Iodine vs Iodide, Deficiency, Supplementation and Iodine Rich Foods (2024)
Your body cannot produce iodine, so you must get it from your food. Although iodine deficiency is reemerging as a public health threat,1 it is completely preventable in the Western world. It is a critically important trace mineral, which means that your body needs it in very small doses. Although many cells use iodine, your thyroid gland uses what’s available first to produce the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). According to Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, 2 most people in the U.S. get their dietary iodine from iodized salt and milk. If a person chooses to follow a low-fat, low-salt diet recommended by the American Heart Association, 3 it drastically reduces the amount of iodine they absorb each day. This may help explain how iodine deficiency and thyroid conditions have become serious public health concerns. According to the American Thyroid Association, 4 roughly 30% of the world's population is thought to be at risk of deficiency a...