Iodine Deficiency Is Awfully Common: Signs to Look Out For
Contrary to popular belief, iodine
deficiency is a health issue that is common in all people, not just
pregnant women and children. As a matter of fact, it was estimated that 2
billion people worldwide are suffering from this condition, which makes
it one of the most widespread nutrient deficiencies in the world. An
iodine deficiency manifests itself through many uncomfortable and
sometimes severe symptoms, such as memory issues, hair loss, weight
gain, and chronic fatigue.
Anyone can develop an iodine deficiency,
although pregnant women, vegetarians, vegans, and those who live in
areas with low levels of iodine in the soil are the most likely to
develop this condition. The reason why iodine deficiencies are
closely-associated with pregnancy and children is that iodine levels
play an important role in brain development and physical growth. Low
levels of this mineral can lead to developmental issues in infants and
children.
Still, anyone can experience iodine deficiency symptoms, especially if
you’re not a fan of seafood and fish and you avoid consuming iodized
salt. Below, we list 8 widespread health issues that affect both men and
women.
1. Feeling cold all the time
Iodine is a mineral that’s present in the
soil and the ocean. The human body needs iodine in order to produce
thyroid hormones. When a person isn’t able to get enough iodine from
their diet, this can diminish the synthesis of thyroid hormones in the
body.
As a result, the body will not receive enough thyroid hormones, and
symptoms reminiscent of those of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
will occur. One such symptom is an increased sensitivity to the cold.
According to medical research, more than 80% of people with an
underactive thyroid start feeling colder than usual.
Researchers believe that this may be due to the fact that low levels of
thyroid hormones slow down the metabolism. As a result, the body starts
generating less heat and becomes more susceptible to be cold.
2. A swollen neck
For those who need a quick anatomy reminder
- the thyroid gland is a small gland located in the front part of the
neck. When a person’s iodine levels are low, this butterfly-shaped gland
perceives it as a sign that it must work harder in order to try and
make more hormones.
Subsequently, it starts growing in size, and the person develops a
goiter - swelling in the front of the neck. A goiter is the most
characteristic symptom of an iodine deficiency and an underactive
thyroid in general. If low iodine is to blame for this symptom,
increasing one’s iodine intake will help decrease the size of the goiter
or make it go away completely. If left untreated, however, this change
can become permanent.
3. Hair loss
One of the tasks of the thyroid gland is to maintain the growth of hair
follicles. Insufficient iodine levels can hinder the regeneration of
hair follicles. If this continues for a long time, the hair follicles
die and the person will experience hair loss. Studies confirm that a
third of hypothyroidism patients of both sexes develop hair loss. If you
suspect that you’re experiencing hair loss due to an iodine deficiency,
restoring normal levels of the mineral usually helps stop the hair
loss.
4. Dry and flaky skin
If you notice that your skin is suddenly becoming dry and flaky,
although you usually don’t have this issue, low iodine intake may the
culprit. The reason why is simple. Thyroid hormones help regulate how
fast our skin renews itself and how much it sweats.
A reduction in thyroid hormone levels, in turn, disrupts this renewal
cycle, making old rough skin cells stick around on the surface of the
skin for a longer time, which makes your skin appear flaky and dry. A
reduction in the activity of sweat glands also plays a role in making
your skin less plump and hydrated.
A combination of these two factors makes people with an iodine
deficiency more likely to suffer from dry and rough skin. As many as 77%
of those who suffer from hypothyroidism experience this symptom
according to studies.
5. Changes in heart rate
Apart from slowing down the thyroid gland,
iodine deficiency can also affect the heart. Changes in iodine levels
can affect the heart rate - the number of beats your heart does per
minute. If you’re not getting enough iodine from your diet, your heart
will beat slower, whereas excessive iodine consumption can make your
heart beat faster than usual.
An extreme deficiency in this mineral makes the heart work very slowly,
and the person suffering from a deficiency that’s that severe will feel
lethargic, tired, and may even faint.
6. Fatigue
Research shows that 80% of diagnosed iodine
deficiency patients experience this symptom. Still, weakness and
fatigue alone are rarely enough to be diagnosed with iodine deficiency.
After all, it’s one of the most common symptoms and can be a sign of so
many health issues.
That said, a feeling of overwhelming and unexplained tiredness is often
the push that makes a patient see a doctor and get blood-work done in
the first place. This, in turn, helps the person receive a proper
diagnosis and start watching their iodine levels more closely.
7. Sudden weight gain
As we mentioned at the beginning of this
article, an underactive thyroid can make your metabolism slow down. When
your metabolism becomes sluggish, your body will start converting the
majority of the energy you consume from food into fat.
For that reason, those who are deficient in iodine may experience sudden
weight gain and may find it difficult to lose weight. In these
individuals, adjusting your iodine levels may speed up your metabolism
and reverse these undesirable changes.
8. Memory issues and difficulty learning new information 
There are so many interesting ways in which
our diet can really influence our mental faculties and brain health. We
usually think of our gut microbiome when we think of this connection,
but even a seemingly-minor flaw like a diet poor in iodine can likewise
create a lot of trouble in the brain. Low iodine levels make it more
difficult for us to learn and remember.
According to studies, an iodine deficiency can even shrink the
hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming long-term
memories. "Lack of iodine is the world's leading cause of preventable
mental retardation and can cause population-wide drops in IQ in areas
where deficiency is common," said Dr. Glen Maberly of Emory University's
Rollins School of Public Health in a press release by the CDC.
Therefore, it’s incredibly important to get your iodine levels in check
if you want to preserve your brain’s ability to form and retain
information.
How to Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Iodine from Your Diet 
Unfortunately, the human body cannot
produce iodine on its own. Therefore, we must rely on our diet
completely in order to meet our daily need for this mineral. A healthy
child and adult need to consume 150 micrograms of iodine per day. This
daily dose increases to 220 micrograms a day for pregnant women and 290
micrograms for breastfeeding women.
In many countries, the soil is poor in iodine, and so the water and the
foods produced in these places lack the mineral. What's more, the levels
of the mineral in the soil only seem to decrease over time. For
example, historically, the solid across the United States was considered
sufficiently rich in iodine, but through the 1980s and 1990s,
researchers started observing that more and more people were deficient
in iodine.
For this reason, many countries, including the United State, started
incorporating iodine into table salt. If you live in an area in the
world with low iodine soil, incorporating iodized salt into your diet
may be a good idea. That said, adding a lot of salt into your meals is
never a good idea, so make sure also to include foods that contain
iodine to meet your daily dose of the mineral.
Whole foods are a much healthier way to enrich your diet with iodine, as
they contain other important nutrients along with it.
These sources
include:
Dairy
Seafood
Meat
Eggs
Seaweed
Soy products.