Iodine deficiency is a serious health problem. However, we should also keep in mind that too big doses of this mineral can also be dangerous and harmful – iodine overdose may lead to heart disease or initiate other problems.
Iodine is a mineral found in salt, seafood, cod liver, seaweed, eggs, dairy products and some types of bread products. It is important for a normal functionality of thyroid (it’s the main component of its hormones), helps to regulate metabolism and acts an important role in human’s development.
Many studies have been carried out about the lack of iodine – it has been found that its deficiency may increase the thyroid, slow down metabolism processes and brain activity. In addition, your skin may become rough, hair – brittle, you may also gain some weight and feel the lack of energy. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also recommended to take vitamins containing iodine, because iodine deficiency may increase the risk of miscarriage and the possibility that the baby will be mentally disabled.
However, though doctors have less knowledge about the effects of iodine deficiency, new studies have been carried out. For 4 weeks randomly selected 256 healthy adults were given different doses of iodine supplements. The researchers divided them into random groups that all received different doses of iodine (from 0 to 2000 micrograms per day). As a result, 5 percent of those patients who received more than 400 micrograms of this mineral per day were found to have a developed hypothyroidism. This number increased with the dose of iodine: 47 percent of those who received the highest dose (2000 micrograms of iodine per day) were found to have a secret hypothyroidism. This disease leads to continuous fatigue, depression, dry skin or overweight.
As a result, experts recommend receiving no more 800 micrograms of iodine per day in order to avoid such health problems.