Busting the iodine myths. Written By Dr. David... - Thyroid UK
Busting the iodine myths. Written By Dr. David Brownstein, Author of Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It
Beware - as on most USA pages, there is an underlying assumption that salt is iodised. In the UK, very little salt is iodised. Ironically, given what is later said, it appears to me that an increasing proportion of salt used in prepared foods available in the UK actually is iodised. (Much that is produced in Germany or Poland.)
I always find it very difficult to understand why such huge amounts of iodine seem to be advised. Apparently a Japanese diet, among the very highest iodine containing diets in the world, rarely has more than 3 milligrams. Yet here we are seeing 6 to 45 milligrams being proclaimed.
Rod
There've been recent posts questioning whether the inclusion of iodine in some multi-vitamins is contra-indicated for those with compromised thyroids. There didn't appear to be definitive advice so I thought Dr. Brownstein's article might be helpful.
Oh indeed. It is very interesting that he comes up with such a phenomenally different view. It is important that we see the various viewpoints even if we profoundly disagree with some.
I always think that it is important to be aware of the controversy and issues before going down any iodine route (beyond iodised salt and seafood).
Rod
This is a review Dr. Zava and his son did on the consumption of iodine in Japan. PR
thyroidresearchjournal.com/...
"By combining information from dietary records, food surveys, urine iodine analysis (both
spot and 24-hour samples) and seaweed iodine content, we estimate that the Japanese iodine intake–largely from seaweeds–averages 1,000-3,000 μg/day (1-3 mg/day)."
Thank you. Exactly what I believe to be the case.
Rod, the other point Dr. Haskell made was that because the Japanese were eating sea vegetables and fish they were getting selenium and other co-factors that are not present when taking Iodoral or other Iodine supplements. PR
I looked up the halide content of both sea salt and sea vegetables recently. They both contain large amounts of bromine. There is a lot more bromine in sea water than there is iodine. In fact, the bromine content of sea salt is orders of magnitude higher than its content of iodine. Since bromine competes with iodine, perhaps this is why Japanese who consume sea vegetables don't get problems. Somehow the competing halides and the iodine present in the food balance out?
Also, the iodine content of seaweeds vary by type of seaweed. Some types contain huge amounts of iodine (kelp, dulse, wakame) or next to nothing (nori).
Curiously, nutritiondata.com does not include iodine on its list although it does include fluoride. Weird exclusion. It looks like the Wikipedia entries for various seaweeds use the nutritiondata.com figures for list of nutrients.
Well I'm darned..
