In my practice I always test for both iodine deficiency and Hashimoto’s when a patient presents with hypothyroid symptoms. Other studies have shown that selenium protects against the effects of iodine toxicity and prevents the triggering and flaring of autoimmune disease that excess iodine without selenium can cause. In the study above where rats developed goiter while receiving excess iodine, when they were given adequate selenium they did not develop the goiter. However-and this is a big “however”- it appears that iodine may only pose a problem for people with Hashimoto’s and other autoimmune thyroid diseases in the presence of concurrent selenium deficiency. In one study, 78% of patients with Hashimoto’s regained normal thyroid function with iodine restriction alone. On the other hand, restricting intake of iodine can reverse hypothyroidism. TPO is required for proper thyroid hormone production. Iodine reduces the activity of an enzyme called thyroid peroxidase (TPO). Why does this happen? Because increased iodine intake, especially in supplement form, can increase the autoimmune attack on the thyroid. The following is just a sample of studies around the world demonstrating this effect: In countries where iodine has been added to table salt, the rates of autoimmune thyroid disease have risen.
But it had an unanticipated-and undesired-effect. This strategy was effective in correcting iodine deficiency. Once researchers realized this, health authorities around the world began adding iodine to table salt. Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide. In this post I’ll explain why optimizing your iodine intake is so crucial, and why both too little and too much iodine can be harmful. In a previous article I showed why, when used alone, thyroid hormone replacement often fails. To see the other articles in this series, click here. This article is part of a special report on Thyroid Disorders.
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