The Thiodine Effect

A few weeks ago, I indulged in one of my addictions, which is buying health and beauty products online at my favorite site, Lucky Vitamin. I put one of my “can’t do without” products in my cart only to find out a week later that it was backordered. As of this writing, it hasn’t arrived yet, but I think I figured out why. But before I realized this, I searched online and found that other online stores were completely out of order as well! What I discovered was that people have been buying excessive amounts of iodine due to the recent earthquake in Fukushima, Japan. If you’ve been following the news, you know that the quake hit a nuclear power plant that released massive amounts of radiation into the area. Iodine prevents the thyroid from absorbing radiation and may even prevent thyroid cancer in the future. People in Japan and the West Coast of the US decided to turn to potassium iodide (also known as iodine) for protection. I have been taking this miracle substance for a while now and was lucky enough to find two bottles at my local nutrition store. Glad I called and begged the guy to put them on hold for me! So why do I take iodine?

For years I had a problem with my weight and never thought my thyroid was to blame. More recently, I started experiencing dry skin, hair loss, and bouts of depression. Have you ever been unhappy and just couldn’t figure out why? That was me and I found out exactly why. I went to a local naturopath and had a Bio-meridian evaluation. BMA measures the body’s energy meridians and can provide information about organ and nutritional deficiencies. My doctor told me that my thyroid was out of control. As you can see, this was not only affecting my weight loss, but also my outward appearance. If you’re experiencing some of the same symptoms I did, it’s most likely thyroid related…so do you know if your thyroid is slow or fast and how can you tell?

Cause and treatment of hypothyroidism

What I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I did not understand what it was. Hypothyroidism means that your thyroid is not producing enough hormone…in other words, low thyroid function. Why is this important? The thyroid controls the body’s metabolism…if your metabolism is slow (and you have a hard time losing weight), then you may have hypothyroidism. More than 10 million Americans and up to 10% of women may be suffering from this problem and not even know it. Hypothyroidism is caused by an inflammation of the thyroid gland. This inflammation damages cells, preventing them from making enough hormones. If you run thyroid problems in your family, it may run in families, but I tend to believe that environmental factors play a bigger role.

Some of the symptoms that you may experience if you suffer from hypothyroidism are:

• Tired
• Weakness
• thick and dry hair
• dry and pale skin
• Depression
• Irritability (I definitely had that one!)

I felt all this and believe me, I felt like nothing would get me through it. In addition to depression, one of the worst effects was hair and skin problems. No matter what shampoo or face cream i used, my hair was dry and unmanageable (and falling out) and my skin looked dull. However, I did find something to help, which I will discuss later in the article.

The treatment for hypothyroidism is thyroid replacement, which can be natural or synthetic. I prefer to use natural options, so my doctor suggests a glandular hormone (from bovine sources) and bioidentical hormones. This can be very helpful… I highly recommend seeing your doctor for a diagnosis and treatment options.

Hyperthyroidism treatment

Hyperthyroidism is the opposite of hyper, in this case, the thyroid produces too much hormone. The immune system can attack the thyroid gland (this is called Grave’s disease), and to fight back, the thyroid increases its production of hormones. Some of the effects include:

• weightloss
• nervousness
• Bad mood
• Sweatshirt
• fast heartbeat

Some treatments include beta blockers, radioactive iodine, and antithyroid medications.

Speaking of iodine….

I’ve been hinting a bit at my miracle cure for hypothyroidism. It’s iodine! People are extremely deficient in iodine these days. In the past, breads and salt contained iodine, and people could get iodine from the food they ate. Today most salts do not contain iodine and most breads are made with bromine which removes iodine from the body! The lack of iodine in the diet plays a fundamental role in the development of serious diseases. Areas with low iodine intake have higher rates of breast cancer and mental retardation. It can also cause a goiter, or an enlarged thyroid gland. To make matters worse, fluoride is added to the water supply and absorbed into the thyroid. In earlier years, fluoride was used as a treatment for hyperthyroidism…until it was later discovered that it impaired thyroid function. In reality, fluoride is a toxic poison that has nothing to do with our water or our toothpaste. It has no other function than to harm. So where does the iodine come in? Iodine plays a key role in thyroid function. If you take an iodine supplement, it can counteract the fluoride and help “push” it out of the thyroid so it can function properly. A word of caution though… talk to your doctor or naturopath before starting an iodine supplement, as too much iodine can be unhealthy.

Get iodine naturally through food

There’s a reason women in Japan have a much lower incidence of breast cancer than in the US. Your iodine intake is off the charts! People who eat sea vegetables, kelp, or chlorella get healthy amounts of natural iodine through the foods they eat. People in the US don’t normally eat these foods…but with thyroid problems on the rise, maybe it’s time to start! In addition to eating sea vegetables, you can use salts like Real Salt, a salt that doesn’t bleach like most commercial salt products. You might also want to eat seaweed noodles… which might sound gross, but it’s actually white, pasta-like noodles. You can substitute them in your favorite recipes and get all the healthy benefits. I made a dish with seaweed and chicken and it was delicious! These are some foods rich in iodine:

• Kelp
• seaweed noodles
• Chlorella
• royal salt
• Seaweed
• brown algae
• red algae

When I started integrating more iodine-rich foods into my diet and supplementing with iodine, I felt better. Do you know what else happened? My hair and skin also improved. It is true that what you put in your body affects the outside. You might be the healthiest person who ever lived, but thyroid problems can still affect you. Sometimes we cannot control the environmental factors that influence our health. If this is the case, you have to take charge of your health and use supplements and good nutrition practices to combat them. Through my research for this article, I was also reminded of another thyroid helper: coconut oil. I’m talking about the unrefined organic variety. There are many testimonials online about its thyroid strengthening power. You can cook or bake with it or just take it as a supplement every day (3 tablespoons a day). Have you been affected by thyroid disease and how have you managed it? Let’s share our experiences. I would love to hear your story and know what you think of mine.