when this sudden emergence of, and in cases of difficulty in losing weight, even when following a marked reduction program. A healthy thyroid gland is also essential for optimal functioning of the immune system.

But perhaps more importantly, iodine deficiency is also known as a leading cause of preventable brain damage, a problem that the World Health Organization has estimated that affects a staggering 50 million people around the world. Unfortunately, many of these cases occur in children whose mothers were iodine deficiency in pregnancy, resulting in a condition seriously delay the development of the brain known as congenital hypothyroidism, or “cretinism”. Even when such catastrophic consequences are avoided, iodine deficiency in children can also have serious effects on the developing brain, resulting in low energy and motivation for learning, and measurable impairment of IQ scores.

Since 2001, the Food and Nutrition Board of the U.S. Institute of Medicine (FNB) has prescribed a diet recommended for the allocation of 150 mcg of iodine for all people older than 14 years, rising to 220 mcg for pregnant women and 290 mcg for those breastfeeding. Some confusion, however, excessive consumption of iodine is also associated with a malfunction or enlargement of the thyroid gland, as well as mouth ulcers, headaches and gastric disorders, and the FNB therefore a High security adviser to limit the daily consumption of iodine from 1100 mcg for adults. Most people who eat a Western diet conventional it is unlikely that exceed this level.

With the possible exception of pregnant women and infants, people in the West that use liberal amounts of iodized salt as a condiment is unlikely to regulate supplements of greatest need. However, many commercial multi-mineral preparations containing iodine in reasonable quantities, usually in the form of potassium iodide, and although perhaps not strictly necessary, for example, additional doses will be no harm and can be viewed as an insurance policy Since, like all minerals needed by the body, iodine works better in the presence of adequate supplies of all others. And it should be particularly noted in this context that the effects of any deficiency of iodine can be intensified by any deficiency of selenium, iron or vitamin

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