The Silent Threat: Could You Be Iodine Deficient?

The Healthiest Natural Source of Iodine (YouTube link)

Dr. David Brownstein[1] has found the following top 10 nutrients are deficient among his patients[2]:

1. Iodine

2. Vitamin B12

3. Magnesium

4. Vitamin C

5. Vitamin B1

6. Vitamin D

7. Sulfur

8. Zinc

9. Chromium

10. Potassium

Iodine Deficiencies

Iodine deficiency is on the top of Dr. Brownstein's list. He has found 95% of his patients are deficient in iodine. Based on multiple researches[3,4], it shows that pregnant women and infants are exceptionally vulnerable to iodine deficiency. In [3], it says that iodine intakes below 100 μg/day and 150 μg/day are low or suboptimal.  You can read [11] to learn the importance of iodine and read [13] to find how much daily iodine intake is good enough.

In [5], its study showed that 24-h urinary iodine excretion may be a useful bio-marker for validating the iodine intake in pregnant women.  For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in a population of pregnant women should range between 150 and 249 μg/l.

Why the Prevalence of Iodine Deficiency?

Worldwide, about two billion people — a third of the globe — get too little iodine, including hundreds of millions in India and China[12]. Using "Iodine Deficient" as key words, Google has returned 1,260,000 results.  Here we list four possible reasons for such epidemic iodine deficiency:

1. Reducing salt consumption for better heart health

2. Iodine's rarity in many soils

3. Goitrogenic foods

4. Bromine in our foods and non-foods

In recent years, public health bodies have aggressively promoted sodium restriction as a means of reducing hypertension and the risk of cardiovascular disease. These inducements have led to a general decline in iodine intake in many developed countries. 

Iodine is the heaviest essential element utilized widely by life in biological functions (only tungsten, employed in enzymes by a few species of bacteria, is heavier). Iodine's rarity in many soils, due to initial low abundance as a crust-element, and also leaching of soluble iodide by rainwater, has led to many deficiency problems in land animals and inland human populations[6]. For example, the world’s greatest concentration of iodine-deficient countries was in the landlocked former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

Vegetarians should be warned that certain raw foods (cooking partially inactivates the goitrogens, except in the cases of soy and millet) have been identified as lightly goitrogenic.  In other words, such foods (see [14] for the list) can interfere with iodine uptake.

Harmful Chemical—Bromine

Another important factor may contribute to the prevalence of iodine deficiency is the ubiquitous existence of bromine in our foods (note that bromine is added to processed food to increase its shelf life) and non-foods.  Pavelka et al. have concluded in their research that:

Considering the chemical similarity among the halogens (i.e., bromine and iodine), goitrogenic effects of bromine compounds may be assumed[7].  

Note that goitrogen are substances that suppress the function of the thyroid gland by interfering with iodine uptake, which can, as a result, cause an enlargement of the thyroid, i.e., a goiter.  In facts, they and other researchers have shown recently that an enhanced bromide intake in the rat could markedly reduce iodide accumulation in the thyroid, as well as in the skin.

In [8], Simona Rich has listed food sources that contain bromine :

• Bromated flour and all the baked goods made of it (look for potassium bromate in the ingredients list)

• Brominated vegetables and vegetable oils

• Some soda drinks, especially citrus flavor

• Strawberries (due to bromine being used as a pesticide on them)

Similarly, here is the list of non-foods that may contain this harmful chemical[8]:

• Toys and other plastic products

• Cosmetics (look for benzalkonium preservative in the ingredients list)

• Toothpaste and mouthwash

• Hair colorants and other hair products

• Prescription drugs like antidepressants

• Electronics (such as computers and TVs)

• Home liquid cleaners

• Car interiors[9]

• New furniture and other household items

• Asthma inhalers

• Fire retardands especially in clothing

• Pest exterminators

Finally, bromide is also the main degradation product of brominated hydrocarbons that are applied on a large scale in industry and are excessively used in agriculture for pre-planting fumigation of soils and post-harvest fumigation of commodities such as grains, spices, nuts, fruits and tobacco.

References

1. Dr. David Brownstein

2. 5 Signs you'll Get Cancer And 7 Smart Ways to Prevent It!

3. Risk of suboptimal iodine intake in pregnant norwegian women (PubMed.org)

4. Iodine sources and iodine levels in pregnant women from an area without known iodine (PubMed.org)

5. Evaluation of urinary iodine excretion as a biomarker for intake of milk and dairy products in pregnant 

6. Iodine (Wikipedia)

7. Pavelka S, Vobecky M, Babicky A: Halogen speciation in the rat thyroid: Simultaneous determination of bromine and iodine by short-term INAA. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 2008, 278:575-579.

8. Iodine – A Cheap and Simple Cure for Many Diseases

9. Beware the Hazardous Materials Lurking in Your Car

10. Iodine (nih.gov)

11. Health Benefits of Iodine (Travel and Health)

12. de Benoist B, McLean E, Andersson M, Rogers L. Iodine deficiency in 2007: global progress since 2003. Food Nutr Bull. 2008;29(3):195-202.  (PubMed)

13. How Much Daily Iodine Intake Is Enough? (Travel and Health)

14. Goitrogen (Wikipedia)

15. Did You Get Enough Zinc Lately?

16. Chemicals in Carpets, Cosmetics Tied to Thyroid Problems

17. Bromines: Avoid This if You Want to Keep Your Thyroid Healthy

18. Movement to Remove Fluoride From US Water Supplies Continues

• Swallowing fluoride displaces iodine from your thyroid, as iodine and fluoride are both halogens. Without iodine, you cannot make active thyroid hormones, raising your risk for hypothyroidism