The importance of iodine (most people are deficient!!)

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zydane/gTqm6oYS-WIN_20201201_09_36_47_Pro.jpg
In the U.S. there are several micronutrients that at least 50% of people are deficient in. Some examples are **magnesium, selenium and vitamin D3**. But one that is also very crucial is **iodine**! We used to get iodine naturally in our salt. You can still find that salt today in specialty stores.

Iodine is very important for a variety of reasons but the most important would be for **proper thyroid function**. Anyone here in the U.S. notice how many thyroid problems there are, especially among women? Its literally an epidemic. Hypothyroidism (shrunken thyroid) slows the metabolism and can make losing fat extremely difficult. [Doctors sometimes (but not always) prescribe iodine](https://www.thyroid.org/iodine-deficiency/) to patients with thyroid deficiency. [Table salt these days contains chloride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt#:~:text=Table%20salt%20is%20a%20refined,to%20make%20it%20free%2Dflowing.) instead of iodine. There are other ways to get iodine in your diet, usually through (duh) foods that come from the sea (hence my sea salt pictured is made from "evaporated sea water"). So, fresh salmon and other salt water fish, as well as kelp and even fresh shrimp will contain some iodine. You can see easily why most Americans are deficient in this vital nutrient. Most people that we would consider unhealthy do not consume much healthy fish much less seaweed. And as we know table salts do not contain chloride. Here's another interesting little gem. This isn't really based off "science" but it is something that I have noticed and that I think people will find beneficial from a scientific standpoint. Pardon the paradoxical way I put that.

Take a look at column 17 and you will see "I" which is iodine. Notice how chlorine or "Cl" is in the same column. Also Fluoride "F" and Bromine "Br". Both Fluoride and Bromine are rather toxic. It has been postulated that fluoride, which is very hard to remove from the body, [migrates to the thyroid gland](https://www.boostthyroid.com/blog/2018/4/13/fluoride-and-the-thyroid). This can cause thyroid problems related to T3 the primary hormone that we need iodine for. Bromine also [interferes with the thyroid](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC501258/). And now our table salts contain chloride... It seems that all of these elements in column 17 are very molecularly similar and impact the thyroid. Iodine should be supplemented by salt if possible and saltwater fish, not farm raised but fresh, as well as seaweeds and other creatures that reside in the sea should be consumed periodically to ensure optimal iodine intake which not only keeps the thyroid healthy but promotes brain health and has been shown to help with certain breast cancers. It is a vital nutrient!
Originally posted here: https://hive.blog/hive-120078/@zydane/the-importance-of-iodine-most-people-are-deficient