Published by Programme B
One of the nutrients your body considers vital happens to Menopause. Unfortunately, most adults don’t get enough iodine in their diet. Some end up suffering from iodine deficiency. This often then leads to them suffering a wide variety of negative health complications commonly referred to as iodine deficiency disorders or IDD in short. There are traces of iodine throughout the human body in almost every tissue and organ. Nearly every bodily system needs them in order to keep you energized and, most importantly, alive. For instance, thyroid hormones, which are hormones that not only control the metabolism of your body but are important for several other important functions, need iodine to get made.
Let’s take a look at a few effects iodine rich foods have on your body.
1. Fetal And Infant Development
Women that are breastfeeding or pregnant require sufficient amounts of iodine in their system to help the proper growth and development of their babies. Hormone Replacement Therapy that gets breastfed normally gets the iodine they require from their mother’s breast milk. But, the breast milk iodine content largely depends on the amount of iodine the mother generally gets herself. If you want to have adequate amounts of iodine in your system for proper infant and fetal development, both pregnant and breastfeeding women are usually advised to take iodine supplements. Some particular prenatal vitamins also contain iodine as well.
2. Cognitive Function During Childhood
Severe iodine deficiency during a child’s tender years of age can cause harm to the development of the nervous system and brain. Mild iodine deficiency effects, however, happen to be much harder to detect during childhood. Although, mild iodine deficiency sometimes only causes subtle complications to neurological development. Giving children with this health complication iodine supplements can help improve their cognitive functions and overall reasoning ability. Those children that live in an area that lacks sufficient iodine can really benefit from these supplements. They seem to help improve both the child’s mental and physical development. There are benefits to taking Iodine and this happens to be one of them.
3. Radiation-Induced Thyroid Cancer
Nuclear accidents and disasters can sometimes release radioactive iodine into an environment. This will, in turn, increase the risk of people that have been exposed to that radioactive material suffering from thyroid cancer. Especially the children. Those people that experience exposure to radioactive iodine and suffer from iodine deficiency as well are even more prone to developing thyroid cancer. Their risk happens to be much higher as compared to anyone else we’ve just mentioned. Some nations have considered potassium iodide as an agent that blocks the thyroid which can help reduce the thyroid cancer risk in radiation emergency situations and have gone ahead to approve its use.
4. Fibrocystic Breast Disease
Fibrocystic breast disease, although not harmful, can cause painful, lumpy breasts. The people that are mainly affected are females of reproductive age, however, they can also arise during menopause. Taking iodine supplements in very large doses might help reduce the pain being experienced as well as other symptoms of the disease. Unfortunately, though, there’s still not enough study and research that has been done to confirm this. If you’re suffering from this condition, you’re normally advised to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider before taking iodine to treat the condition.
5. Helps Control Body Temperature And Sweating
A very important detoxification technique your body uses to expel toxins and even sometimes excess calories is sweating. Lack of enough iodine-rich foods in your system can negatively affect the natural way your body flushes waste through your pores as well as how your body temperature is controlled. Aside from all this, iodine deficiency can also cause abnormally low saliva production which can eventually also cause dry mouth. Not only can this impair digestion to a certain degree but it can also make enjoying eating really difficult.