Iodine

Iodine

 

 

Iodine is an essential trace element. There is an iodine receptor in every cell of the body.

 

Iodine is used by your thyroid gland to help regulate metabolism and development of both your skeleton and brain, and is required for the synthesis of hormones. There is simply no question that optimizing your iodine levels is essential for thyroid health. Hypothyroidism disproportionately affects women at a rate of about 9 to 1 in the US. The reason for this is that the female hormone estrogen inhibits the absorption of iodine.

 

For example, did you know that thyroid hormones are created not just in your thyroid, but also in a woman’s ovaries (thyroid T2), and in the white blood cells of your bone marrow your thyroid. Other tissues that absorb and use large amounts of iodine include: Breasts, skin, salivary glands, pancreas, thymus, stomach, cerebral spinal fluid and the brain.

 

Iodine deficiency, or insufficiency, in any of these tissues will lead to dysfunction of that tissue. Hence the following symptoms could provide clues that you’re not getting enough iodine in your diet. For example, iodine deficiency in:

 

• Salivary glands = inability to produce saliva, producing dry mouth
• Skin = dry skin, and lack of sweating. Three to four weeks of iodine supplementation will typically reverse this symptom, allowing your body to sweat normally again
• Brain = reduced alertness, and lowered IQ
• Muscles = nodules, scar tissue, pain, fibrosis, fibromyalgia

 

The Thyroid Gland

 

 

 

http://iodineresearch.com/aboutus.html