how to get iodine in diet?

[Radha]

if i am only eating sea salt, then wouldnt i become iodine deficient?? does that mean i should eat some table salt or do i have to take an iodine supplement? thanks for any info

radha

[Lulu]

radha,

i believe i have seen iodized sea salt in some specialty markets. you can also order it online Iodized Sea Salt i use sea salt (regular) for some things and the iodized for others.

good luck!

peace and light,

lulu

[Guest tearose]

Radha, why don't you use regular table salt?

Do you have trouble with it?

Just trying to understand why sea salt is better for you.

I don't know how else to get iodine...I'm hoping gena sees your post....I know she surely will know!

take care, tearose

[kmpower]

Sea veggies have lots of iodine. You can eat kelp, dulse, sushi wrapped in nori, macrobiotic things, plus as you said, iodized salt. We use celtic sea salt which is supposed to have all its minerals. I don't know how much iodine is still in fish and sea-meats, but I am sure it is search-able.

[KathyP]

Hi Radha;

I am currently on hormonal compounding that a compounding pharmacist mixes up for me. During my initial visit with him we discussed nutritional dificiencies. For Iodine he told me to a way to not only test if my body needed iodine but a way to get it as well.

Pharmacies sell over the counter bottles (little bottles) of iodine. He told me, at night before I go to bed, take the bottle dropper and apply one drop on to my belly. Rub it around to even it out into a circle the size not smaller than a dime and not larger than a quarter. When you wake up in the morning look at the circle. If it is completely gone that means your body needs the iodine. If there is coloring left there is not much of a dificiency.

You sould talk to your doctor, or even a pharmacist, about this before trying this.

Take care,

KathyP

[Jenn202]

I use nothing but whole celtic sea salt.... it has all the vital minerals needed and is not processed like table salt...

All table salt is is processed to become sodium chlodide..... Which is not the healthy kind of salt.

Most health food stores sell Celtic or himalayan salt.....

Since switching I would never go back.

[Radha]

thanks for all the info, i only use sea salt, so i guess it should have all the minerals, thanks again for all the replies

radha

[Evie]

Sorry for sidetracking the thread but i was wondering if any of you have low iodine?

I did a bloodtest a few years back when i was much more ill and the results came back saying i had no iodine in my body. Does anyone else suffer from this or low iodine? There was also another mineral i have very low levels of but i cant find the darn bloodtest to find out what it was.

[Jenn202]

Hi Radha - Not all sea salt has minerals...only celtic sea salt or himalayan salt has the correct amount....

Many of the sea salts out there are just table salts...or same make up...

Most health food stores carry celtic.

[janineerrn]

Hi,

Iodine was added to table salt to prevent iodine deficiency in the general public (same concept as fluronated water). You only need a small amount, it helps with thyroid function.

I eat a lot of sushi and nori so I do not worry about getting enough. It should be as simple as adding a shake or 2 of table salt to your food a few times a week if you dont mind using table salt.

Janine

[kmpower]

Hi,

In another forum there is a thread on testing for iodine deficiencies. They are pretty common and very important. See the excerpt below. Doctor's Data, Inc., a clinical laboratory, hosted the thread and is offering three different tests. Your doctor can order the kits from the company, which I am certain is easy to find on the Internet.

OLL

Given the prevalence of “sub-clinical” hypothyroidism (read: symptomatic but normal thyroid panel results), there is a demand for definitive tests for assessing iodine/iodide status. Traditionally, iodine status/intake has been based upon 24-hour or first morning void urinary iodine excretion. Recently, the “iodine/iodide load test” has gained popularity. The load test entails collection of urine for 24-hours after oral administration of a dose of iodine and iodide (I-/ I). Total urinary I-/ I excretion is determined after reduction of iodine to iodide and quantification of iodide using an ion specific electrode. It has been proposed that I-/ I status is poor if less than 90% of the administered oral dose is excreted in 24 hours. The latter test is presumably an evaluation of iodide saturation; that is maximal uptake of I-/ I by a specific, energy dependent mechanism as opposed to indiscriminant saturation of all cells.

Doctor’s Data, Inc. offers three options for the assessment of I-/ I status. The tests offered are the traditional 24-hour urinary iodide excretion, first morning void (iodide/gm creatinine), and the “I-/ I load test” which requires a 24-hour collection.

[lthomas521]

Given the prevalence of ?sub-clinical? hypothyroidism (read: symptomatic but normal thyroid panel results)

Hmmm. "Doctors Data, Inc." doesn't seem to use the same definition for subclinical hypothyroidism that all of the endocrinology textbooks I've ever seen use.

