Low on Iodine?

I figured out this past week that I'm low on iodine and that's been causing me to feel pretty draggy.

Among other things, I read this past week that the odds of getting iodine in salt aren't all that good, so even upping my intake these past few years, which was significant from the nothing over the decades before, I probably still wasn't getting much or any iodine at all. This year that caught up to me and kicked my butt. Apparently it wonks out the Thyroid hormones and that's what has been dragging me down.

So my wife got some kelp capsules and I started taking one of those each morning and they're helping already. Pretty amazing in fact. They don't taste very good, but I don't let it meander long, I wash it down in a hurry.

Come to find out, two of my neighbors are taking a prescription Thyroid pill because they tested low for iodine in their blood. They said it's a pretty common prescription and the pills don't cost much, but I do wonder why their doctors don't just prescribe something like the kelp capsule?

And I was always under the impression that table salt had to contain iodine at minimum levels. If that's the case, we're apparently paying someone to check it and they're not.

Anyway, the kelp capsule is an easy way to make sure your getting your iodine, and I'll testify that it makes a difference if you don't get it.

You can also get potassium iodide (KI) tablets if the taste of kelp makes you gag.

I actually like the taste of some kelp; in modest amounts mind you. Kelp tablets are a good source of iodine but the iodine is less readily available than it is in KI. But, I would take it in kelp form if for no other than philosophical reasons.

If a person suspects iodine or thyroid deficiency, however, they would be best advised to get a blood test: there are other medical issues with symptoms similar to thyroid problems that iodine won't help.

Bill,

I can't remember details, but I remember when I lived there Mom somehow found out that iodine deficiency was common there (she had had goiter when she was younger). About all I remember is that it somehow had to do with both the deep well water supply and also somehow with the fact that most of the soil in the area was worked out and depleted (Something Herbert Hoover noticed while working as a rod man on a survey crew while a student at Stanford -- whatever year that was. He commented on it in his autobiography, saying it would take two generations of better food to restore vitality to the region's population).

Good luck with the Kelp.

best, jcp

Well, I've never been fond of the smell of kelp. I used to fish the kelp beds near Malibu and those tablets smell just like old kelp that's washed ashore I've heard about it being prepared for the table, though I've never tried it.

But you're right, I probably should go get a blood test. We have a naturopathic doctor nearby I might go see, but this one is almost a no-brainer and I can already feel a difference.

I don't think there's any doubt I'm deficient in iodine. It's pretty common in the mid west where there's almost none in the farm grown veggies and I don't eat much saltwater fish or shell food. And, even though I've upped my intake of table salt, I still don't use it very often. More than I did a couple years ago, but as I've not made it anything close to a habit of it's pretty close to impossible for me not to be deficient.

To be honest, I don't have a "doctor". I haven't been to a doctor for anything but antibiotics in decades and only about 3 times for those in the past 20 years. I just don't trust them anymore.

The naturopathic doctor we have is great though. He also owns and runs a heath food store with his wife and over the years I've seen him help/cure a lot of people. It couldn't hurt to ask him to check me over.

Despite (or maybe because of?) your avoidance of doctors, I'll recommend a full blood workup, at least to establish you don't have any parameters that might be red flags, especially any potential thyroid issues.

IIRC we don't need much iodine (trace amounts) but we certainly do know the effects of iodine deficiency. I eat fish at least weekly, and like nori snacks, so I don't give it much thought.

Salud!

Apparently it still is common here. I was pretty surprised when two of my closest neighbors said they tested low for iodine, and both told me that their doctors told them it was very common here. Just about every woman I know talks about their thyroid problems here. I always thought it was mainly a female thing, and I don't stick around long when they gather up and start talking doctors and hospitals. My wife is always in the middle of it though. She has a very enquiring mind, and it was reading one of her "Women's" magazines that put me on to doing something.

I don't have a weight problem, and lots of women talk about that connection. And my problem is not severe by any means. But I am very sensitive to how I respond to food, and the lack of it. I don't really get cravings, but I do realize when I'm lacking something that many foods supply, and I feel how foods either provide it, or not.

Since iodine isn't in most of what I normally eat it was a tough one for me to realize it was lacking, or make the connection to what provides it. And it's not entirely clear or easy for me to make those connections anyway. For example, I always feel great after eating lobster, and I really love it too. It's a great source of iodine, and one of the few I'd have been getting. But I don't get it often, and it's easy to mistake the "Good" feeling for nothing more than the joy of eating lobster.

But now I know, it is more than that. Like most everything I eat that makes me feel good, it's because it's providing something I need. I wish kelp capsules tasted like lobster

Yeah, at my age that's probably good advice. I just don't have a lot to complain about when it comes to my health.

The thyroid thing isn't severe, but I've noticed feeling sluggish and cold and have a few other symptoms. Again, none of them are what I'd consider severe, and I because I don't carry any extra weight what food I eat makes a huge difference in how I feel. The biggest differences recently have been me being more active and I suspect a significant uptake in selenium.

I think those things are what wonked me out a bit. The thyroid needs selenium to process the iodides. Well, my poor old thyroid is used to not having much of either and since my shiitakes came in I all of sudden have selenium and my thyroid wants to use it, but it can't, cause there's still no iodine, and I kept pushing myself until I bump into a wall.

And hell, I'm getting older. No doctor is going to cure that.

That's interesting because I have had to avoid iodine altogether because of sensitivity, caused by using it to disinfect my drinking water back in the 1980's. It took only about 4 weeks of weekend hiking before i broke out in an nasty, all-over, deep seated rash (lichen planus) which left permanent scars. Since then I've had to avoid iodized salt, seafood, mutivitamin/mineral supplements and any other foods containing iodine (many energy bars have it added). Even small amounts will trigger the rash.

No symptoms from lack of it, either.