This weeks Health Tip.

The health benefits of iodine play a very important role in the normal functioning of the thyroid gland, which secretes thyroid hormones that control the base metabolic rate of the body. In fact, without iodine, thyroid hormones could not even be synthesized.

Other Food sources of Iodine

Iodine is an Essential micro Mineral which can be gained from consumption of Saltwater fish species and other Antioxidant rich Foods as set out below

COMMON SOURCES OF DIETARY IODINE

Cheese
Cows milk
Eggs
Frozen Yogurt
Ice Cream
Iodine-containing multivitamins
Iodized table salt
Saltwater fish
Seaweed (including kelp, dulce, nori)
Shellfish
Soy milk

Do we need to consume Iodised Salt?

Sodium is required for muscle contraction and nuero-muscular activity and is essential for the bodies correct fluid balance. However too much salt in a diet will increase blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. Only use Iodised salt or sea salt for the Iodine content.

Salt should never be added to cooking as the sodium requirement of a hard working man out sweating in the sun or a Teenager engaged in physical sport or training is vastly different to that of a mum doing office or house management or kids doing schooling. Tip Number Two: Put the salt and pepper on the dinner table and use salt as it was intended. Sparingly !!

So yes, muscles require sufficient sodium, but in moderation !!

 

In the following link Dr Gus Mercola talks about Iodine doses as per the USDA.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/04/iodine-deficiency-affect-childs-brain-function.aspx

It is important to realize that the current US daily recommended allowance (RDA) for Iodine are not in milligram doses but in micrograms:

• 150 micrograms (mcg) per day for adult men and women
• 220 mcg for pregnant women
• 290 mcg for lactating/breastfeeding women

However, this RDA was set with the intention to prevent goiter only. Dr. Flechas makes a compelling argument for it being completely insufficient for overall physical health and prevention of diseases such as thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, and cancer. Iodine actually induces apoptosis, meaning it causes cancer cells to self destruct. Dr. Flechas is adamant that absence of iodine in a cell is what causes cancer, and statistics tend to support this view. In his lecture, he shows the results of a number of NHANES surveys.

For example, between 1971 and 2000, the average iodine levels declined by 50 percent in the US. During that same time, cancers specifically associated with iodine deficiency—such as cancer of the breast, prostate, endometrium, and ovaries—increased. He also points out that the RDA completely ignores the presence of increasing amounts of goitrogens in the environment. The following halides compete for the same receptors used in your thyroid gland and elsewhere to capture iodine, so if you’re exposed to too many of these, your thyroid hormone production can be severely disrupted, resulting in a low thyroid state: