Health Tip Of The Day: [Iodine]
Iodine deficient?
The best way to test iodine levels is with a 24 hour urine collection test.
If you are low in iodine levels, it can take 3-6 months to reach iodine saturation.
Feel free to message me if you or a friend has any health related questions.
no. The best way is to put it on your wrist if it still there in 24 hours you're low..
Nope, this is not true. This is not an accurate way of testing for iodine.
You cannot consider that you are deficient or sufficient based on the patch test on the skin.
There are too many variables that change its absorption. It isn’t very scientific.
Have a look at this review paper on the accuracy of the skin test:
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/updates/UNIOD-02/UNIOD_02.htm
The 24 hour urine test is the best test (though even that has some flaws)
Sorry, practitioner has been doing this for 15 years. 100's of patients. My wife has been doing it for 5 patients a day for years. 100% success rate.
Good for you. But if you look at the literature it is well known that it's not the most accurate test (did you look at that link?) . I'm simply saying if you want the best test then the 24 hour urine test is the best.
Many years ago I went in on a study group for prostatitis. Found out I had very high levels of mercury. It was no wonder because I would eat fish and more often than not tuna fish about every few days. A battery of tests also showed I was low in iodine. Now the doctors were more concerned about getting rid of the excess mercury but what are some ways to add iodine to your diet?
Hey. It's funny that you say you were low in iodine but high in mercury and docs wanted to treat the mercury... why - because it's been shown that improving iodine status can actually help detoxify against excess mercury!
So they could have treated the low iodine and hit two birds with one stone.
For more on this, check out the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without by- Dr. Brownstein. As for where you can get it, seaweed is the main source - kelp etc. However, it's hard to get enough through kelp. Generally if you are deficient (and post people are these days due to lower levels of iodine in our food) you have to supplement for a while to restore adequate levels. Even iodised salt is not enough (it seems) to keep iodine levels up high enough. For more, check out that book by Dr Brownstien. Its a good read.
Much appreciated about the book suggestion. I do eat kelp from time to time so I should add some more in my diet... that and iodine. My mercury level was through the roof so I ended up taking EDTA to drop the mercury levels. That worked.