Salt, Iodine,Thyroid: What’s Cooking !!

The human body needs small quantities of Iodine for good health, and salt was the method chosen to give it to us. Just as chloride,fluoride is being added to water, and Vitamin D is added to milk. It actually has nothing to do with the product, it’s just a convenient carrier.

Contrary to what you may have heard about salt, only few percent of people with high blood pressure improve on a low-salt diet. The real problem with salt isn’t salt at all… it’s a lack of potassium. The other problem is the Sugar and Chemically toxic iodine they add to the salt. Yes, iodine is an agricultural waste by product.

Our body needs real salt, straight from the earth, and is well-equipped to handle it. But commercial salt producers remove all the good minerals and add several harmful chemicals (to bleach the salt white and keep it from caking).

Here are a few misconceptions — and myth-busting facts — that may help you understand the link between Salt, Iodine and the Thyroid Gland.

Salt
Typical table salt is composed of 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as anti-flow and anti-caking agents.
Table salt is bleached and processed with excessive heat that alters the natural chemical structure and destroys essential trace minerals. Hazardous molecules such as iodine and fluoride are added along with toxic substances like aluminum hydroxide (used as an anti-moisture additive).
This processing takes the “life” out of the salt making the unnatural sodium chloride and chemical fillers more challenging to be metabolized by our body. The body must sacrifice tremendous amounts of energy and up to 23 times the cell water to neutralize the damaging effects of the salt.
Part of the process for refined salt, or commercial table salt, involves the use of aluminum, Ferro cyanide and bleach(chlorine). These are all toxic materials that your body takes in with refined, commercial salt. All sea salt producers are using  such refining processes for their salt production.

Its quite shocking to note that in countries where iodine has been added to table salt, the rates of thyroid disease have risen especially among masses that has diet on high salt a.k.a processed food. It makes me wonder if there is any real connection to their claim for Iodised salt!!

Iodine
Our body doesn’t need or contain very much iodine. You might have 20 to 25 milligrams of iodine in your entire body right now.There are two types of iodine needed by various organs in our bodies. Some organs require both, and others utilize one or the other. Iodine and iodide are the two forms needed to provide sufficient iodine supplementation throughout glandular organs.

The iodine added to iodized salt is actually insufficient and difficult for our cells to assimilate.
The type of commercial table salt to which iodine is added is toxic itself! Real unbleached sea salt or Celtic or Himalayan salts are very beneficial. They provide essential, normally unavailable minerals in abundance, but they are slightly gray or coral pink and not shiny white.

In some parts of the world the soil contains no iodine, so the plants contain no iodine and therefore iodine deficiency is a problem. Because,Iodine is very important for proper thyroid functioning. Since iodine influences the thyroid gland which controls metabolism, an undersupply of this mineral
can result in slow mental reaction, weight gain, and lack of energy.This known fact helps in commercial marketing of Iodised salt.

Thyroid Gland
The thyroid gland is the master distribution gland for your whole glandular system. It produces two hormones thyroxine(T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) that your body uses during metabolism. Without these hormones you start to feel tired, depressed, cold, weak, etc.

If you’ve been treated for a thyroid condition may it be hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, its important to note that it has no relevance to iodine mainly because your thyroid gland needs selenium to sufficiently utilize iodine. Selenium influences Iodine to regulate the activity of an enzyme called thyroid peroxidase(TPO).

The formation of thyroid hormone occurs on cell membranes of thyroid cells known as thyrocytes. This process requires selenium as a cofactor nutrient. During this process the enzyme thyroid peroxidase(TPO) prepares iodine for attachment to tyrosine to form thyroid hormone. The normal activity of TPO generates tremendous numbers of free radicals within the thyroid gland in the form of H2O2 and lipid peroxides. These must be deactivated by Glutathione GSH enzymes, otherwise the production of thyroid hormone stresses and inflames the thyroid gland. This can easily result in a reduced rate of thyroid hormone formation. Its like trying to run on a sprained ankle, except it is a sprained thyroid.

However,in areas where people don’t consume enough iodine, practically everyone has thyroid disease — In a planet, that has more processed food and oceans than land mass it is better not to add additional salt to foods because so many of our foods these days have plenty of added salt”–well,
unless you cook with a lot of fresh foods that actually DON’T have added salt. Despite the abundance of salt availability through food, there is a steady increase in thyroid related diseases in most developing countries where Iodised salt is sold.

Note : Selenium is available as a supplement, but two to three Brazil nuts a day can provide all the selenium you need.

Trivia

  • If you are aware of the recent nuclear radiations recently from Fukushima,Japan; you may have heard about the practice of taking iodine pills during the threat of a nuclear radiation. During such radiations or when a nuclear bomb explodes, one substance it forms is radioactive iodine. If you eat, drink or inhale this isotope, your thyroid gland will concentrate it and this can lead to thyroid damage or cancer. By taking an iodine pill, you saturate the thyroid gland with iodine and prevent it from absorbing the radioactive iodine.
  • You are probably aware of the hazards to human health of chlorine, which is used to bleach the salt.
  • Sea salt also contains potassium, which is vital for regulating pH balance along with sodium and chloride.
  • Sea salts have a unique ability to unplug the thick mucus secretions in the lungs & stop overflow of nasal secretions when water is plentiful.
    Guess why your grand mom asks you to gargle warm water with salt.!!
  • A urinary iodine test can determine the amount of iodine deficiency.

Another truth is that our metabolic rate declines, as does our tendency to move around, as we age. Both changes tend to make weight loss more difficult, but it’s still possible with balanced diet and regular physical activity.

If I can teach you anything, it is to think for yourself, instead of being told what to think.

BeWell,
Vivek