TPO and iodine

[6767yona]

Are the TPO antibodies influenced by iodine in salt?

[radd]

6767yona,

Welcome to our forum.

Iodine is hugely important as is part of the T4/T3 hormones. In the UK we are rarely deficient in iodine but too much can alter thyroid function in a negative way.

Sea salt does contain iodine but is generally less than table salt that is iodised (meaning extra salt is added). However, this amount is still insignificant when considering if TPO's are influenced as you would have to consume an excess amount of salt and there is thought that salt is beneficial for flagging adrenals.

The two essential items needed for thyroid hormone are iodine and the amino acid tyrosine where the iodination means an iodine atom binds with tyrosine to form monoiodotyrosine. The addition of another iodine atom forms diodotyrosine and finally, two diodotyrosine molecules combine to form thyroxine (T4).

Your body contains only several milligrams of iodide (ionic form of iodine) and much of this is concentrated in your thyroid gland. The cells of your thyroid are adept at trapping iodide from your bloodstream and combining it with tyrosine and the other is recycled by the body and used to make further hormones. Your thyroid gland then stores T3 and T4 until their release is triggered by TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) secreted by your pituitary gland.

Both Datis Kharrazian and Chris Kresser report excess iodine can trigger an autoimmune attack as it increases the TPO level (thyroid peroxidase enzyme ) and so if you have Hashimotos or Graves Disease you could be very ill. However, it is also claimed that supplementing selenium will dampen the stimulated lymphocytes so allowing extra iodine to be tolerated.

A little extra salt added to your diet should be fine.