Iodine (part 4): Seal the leak

Let’s try to conclude this subject today. We have learned how iodine, although generally not spoken much about, is fundamental to our bodily functions. We also learned that more Australians are iodine deficient than we think. Now let’s talk about its testing and treatment.

If you have symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, broken sleep pattern, unrefreshing sleep, forgetfulness, dizziness, paraesthesia, recurrent infections, slow wound healing, salt craving, or cold intolerance which are not abating after seeing your doctor and being told that your lab tests are all ‘within range’, you may, after questioning the ranges, want to get your iodine tested. Your doctor is able to request this test for you, although there is no Medicare rebate for the testing. This is the urine iodine that I requested for those 52 patients in my audit, and they would have had to pay something in the region of $70-$80 for the test. A normal yellow top urine sample bottle will be given to you and you produce a random sample with no particularity for time or whether or not you have eaten or fasted. A result of less than 100 mcg/L is deficient as per the WHO, but I view values over 150 mcg/L as sufficient, not values below that, but that is a subject for another time.

If you normally source your own testing without the aid of a GP, you will already know that there are other pathology providers out there that run their business model on the net who will test your iodine level for a fee. The request still needs to come from a practitioner, but this may be your chiropractor, osteopath, naturopath, or these companies’ own in-house practitioners. The test is not normally urine however; it is serum i.e. a ‘blood test’. It is not better or worse than a urine iodine test, but you will need to understand that because WHO is global and it uses the urine test, and has done so for nearly 100 years, we have a lot more data than we do serum. You can imagine that it is easier globally to dish out urine pots than to arrange for needle phlebotomy. So at the moment we are still trying to decide on the ‘normal’ ranges for serum iodine testing and every country is proposing their own ‘normal’. They are proposing that their ranges must be the right ones as they only tested ‘normal’ subjects. Well… I don’t know if I agree with that one, especially when it is now normal for us to go on our phones and screens all of the time, depleting our iodine availability. Can you see where the argument is going? Maybe one day when we have enough data on serum iodine that it will surpass the urine testing - but for now I think stick with the latter.

So what do I do if my Iodine is low you ask? Well step number one is to fix the leak is my answer. Remember blue light exposure to the eyes means iodine leak. So is a broken circadian rhythm - as the brain iodine will be used as the brain’s antioxidant instead of its normally abundant glutathione. So is your gut issue - inflammation, infection, irritability - they lower the absorption of available iodine into your bloodstream; instead they will leak into your gut and be expelled in your bowel movement. These three - blue light, circadian and gut are interconnected like you won’t believe it, but this is not the subject of our current discussion. If you however want health ahead of my articles, you will want to mitigate the exposure you have to unnatural lights and make friends with the Sun again is my advice!

Now when your leak is fixed, you can now focus on input. Seafood and sea-minerals are the best iodine sources, so if you incorporate them into your diet regularly you will be able to maintain a healthy amount of iodine. If your taste buds really don’t get along with seafood, you are still in luck - believe it or not the sea minerals actually wrap the coastline like a blanket in the air and therefore the soil will still have iodine. So whatever you eat you may get some iodine coming in, the question remains whether it is enough to make up for your current deficiency or not. Now the bright ones among you will remember that iodine is essential for brain growth and guess that eggs and milk might have a bit more iodine in them as they normally grow brains - well you are not wrong. Just don’t depend on them as you will wind up needing to eat 10 eggs or drink 2 litres of milk a day before they become a reliable source of iodine.

My advice, once you have fixed the leak and are unable to swallow seafood, is to source some really good and clean kelp tablets. They are natural, and each tablet typically gives you what the 10 eggs struggle to do. No taste, no hassle, just swallow. You don’t have to worry about overdoing it either, as your body will typically take what it needs and leave out what it doesn’t. Too much iodine is not always good for you either, although the window is huge, so I don’t want you to worry too much about iodine excess at this point in time. If you have an overactive thyroid though, you will want to get advice from your doctor or practitioner as you do not fall within this general recommendation. 

The alternative Lugol’s solution is an option but as it is partly elemental iodine and not a natural food source, you may want to monitor your iodine levels more closely (not always good for the pocket). If you have a major gut issue, you may want to try Lugol’s topically, which you cannot easily do with seafood or kelp. Topical iodine application bypasses the gut gatekeepers, so you have a better chance of getting the iodine to where you want it. On that note, I don’t generally prefer Lugol’s to be taken orally (and yes I know secretly people are doing it) as I am cautious and skeptical that our body really appreciates a gush of elemental iodine (i.e. corrosive) coming into its guts by surprise.

Lastly, whenever you play around with sea - based foods, minerals or supplements, please be careful with heavy metals. We will have to go back to Christopher Columbus in the 15th century to know how it got there in the first place, but for now get your foods / minerals / supplements sourced well and tested lowest for heavy metals, as you do not want them to come in whilst you are fixing iodine deficiency. As you can see, we can go absolutely everywhere from here, from circadian rhythm to history to heavy metals, as is expected of medicine. I think this art is beautiful, complex and interrelated.

Now for the disclaimer: 

The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or a personalized consultation.

Always seek the advice of your personal physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before undertaking any diet, exercise, or supplement program. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this article.

The author is a qualified healthcare provider and the information shared is based on professional knowledge, research, and opinion. However, this article does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship or personalized medical care. Reliance on any information appearing in this article is solely at your own risk. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately.