Thyroid Iodine Treatment

Iodine is essential for your diet to promote proper thyroid function and healthy metabolism. Hypothyroidism can be caused by a lack of iodine in the diet. This prevents the thyroid from making enough of the necessary hormones.

A diet lacking iodine is the most common cause of mental retardation and brain damage that would otherwise be preventable. This is especially true for unborn fetuses and infants. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, premature birth, and even infertility.

Iodine is essential in the production of thyroid hormone which itself is essential for normal development of the brain. If a fetus or infant are not exposed to enough thyroid hormone, then they risk permanent mental retardation, or in more severe cases, death. Low birth weight may also result from iodine deficiency.

A person can have low iodine levels without showing symptoms and they can find this out by having their doctor do a urine test or a blood test. There are also visible symptoms of low iodine levels such as an enlarged thyroid gland, also called a goiter. A goiter in its early stages can be difficult to detect. The best method for measuring the thyroid is with an ultrasound.

• lethargy and tiredness
• weakness fatigue
• feeling cold (even on warm days)
• difficulty concentrating, slowed mental processes and poor memory
• unusual weight gain
• depression
• thick puffy skin or puffiness of the face
• hair loss
• dry skin
• constipation
• weak slow heart beat
• enlarged thyroid or goitre

Radioactive iodine (also known as radioiodine) is a form of iodine that has the same chemical make up as nonradioactive iodine. The thyroid gland can not distinguish between the two. The problem is that the nucleus of radioactive molecules have excess energy and give off radiation that can have undesired effects on cells upon which it's concentrated. In addition, these high doses of radiation have been shown to increase a patient's risk for developing cancer.