Thyroid UK

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Iodine

Oliva1955•

Any advice on iodine intake .... I think I may have been over dosing as have read two books, iodine and your thyroid by Robert Thompson , he says you need to take between 50- 75 mg per day ..... The other book I am reading by Isabella Wentz says you should only take 52mcg per day .... I am taking 200 mcgs in a thyroid supplement recommended by Marion Gluck clinic and 400 mcg iodine from kelp ( which includes 40 mcg salt from kelp ) ....... Any advice ? And is there a test in UK that can test for levels ... Could this have affected my recent low T4 and T 3....

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11 Replies

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A healthy thyroid gland requires iodine which should come from food.

As far as I know, and am not medically qualified, is that thyroid hormones (levo, NDT etc) contain iodine, so you shouldn't add iodine.

Others will also respond to your question.

I have been looking at iodine and reading a book by Lynne Farrow. I was all for supplementing but decided to test my level first rather than risk getting too much iodine.

You can get a urine iodine test through Genova (Thyroid UK website has details for testing). There is also an iodine loading test available from a few places but it looks like that has to be sent to the US. I did some research and there was evidence that the iodine loading test can be misleading as almost all show a deficiency. I decided to go for the Genova 24 hour urine test just to get a base level. It came back in the middle of the range and my private specialist says that is fine. However, I am going to start taking a multi (specialist advised) and that does contains 70mcg iodine which I think is OK.

My research tells me adults should get 150mcg iodine a day and if you don't get enough from food then supplementing 50mcg a day should be sufficient. I don't particularly eat an iodine rich diet yet my level is still middle of the range so I will try the multi and see how things go.

Perhaps do an iodine test to see where your level is.

The National Institutes of Health in the USA publish a series of documents on subjects such as supplements.

For iodine, they suggest a Tolerable Upper Limit of 1100 micrograms per day for those of us over 19 years of age. We also see regular references to the high intake in Japan - though that seems sometimes to have been exaggerated - often 3 milligrams is mentioned.

For someone to recommend up to 25 times this already very intake is, in my view, irresponsible and possibly dangerous.

Yes - iodine tests are available.

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/I...

Oh dear looks like I am define toy overdosing .... I will be haveing a word with the clinic as the Dr there recommended the thyroid supplement which has 200 mcg ..... I will stop taking and get tested .. Thanks !

It wasn't entirely clear if the clinic was recommending the supplement and the kelp. Nor what your total daily intake is!

Some people insist that we should be taking much more iodine than the "official" documents say. I have yet to be convinced but we have all seen both sides of these issues - sometimes the establishment is right - other times outsiders are right. Nonetheless, caution seems sensible.

Did they test bloods for iodine? They've never told me to take anything they haven't prescribed (and always test for the things they are prescribing), but I don't go for thyroid, just HRT.

I am presuming you use the clinic as well ! I was told by one of the Drs to but there supplement but I purchased my own. I was not tested or told how much ! I rang this week as I had just completed my adrenal test which the Dr had ordered and was told that the Dr I was seeing was no longer at the clinic .....mmmmmm.I said that I was very disappointed that I had not been informed ... They said it was because it happened quickly ... I have my doubts ! ... I have stopped taking the iodine and wil do a simple home test first ... Thanks for you reply

Actually, 200 mcg isn't that much iodine (unless you have Hashi's or are allergic), Iodoral which many people use as an iodine supplement is 12.5 mg (not mcg) per tablet. Not that I'm advising it.

Do you have antibodies ... ie, hashis? If u don't there is a limited risk in taking iodine supps. But if u have hashis it can make it worse, so u need to read the research and the theories by people like wentz and make a decision. It is a risk with hasjis. testing existing levels would help u understand and calculate your own risk.

I have been hypo for many years and was doing great when under the supervision of my speedo in the USA , but, since returning to the UK my blood work has been all over the place even though I am on the same NDT that I was taking in the states ...I have put in a request for a telephone consult with a new Dr at the clinic as I found out this week that my Dr had suddenly left .. She was the one that told me to take the supplement with the iodine ... She did not tell me how much to take or to do a test .... I did not buy her supplement , I bought my own when on a trip to the states which has 200 mcg and I have been taking these plus kelp ... I shall stop and get tested and also see what this new Dr has to say .. Thanks for your reply 😊

It's important to get the Selenium and Iodine ratio correct. Hashimoto's need to get the antibodies very very low before introducing Iodine. Sea kelp may have mercury. Iodine is important for other parts of your body.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/s... see section: What does selenium do for the thyroid? How is it connected to iodine?

jeffreydachmd.com/hashimoto...

Best of luck