SELENIUM, IODINE, & THE THYROID: MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THINK

Iodine, you may have heard that it's important for your thyroid, but it has many other important functions in the body as well. Iodine is an essential mineral and if you don't get enough of it could cause many negative health effects, such as:

Hypothyroidism:
This condition is also known as having an underactive thyroid. This is when your thyroid cannot produce enough thyroid hormone. Then, body processes begin to slow down.

Symptoms of Hypothyroidism:

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Modest weight gain
• Cold intolerance
• Tiredness
• Dry, course hair
• Constipation
• Dry skin
• Muscle cramps
• Increased cholesterol levels
• Decreased concentration 
• Aches and pains
• Leg swelling

Goiter:

A goiter is an enlarged thyroid gland. This can be caused from getting too little hormone(hypothyroidism) or too much hormone(hyperthyroidism).

Why Iodine Is Important

Iodine could very well be just as important as oxygen for the body. Even though the thyroid is a small gland in our bodies, it's responsible for a major amount of functions in the body. The thyroid is a gland that's responsible for all the hormone activity in the body. Iodine could play a pretty big role in keeping you from getting cancer. About two thirds of all breast cancers are fed and stimulated by the hormone estrogen

Iodine and breast cancer


Iodine is important to the health of women's breast tissue. When there's low iodine in the breast tissue it can cause breast cancer. The longer there's a deficiency in iodine, the greater the risk of breast cancer.


Connection Between Iodine and Selenium

Selenium is just as important as iodine in the body. It is a mineral that is critically important to the function of the thyroid gland. Selenium does many things in the body.  Selenium helps to convert T4 into T3 hormones in the body, it also helps to keep your white blood cells up. Iodine and Selenium work hand in hand, so make sure your getting enough of both.

 Tips To Keep Your Thyroid Healthy

• Supplement Selenium         
• Exercise
• Eat Fresh & Organic Food
• Eat Iodine & Tyrosine Rich Foods
• Eat Vitamin-B Rich Foods 

Foods That Help The Thyroid

• whole grains
• nuts & seeds
• turnip greens
• pine nuts 
• peanut butter
• sesame seeds 
• dark chocolate
• winter squash 
• carrots 
• tomatoes
• mangoes
• sweet potatoes
• olives
• dried herbs
• lettuce
• cantaloupe
• dried apricots
• brazil nuts
• bran

Sources:

 photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/naama/23086990/">naama</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

http://www.naturalnews.com/038207_DuPont_students_seed_money.html
 http://www.thyroidresearchjournal.com/content/4/1/14
 http://drlwilson.com/Articles/IODINE.htm
 http://www.theleeclinic.com/blog/the-importance-of-iodine/