Bread isn’t Enough: Why Do You Need Iodine Supplements?

You may be reluctant to take too many supplements during pregnancy, but an extra dose of iodine may be essential for your wellness, and the wellbeing of your unborn child. This is according to researchers from the University of Adelaide, who have found that the iodised salt used in bread is not enough to supply both a pregnant woman and her unborn child with the proper iodine levels to stay healthy.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), iodine deficiency is one of the most common preventable causes of brain damage worldwide. ‘Iodine is an essential element which is important for human brain development and thyroid functions,’ said study lead author, Vicki Clifton, associate professor from the University of Adelaide at Robinson Institute and the Lyell McEwin Hospital. ‘Despite the inclusion of iodised salt in bread, women who were not taking an iodine supplement during pregnancy were still suffering from iodine deficiency. Those women who were taking a supplement in addition to eating bread with iodised salt were receiving health levels of iodine, well within WHO guidelines.’

For the study, the researchers tested the iodine levels of 200 South Australian women throughout their pregnancies, and then six months post-birth in order to track deficiency peaks and dips. The importance of iodine cannot be understated. The essential component of thyroid hormones plays a major role on your baby’s brain development, and is a basic requirement for your baby’s and your body to function with healthy cellular and metabolic functioning. If you have low levels of iodine, this can contribute to underactive and overactive thyroids. Bromide’s iodine blocking capabilities means that the deficiency is linked to many thyroid disorders.

One of the lead authors, Basil Hetzel, a professor emeritus at University of Adelaide who began researching iodine deficiency more than 50 years ago at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, noted, ‘There’s a lot of work going on around the world to ensure that pregnant women are receiving enough iodine for the health development of their unborn babies.’ She concluded, ‘The message is simple: by taking iodine supplements, pregnant women will be able to prevent brain and organ development problems in their babies, and also maintain a healthy level of iodine for themselves.’

Categories: iodine, pregnancy, Research

Under the Sea: Trace Minerals in Seaweed Pack Powerful Punch

Seaweed may not be something you think of as a food, unless you’ve had it as part of a Chinese takeaway – but even then it’s not something you’d think of as a healthy food! However, not only is seaweed edible and very beneficial to your overall wellbeing, it can actually be used as part of your anti-ageing programme.

In fact, Dr. Mao Shing Ni, bestselling author, doctor of Oriental Medicine and board certified anti-ageing expert, cites seaweed as one of the top 10 foods for health and longevity wellness in his new book, Secrets of Longevity Cookbook. He says this is because, during his 25 years of studying centenarians, the same 10 foods kept recurring again and again in the diets of long-living individuals – and seaweed was right up there with the best of them!

Seaweed is a top longevity food packs a powerful nutrient punch that very few other foods can match. In many types of seaweed, there is more calcium than you would find in cheese, more iron than you would find in beef, and more protein than you would find in eggs. Seaweed has roots that penetrate into sea beds that are filled with trace minerals, which are no longer present on land, and so many consider seaweed to be the king of vegetables. Indeed, seaweed has been a staple in Asian diets for thousands of years.

There’s more to seaweed than the shredded, fried variety you get in a takeaway (which, let’s face it, is basically glorified cabbage). There are more than 20 types of edible seaweed, such as nori, kombu, hijiki, wakame, dulce, chlorella, and Irish moss. Complementary wellness experts believe that edible seaweed even has healing properties, helping to heal almost anything and everything. Seaweed is supposed to treat cancer, lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, dissolve tumours and cysts, detoxify heavy metals, reduce water retention, and aid in weight loss.

Kombu seaweed, in particular, is known for helping your body in detoxification. The vegetable comes in long, thick brown strips, and contains powerful trace minerals. Your body needs the high content of iodine in Kombu, for example, to produce two important thyroid hormones that control your metabolism. As your body doesn’t produce this mineral, many people are deficient in iodine and so kombu can come to the rescue!

Categories: iodine, kombu, seaweed

The Secret Powers Of Iodine On Your Health

Iodine is a vital supplement for the human body, as it is responsible for helping the thyroid produce important hormones. These hormones are, in part, responsible for the body’s metabolic rate and, as such, are vitally important for wellness, as they have an effect on all of the body’s processes.

To take care of your wellbeing, you should ensure that your diet includes a small amount of iodine every day. This can be found in soil, rocks and in seawater – and, with regards to the final item on that list, this means that sea food tends to be a good source of iodine. Make sure that the fish you are eating, however, is sea fish, rather than freshwater fish, as the latter does not contain a source of iodine.

Iodine also occurs to varying degrees in other food sources, such as grains and cereals, but the levels can be widely different depending on the iodine levels of the soil where the crop has been grown. In the United Kingdom, cows’ milk is also a source of iodine, although, again, the levels depend very much upon what the cow has been fed.

Adults should have a daily iodine intake of around 0.14mg, and generally most adults with a healthy, balanced diet have no trouble taking in this amount every day without making any changes to their lifestyle.

Some people, however, such as some pregnant women and those with certain types of thyroid disorder, may benefit from taking an iodine supplement too, or increasing the iodine in their diet through food types, or through using iodised salt.

This should always be done with caution, however, as high levels of iodine can cause unwanted side-effects, such as excessive weight gain.

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Categories: iodine, Metabolism, thyroid