Iodine

[Lynneypin]

Just caught up with Trust me I’m a Doctor. (BBC). Interesting that we get Iodine (important for thyroid function) from milk, white fish and seaweed, yet the iodine from seaweed is absorbed much less. This means that those of us on a restricted dairy diet and don’t each much fish, are going to struggle to get sufficient iodine.

[Clutter]

Lynneypin,

If you are taking Levothyroxine you will get iodine 65% by weight from Levothyroxine and the rest from diet.

iodine rich foods include google.co.uk/search?q=iodin...

[Lynneypin in reply to Clutter]

On WP Thyroid Clutter x

[Clutter in reply to Lynneypin]

Lynneypin,

Iodine is 65% by weight of the T4 and 57% of the T3.

[Lynneypin in reply to Clutter]

Wow, thanks!

[The_will_of_Jill in reply to Clutter]

wow! yeah.. thanks! I did not know this either.

[Saggyuk]

Yes, you used to be able to get it in veg etc as found in the soil and they always said that developed world is highly unlikely to be iodine deficient but from some of the things I've seen recently, that are beginning to finally accept and realise that iodine is now too depleted in the food we're growing because of all the crap they place on it. If you get organic, you should be better off though and not something you want to supplement willy nilly especially once you have thyroid issues

[Lynneypin in reply to Saggyuk]

Thanks. We do try to get a lot of organic food.

[Saggyuk in reply to Lynneypin]

You can get iodized salt as well if wanting to increase - will always state on the packet if it is or not?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Saggyuk]

Saggyuk,

Organic doesn't necessarily have more iodine!

Although not grown IN the soil, cows milk has been shown to often have less iodine than non-organic milk.

[Saggyuk in reply to helvella]

Yes, sorry only meant is likely to have more than non-organic veg as it stands. selenium has also become depleted in many foods supposed to be selenium rich for the same reason and this is just as important.

From what I'm aware, it completely depends on what they feed the cows - they started purposefully adding it to cows feed 80 or so years ago as the cows were deficient which caused the population to be less deficient particularly younger kids who drank quite a bit of milk - I think anyway? I'm aware in regards to milk, there is less iodine than in non-organic but didn't think to specify as thought was more for people whom don't have dairy or fish?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Saggyuk]

Saggyuk,

There used to be quite a contribution from iodine teat disinfectant but many have changed over to chlorine disinfectants.

[Saggyuk in reply to helvella]

Lol - wasn't aware - eww wonder what else was was in these things passing through lol!!

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to helvella]

I think that's because of the iodine containing udder wash

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Angel_of_the_North,

And, I am happy to point out, it might no longer be true, at least in some cases:

06 April 2017

PRESS RELEASE

Iodine levels in organic milk showing upward trend

Results from OMSCo’s latest study of iodine levels in organic milk, conducted by an independent laboratory, have shown that iodine levels in organic milk are now ahead of conventional milk for the first time since testing began.

This milestone is being attributed to a three-year project initiated by the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo) to increase the levels of iodine in organic milk, following industry concern that levels were behind conventional milk.

“Organic dairy standards prescribe that herds must graze outside for as long as possible, which is typically more than 200 days per year, and that at least 60 percent of their diet must come from forage. It’s these factors which have historically been at the root cause of lower iodine levels in organic finished milk,” says Richard Hampton, OMSCo managing director.

“As a result, in 2014 we initiated a project to ensure comparable levels of iodine in organic milk working with feed mills and our members,” adds Richard.

“Since implementing the programme, we’ve seen a consistent upward trend in iodine levels and the latest independent results from 58 tests of whole, semi-skimmed and skimmed milk show, for the first time, that the average level of iodine in organic milk is 11 percent ahead of the conventional average in finished milks.”

Richard adds that OMSCo is the leading supplier of organic milk to the UK market and the study highlights that milk produced from OMSCo only farms, is 42% ahead of the conventional average, showing the commitment OMSCo members have made to the project.

omsco.co.uk/_clientfiles/pd...

Seems that chlorine-based teat disinfectants are gentler on teats! I did ask a major goat farmer why they didn't use iodine.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Not necessarily a good thing if you have Hashimoto's

Iodine is a controversial subject

drknews.com/iodine-and-hash...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Lynneypin,

There seems to have been an increase in the number and range of prepared foods made with iodised salt. I suspect that this is related to the presence of Aldi and Lidl - many of their own-brand products, when they are made in Germany or Poland, and possibly some other countries, frequently state iodised salt in the ingredient list.

[Greybeard]

More stuff about iodine. Re fertility.

medscape.com/viewarticle/89...

[Hidden]

When I first had a problem with my thyroid the only information I came across was about iodine so, therefore, I had mine tested I didn't know about any of the other tests mine came back fine, but I do eat a lot of fish and drink milk.

[Gambit62]

this article might be of interest.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

my understanding is that levels of iodine in food tend to vary significantly between inland and coastal areas.

evidence seems to be that raising iodine levels is a risk factor that activates latent genetic variants that can lead to auto-immune thyroidosis - hence higher rates in coastal areas, and increased incidence in populations where iodine-fortified salt has been used to try and overcome the possibility of dietary deficiency.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Gambit62]

Gambit62,

Whilst coastal areas do tend to have higher iodine levels, there seem to be several bits missing from the jigsaw.

Iodine seems to be a very important part of cloud formation and precipitation. This rain can fall far away from the oceans.

I offer just one link - not expecting it to do more than show how incredibly complicated it all is!

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

[Gambit62 in reply to helvella]

totally agree that there is rarely a simple answer when looking at a complex system.

would be interesting to know what the iodine content is of fresh water as opposed to sea-water fish.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Gambit62]

Gambit62,

In at least one study, surprisingly little difference!

scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=...

I'd be wary of extrapolating that to other environments.

This shows a much bigger difference:

ign.org/cm_data/2005_Haldim...