Thyroid Trouble? More Iodine May Not Be the Right Choice

A better way to get your thyroid back on track

When your thyroid is unbalanced, it can throw your whole body off.

If it’s running too high, called hyperthyroidism, you may feel anxious and irritable. You’ll find it hard to sleep, feel hot and sweaty for no reason, and struggle to keep weight on.

If it’s running too low, called hypothyroidism, which is more often the case, you might feel depressed and sluggish. You’ll struggle to stop gaining weight, deal with constipation often, and notice your hair thinning out.

Your body can only function the way it’s supposed to when your thyroid strikes the right balance. Unfortunately, around 20 million Americans struggle with some form of thyroid disease. The overwhelming majority of those people have hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid.

And while heaping doses of iodine are the most common go-to for dealing with thyroid issues – especially underactive thyroid – that can make your thyroid situation even worse.

A better option: Give your thyroid more comprehensive support to nourish every part of the system.

The Whole Thyroid System

Your thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, and it has an oversized effect on your entire body. That gland is part of an intricate system that includes your brain, your pituitary gland, and your liver. All the parts of the system work together to regulate thyroid hormone levels.

On the other side, thyroid hormones affect virtually every cell, organ, and system in your body. Everything from brain function to metabolism to heart rate to bone density takes direction from thyroid hormones.

Your thyroid uses iodine and tyrosine (an amino acid) to create thyroid hormones. The primary hormone produced by your thyroid is called tetraiodothyronine, or T4, the inactive form. That gets converted into the active form called Triiodothyronine, or T3.

Most T4 to T3 conversion takes place in the liver, though this takes place throughout the body. The conversion process requires selenium and zinc to create the enzymes needed for the transformation. Without that process, the thyroid hormones can’t do their job.

The liver also produces thyroid binding hormone, a unique protein that transports T3 and T4 where they need to go. Finally, cells uptake the thyroid hormones needed to perform their normal functions.

Unfortunately, this system has vulnerabilities all the way through, and there are several spots in the process that can break down and affect thyroid hormone production. And adding in more iodine won’t solve any of those problems.

Iodine: Friend or Foe?

Your thyroid needs iodine to make T4 and T3. When you don’t consume enough iodine, thyroid hormone production runs low, a condition called hypothyroidism. A  pilot study found that 92% of hypothyroid patients had iodine deficiencies. And that can make it seem like increasing iodine supplies can fix everything.

And while iodine may be a piece of the solution to thyroid troubles, it’s not always the right answer. And commonly recommended mega-doses of iodine can make matters much worse. Using huge doses of iodine to force your thyroid to perform can backfire.

Your thyroid is designed to manage the amount of iodine available, whether that’s scarce or excessive. When there’s too much iodine in the system, a process called the Wolff-Chaikoff effect kicks in to reject the overload. This protects delicate thyroid tissue and keeps it from producing too much hormone. The effect is supposed to be temporary, due to unusual iodine spikes, and quickly return thyroid activity to normal.

But when your thyroid has to deal with too much iodine for too long, the thyroid can get trapped in the Wolff-Chaikoff effect. That causes it to reject iodine even when there’s no excess. And it leads to a state of underactive thyroid, hypothyroidism, that can last indefinitely.

You can see how mega-doses of iodine may not be the best choice to solve your thyroid issues. And that’s especially true if the problem was never thyroid hormone production in the first place.

What If Your Thyroid Gland Isn’t the Problem?

Your thyroid and thyroid hormones work in a delicate harmony within the full thyroid system. Your thyroid gland is not the only part of this team that could need support. In fact, your thyroid could be working perfectly and still your thyroid hormone levels could be out of sync. That’s because each step along the way is vulnerable to threats.

One of the biggest culprits: chronic stress. When you’re constantly stressed out, your body pumps out stress hormones like cortisol that keep your body in a near-permanent state of fight-or-flight. This cortisol flood can tax the entire thyroid system, from suppressing pituitary gland function to inhibiting conversion of T4 to T3. Cortisol can also stop thyroid hormone from entering cells and trigger thyroid hormone resistance, making cell receptors stop responding to the hormones’ presence.

Other disruptions to thyroid hormone balance can include:

• liver issues that hamper the T4 to T3 conversion process
• nutrient deficiencies, especially selenium and zinc which are needed to convert T4 to T3
• oxidative stress, which can degrade active thyroid hormone and interfere with T4 to T3 conversion in the liver

All of these problems can lead to thyroid hormone imbalances, but none of them can be solved with iodine megadoses. And even the smallest glitch anywhere in the system can affect thyroid hormone levels. That’s why it’s so important to support every step in the process.

Nourish and Support the Whole Thyroid System with Thyroid Strong™

Your thyroid system depends on a lot more than just iodine. It needs several key nutrients to create T3, active thyroid hormone. It requires antioxidants to protect your thyroid, thyroid hormones, and every piece of the thyroid system. The full process calls for a well-nourished liver. And all of this depends on healthy stress management to perform optimally.

It takes a holistic approach to promote complete thyroid health and balanced thyroid hormone levels.

Thyroid Strong™ addresses every part of the thyroid system: 

• direct support with L-tyrosine and kelp, a balanced source of iodine – the ingredients needed to make thyroid hormones
• selenium and zinc, key nutrients required for the conversion of T4 to active T3
• antioxidants, such as N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) and resveratrol, to support optimal liver function and protect the whole process against oxidative stress
• adaptogenic herbs including holy basil and ashwagandha that help the body manage stress more effectively

Intentionally crafted to support total thyroid hormone balance, Thyroid Strong™ delivers comprehensive thyroid care so you can feel comfortable, calm, and energetic every day.

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