THE IODINE STORY
Essential trace minerals such as iodine used to have a natural ecosystem supply route to replenish soils of the earth. Iodine came from the ocean and the wind carried it over the earth. When it rains, trace minerals are deposited and absorbed into the soil. The amount of iodine in the diet varied depending on the amount of iodine present in the soil in which plants grow or on which animals’ graze. In the 1930’s the iodine carried by the wind was depleted when it arrived in the middle of the United States. This region became known as the Goiter Belt. In 1914, the U.S. Government intervened, promoting iodine to be added to milk products and later to salt, to help control the terrible disease known as goiter.
Iodine is a MAJOR factor in nutrition. It must be available to humans and animals for the thyroid hormones to be synthesized.
As part of the thyroid hormone:
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Iodine regulates body temperature and metabolic rate including weight gain.
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Iodine is very important in reproduction. A severe thyroid under secretion during pregnancy causes the extreme and irreversible mental and physical retardation know as cretinism.
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Iodine is important for growth, the making of blood cells, nerve and muscle function and the amount of energy a body will have.
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If iodine reservoirs become depleted, they must be restored to their full capacity. If the iodine level of the blood is low, the cells of the thyroid gland enlarge to trap as many particles of iodine as possible. If the gland enlarges until it’s visible, it is known as a simple goiter.
Today, as iodine comes out of the ocean, chemicals and smog in the air destroy airborne nutrients. So, it is important to consider that there is little or no iodine in the ground or air.
The recommended daily requirement of 150 mcg. a day is now considered very low and inadequate. Some doctors have postulated that the minimum daily requirement of iodine should be 100 times the present daily requirement. Since, the iodine we would normally breathe or receive from our foods is greatly reduced, in order to maintain proper body function, we must consider attaining additional iodine from a dietary supplement.