hello everyone in the community, tx for reading this
ok the thing is some people around have the absolute sure, that you can replace the iodine sourcing from food, from the one found in levothyroxine pills....
can someone elucidate me about how this mechanism works, not forggetting that if you overmedicated u never go hypothyroid....but if you take too much iodine (e.g. from food/supplements) u can damage your thyroid and be hypothyroid.....
what differs the iodine we found in levothyroxine drug from the iodine we found in supplements /food
dont know if you guys get whats my concerns all about
tx in advance
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VeganMan
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I agree it's very confusing. I come from Derbyshire an area which is very low in iodine presumably because it is so far from the sea. When my mother was 10 in 1931 she had a goitre had to go to Drs. every week to drink some sort of concoction which contained iodine. She recovered and never suffered with this problem again. She died 1n 2014 aged 93. It's all very strange - I have never really understood the association between iodine, hypo. and goitre. Should we all being eating more or less fish and samphire products I wonder. Regards, Jax
jacquelis, the association is that thyroid hormone contains iodine. Every molecule of T4 contains 4 atoms of iodine - hence the name. When T4 is converted to T3, it is done by removing one atom of iodine. And, that atom goes into the blood and is recycled to make more hormone.
If you are deficient in iodine, the gland has problems making enough hormone to keep you well, so sometimes it expands and forms a goitre, in an effort to make enough hormone. And you become hypo. Hypothyroidism is defined as low levels of thyroid hormone.
A lot of people - doctors included - therefore think that if you have a thyroid problem, all you need to do is take more iodine and the problem will be solved. But, it's not as simple as that. Not everyone that has a thyroid problem is deficient in iodine. And supplementing with iodine can therefore sometimes make the problem worse, rather than better. You need just the right amount of iodine, not to much and not too little. Because iodine is recycled in the body, you don't need to take in huge amounts every day.
So, no, it's not always a good idea to increase your consumption of fish and seaweed. Seaweed is very high in iodine, and can be too much. Before even considering that, get your iodine level tested.
I don't think anyone has ever said you can replace the iodine in food with the iodine in levo. How would you even do that? You can't remove the iodine from food.
What we usually say is that if you are taking levo, you have a source of iodine, plus the iodine you get from food, means that you do not need to supplement extra iodine because you risk over-dosing. And excess iodine is not a good thing.
You cannot go hypo if you over-dose on levo - hypo means you don't have enough thyroid hormone. If you over-dose on levo, you get hyper symptoms - although it doesn't mean you are really hyper.
If you over-dose on iodine supplements (I don't think it's possible to over-dose on iodine in food) then several things can happen. You can go hypo or hyper, or you can trigger Hashi's. Iodine is something you need just enough of - not too much and not too little.
It's not that there is a difference in the iodine you find in food/supplements/levo, it's just that you don't want too much iodine from any source, or a combination of sources. And you should never supplement iodine itself, unless you have tested deficient. And even then, it should be done under the guidance of a doctor that knows what he's doing.
I don't know if that answers your question, but that's the way I interpret your question.
"It's not that there is a difference in the iodine you find in food/supplements/levo, it's just that you don't want too much iodine from any source, or a combination of sources. And you should never supplement iodine itself, unless you have tested deficient. And even then, it should be done under the guidance of a doctor that knows what he's doing."
i think it have to have a difference, because in my eyes (prob im confused), iodine found in supplements could go in both ways (hypo/hyper) as you said ....and in medication theres no chance u can go hypo right?
im aware that iodine molecules found in levo are quite different in iodine supplements alone....
I was talking about excess iodine. Excess iodine can make you go hypo or hyper. Excess iodine from any source. You only need a tiny amount of iodine daily, because it is recycled in the body.
jacquelis2 The only way to know if you need iodine supplementation (and how much if you do) is to test and see if you have a deficiency. Go to ThyroidUK's main website, look under 'testing' and click on Genova Diagnostics where you will find a PDF of their tests, you need END25 Urine Iodine test, and instructions how to order it and receive the results.
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