Iodine for a Healthy Thyroid

About one in three Germans has an enlarged thyroid gland. In some areas, up to six percent of babies are born with a goiter. This would be just as preventable as about 100,000 thyroid operations a year. Actually, preventing them is so simple: Sufficient iodine helps the thyroid gland to work properly. However, Germans do not seem to be very careful with their iodine supply, as the figures show. According to studies by the German Federal Ministry of Health, the supply has improved, but it is still far from good. The average person lacks about 60 to 80 µg of iodine on their dinner plate every day; pregnant and breastfeeding women often lack as much as 120 to 140 µg.

Daily iodine requirement

How much iodine everyone needs daily is shown in the table:

Group of people Daily intake of iodine in µg/day
Infants 50 – 80
Infants 100 – 120
Schoolchildren 140 – 180
Teenagers 200
Adults up to 35 years 200
Adults over 35 years 180
Pregnant 230
Breastfeeding 260

Source: German Society for Nutrition

Iodine in food

As an essential trace element, iodine must be ingested with food. However: the melting of the glaciers after the Ice Age washed iodine out of the soils and into the seas, intensive cultivation and overfertilization did the rest and have depleted the arable soils. Iodine-poor foods are the consequence. How can we still avoid slipping into iodine deficiency? Iodine bombs are actually only sea fish. 75 grams of pollock, 165 grams of cod, 270 grams of golden perch or 380 grams of herring provide the daily requirement of 200 µg of iodine. Preservation and vigorous cooking can significantly reduce the content. Milk and dairy products are also richer in iodine than other foods. Vegetables and fruit, on the other hand, do not provide more iodine. Example: Eight kilograms of cucumbers or 200 pears a day also provide 200 µg of iodine, but are not only rather one-sided, but also not very realistic. Therefore: The weekly iodine target can be achieved with two to three fish meals per week, daily milk and dairy products, and the use of iodized salt. If you then make sure that you only buy food from the bakery or butcher that has been prepared with iodized salt, you can also do your iodine account some good.

Iodized salt in industry

So far, only one-third of industrial food producers use the fortified salt. State authorities are not allowed to add iodized salt to drinking water or livestock feed. The supply of iodine in Germany is voluntary. Therefore the tip: Look for the blue iodine seal in restaurants and canteens as well as in bakeries and butcher shops. It is also important to clear up a widespread misconception. Only iodized salt in one’s own household shaker is not enough for a good iodine supply. You would have to take five to ten grams of it a day to get 100 to 200 µg of iodine. This is not sensible because of the risk of increasing blood pressure.

Supplement missing iodine with tablets

It is also often referred to as vitamin I of the thyroid gland. The one who does not manage to regularly bring sea fish on the plate and iodized salt in the shaker, pharmacists and doctors advise to take 100 µg iodide tablets daily. Iodine is a natural trace element that everyone needs and has nothing to do with chemistry. The vitamin character of iodine is based on the fact that an excess is excreted by the kidneys. The healthy thyroid gland regulates exactly how much iodide it absorbs from the blood.

Iodine in pregnant women and nursing mothers

The most important recipients of iodide tablets are pregnant and breastfeeding women. Expectant mothers should begin taking them in the first trimester of pregnancy. Around the tenth week of pregnancy, the embryo‘s thyroid gland produces hormones itself – if the unborn child receives sufficient iodine from the mother’s blood. An adequate iodine supply is essential for the normal development of the child’s nervous system, body maturation and growth.

Hormone production by iodine

Why does the small butterfly-shaped gland below the larynx need the trace element iodine in the first place?Their cells, the thyrocytes, work like a small synthesis factory: the two thyroid hormones triiodothyronine (T3) and L-thyroxine (T4) are produced here. Both contain iodine. The thyrocytes accumulate iodide from the blood. Subsequently, the iodide is oxidized to iodine and iodine atoms are accumulated. Through several stages, the storage form of the hormones is thus formed, from which they are released when needed and released into the blood.

Consequences of iodine deficiency

If there is a lack of iodine in the blood, the thyrocytes can no longer produce enough hormones. The thyroid gland tries to compensate. Completely uselessly, new glandular cells are formed to supposedly increase hormone production. This is not very effective because of the lack of the raw material iodine. The result is an enlarged thyroid gland, also known as goiter. Sooner or later, nodular changes occur. “Cold nodules” are non-functional tissue that can degenerate and therefore need to be watched. Hot nodules produce hormones uncontrollably as iodine rushes to them. They are also called autonomous adenomas because they can produce so much hormone that hyperthyroidism develops. The oversupply of T3 and T4 drives metabolic processes, and the energy metabolism in the organism is ramped up. This explains why patients with hyperthyroidism often suffer from palpitations and diarrhea and have to struggle with insomnia and restlessness. The reverse is true for hypothyroidism, the underactive state: those affected are often overweight, easily fatigued and suffer from constipation. Without iodine, sufferers feel like a car without fuel.

Treatment of goiter

If a goiter has formed, it is important to treat it as early as possible. At the doctor’s office, one can determine the iodine status and have the thyroid gland examined. The goal is to shrink the gland back to normal size. In young people, this is often achieved with iodide tablets. The doctor determines the dose. If this is not sufficient, doctors prescribe L-thyroxine or a combination of both. Sometimes a long-standing iodine deficiency may also require surgery on the small gland. This is necessary about 100,000 times a year in Germany. For example, surgery is unavoidable if the enlarged thyroid gland presses on neighboring organs such as the trachea, if individual areas produce large amounts of hormones and thus lead to hyperfunction, in the case of specific nodular changes or malignant tumors. Even after surgery, one cannot avoid iodine, because usually not all thyroid tissue is removed.