Subclinical hypothyroidism is defined as an increased serum TSH in the presence of a normal serum FT4 concentration (see http://www.thyroidmanager.org/Chapter9/ch_9-4.htm and http://www.aafp.org/afp/20051015/1517.html). In other words, the levels of free thyroxine (T4) are normal, but the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) are elevated, which suggests that the thyroid gland is not responding properly to the TSH secreted by the pituitary. So, by definition, the thyroid panel results are somewhat abnormal. Although the term "subclinical" usually means a disease that is not causing noticeable signs and symptoms (e.g., a subclnical infection), the term "subclinical hypothyroidism" has a special definition doesn't address whether the patient has any signs or symptoms as a result of the endocrine abnormality.

In industrialized societies, I think that the main cause of hypothyroidism is autoimmune disease, not iodide deficiency. So I'm wondering what value the iodide loading test would have.

There has been considerable debate lately about what the "reference ranges" (i.e., the presumably normal values) for the thyroid panel should be. If a disease is common enough, then a fair number of people with the disease will be included in the population that represents the "reference range" of normal values. For example, if the main cause of death in a population is coronary artery blockage, then you will probably find a lot of people with high cholesterol values in that population. You shouldn't conclude that the values that are typical in that population are "normal" or healthy, just because they are typical. Similarly, there are a lot of middle-aged and older women with mild hypothyroidism. Just because their high TSH values aren't particularly uncommon doesn't mean that such values are nothing to be concerned about. So, if your TSH values are on the high end of the "normal" range or your T4 levels are on the low end of the "normal" range, you might still have a thyroid disorder.

The biggest problem, as I see it, is that thyroid problems can cause such vague yet pervasive symptoms that it is tempting to suspect a thyroid problem whenever you have a fatiguing illness--especially if other people in your family have hypothyroidism. That, combined with the uncertainty about what constitutes "normal" thyroid panel values, creates a lot of confusion. Such confusion can provide a "business opportunity" for "alternative" practitioners who may be "subscientific," "subcompetent," or "subscrupulous." So, buyer beware!

People with tachycardia should be particularly careful about overloading with iodide, because their underlying problem could be hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). If you were to take iodide supplements, you could make that problem much worse, I think. Excessive amounts of dietary iodide can also cause acne, or so I've heard.

[Radha]

i wanted to know if the sea salt has an anti caking agent , is it bad for you? i found iodized sea salt, but it has an anti caking agent in it, and wondered if it is bad for me, thanks for any info

radha

[kmpower]

Very interesting, lthomas... The important thing is that we are all different and one cannot generalize about POTS, fatigue, thyroid problems, etc. I have been a party to many discussions about thyroid testing and there are many opinions held by practicing clinicians. Some say TSH of 3 is too high, while most labs put it mid-range. Some say T4 can be perfect, but if it isn't converted to T3, or it converts to reverse T3, it is not normal. Some rely mostly on free T3 as a test. Others rely on morning underarm temperature and ignore all lab numbers as skewed by the procedure itself (the needle, the lab, etc.)

Having said that, iodine deficiencies are not the same as low thyroid problems. Besides the thyroid, iodine is important for the function of the ovaries and breasts. There is a "goiter belt" in the middle of the country (because less seafood is eaten) and so people from the mid-US who do not eat seafood or take iodized salt may be deficient. I agree that it is less common to see deficiencies on the coasts. But I don't eat fish or eat much salt (I am trying to eat more) and I have to be conscious to get iodine in my diet.

Your points are well taken, however, because the last thing someone with hyperthyroid and tachycardia needs is something to speed up the thyroid.

OLL

PS I don't know about anti-caking agents.

[Be Still]

Iodized sea salt in a round box is not all that much different from regular table salt (which is often made from evaporated brine) though it may taste better and not have been treated with harsh chemicals. It still may have been over-heated and that is supposed to be harder on the digestion. Some say that the sun-evaporated sea salt, salt that?s gray and clumps/cakes, has a more digestible crystalline structure and certainly tastes better. You can use a few grains of rice in your shaker to break up the clumps. Unprocessed salt will have trace minerals, as well as some impurities.

A page on anti-caking agents:www.saltinstitute.org/pubstat/japan-yps.html; apparently some are more acceptable than others.

There is iodine in food (kelp, yogurt, milk, eggs, strawberries) as well as trace iodine in any non-iodized salt. I agree that only testing would show how much this is needed.

[Radha]

i actually prefer the grey sea salt that clumps together, i was just worried that i might not be getting iodine if i was using the table salt, so i thought iodized sea salt would be good since it would be natural and still have the iodine, but i dont want to use it if it has chemicals in it, thanks alot for all your replies,

radha

[Jenn202]

Radha if it says celtic sea salt and it is grey and apprears slightly damp then it is the good salt.