Iodine - Information and Benefits of Iodine

Iodine is one of the most important nutritional supplements for the human body, Iodine is essential for the normal growth and development. Iodine is important for maintaining the body temperature and it helps in the conditioning of hair, skin, teeth and nails. Iodine affects the body and health through its interactions with the thyroid gland. Most of Iodine of body is stored in the hormones of the thyroid gland. Iodine is used in medical treatment as tincture and Iodioform. It is used in the preparation of certain drugs and in the manufacture of some printing inks and dyes. It is also an ingredient of water purification tablets that are used for drinking water preparation. 

Sources of Iodine

Among the many different sources of iodine, the most convenient and easily available source is salt. Iodine can be found naturally in air, water and soil. Iodine is the component of bread, sea fish and oceanic plants. Iodine is naturally present in the ocean and some sea fish and water plants store it in their tissues.

Food Sources of Iodine

1) For Non-vegetarians:

• Salmon  
• Tuna
• Haddock
• Perch
• Cod
• Sea Bass
• Herring
• Table salt fortified with iodine

2) For Vegetarians:

• Kelp
• Seaweed
• Dairy products and milk (from cows that graze on iodine rich soil)  
• Table salt fortified with iodine

High salt foods are not a good sources of iodine such as chips, commercially baked goods (cakes, pastries etc), and processed food stuffs. In spite of having high in salt such products are not containing iodized salt. Iodine supplements are also good sources of iodine.

Benefits of Iodine

The benefits of Iodine are; Iodine is a building material of thyroid hormones that are essential for growth, the nervous system and the metabolism, it can help thyromegaly, hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid), fibrocystic diseases, and explore to radiation.  
The condition of hair, skin, nails and teeth can be improved with the proper amount of iodine.

Deficiency Symptoms of Iodine

A deficiency of Iodine can negatively affect the health and functioning of the body. These issues may appear when a person has inadequate amounts of iodine. The person's thyroid may enlarge and the condition is known as a goiter. In this situation, the neck and/or voice box may also become inflamed. This issue is most commonly caused by a deficiency of iodine (on a worldwide basis).

Cretinism can also appear as an iodine deficiency symptom. It involves small growth in a physical sense as well as impaired mental abilities. The individual's stomach may stick out.

Weight gain is another issue that may appear as iodine deficiency symptoms.

Symptoms of Overdose of Iodine

There is little risk of iodine overdose, even at least 10 to 20 times the RDA. However, if human get 30 times the RDA; one is likely to experience a metallic taste, mouth sores, swollen salivary glands, and diarrhea, vomiting, headache, a rash, and difficulty in breathing. Ironically, a goiter can also develop if person consistently take extremely large amounts of iodine.