Best Iodine Supplements Guide: How Much Should You Take Per Day?

Iodine supplements are principally used to correct a nutritional deficiency in this important trace mineral.

Iodine is an essential element that your thyroid gland needs to make thyroid hormones. These hormones are required to maintain normal cellular metabolism and are involved in nearly every physiological process in the body.

Most of the health benefits associated with taking iodine supplements are linked to support for normal thyroid function. The thyroid gland stores about 80% of the body’s available iodine. [1]

If you do not naturally obtain enough of this mineral in your diet, hypothyroidism can develop resulting in low energy levels, fatigue, mental confusion, weight gain, and other serious health problems.

Iodine supplementation is also purported to support metabolism, detoxification, skin and bone health, cognitive performance, mood balance, and protect against infections. It may also help the body utilize other dietary minerals such as calcium and silicon.

Research also suggests that molecular iodine can improve fibrocystic breast disease and cyclic mastalgia in women. It is not clear why this occurs.

Iodine

Essential Mineral

Brain Power

Thyroid Function

Weight Loss

How It Works:

• Important for thyroid hormones & metabolism
• Supports mental function & immunity
• Essential nutrient with multiple roles in the body

Dosage:

Between 50 - 250 mg per day

Safety:

Generally Well Tolerated

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Iodine Supplements Review

According to Dr. Mercola, “An iodine supplement may be necessary due to limited access to iodine rich foods, a vegetarian diet, or exposure to iodine antagonists such as chlorine and fluoride.”

Some common examples of iodine supplements include:

• Potassium iodide (KI)
• Kelp and Seaweed extract
• Lugol’s Solution
• Nascent Iodine drops

Dr. Donald W. Miller Jr. says that iodine plays important roles in maintaining cardiovascular health, immune function and metabolism.

It is a major player in thyroid function because it is required for the production of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones.

T3 (triiodothyronine) is the active form of thyroid hormone, made with three atoms of iodine. T4 (thyroxine) is a prohormone of T3 and contains four atoms of iodine.

Without sufficient iodine availability in the body, the thyroid gland cannot make enough T4 and T3 hormones, resulting in a slower rate of metabolism.

According to Dr. Mercola, a chronic lack of iodine can cause low thyroid activity (hypothyroidism), goiter (enlarged thyroid) and increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

Iodine must be obtained from dietary sources or supplements. It cannot be made within the body. Dietary sources of this mineral include seafood, kelp, cranberries, yogurt, strawberries, cheese and potatoes.

Iodine is also added to certain foods in the United States to enrich the food supply. Iodized salt has been used in the US since the 1920’s. Cereals, breads and certain other processed foods also have this mineral added.

While there are many dietary sources of iodine available, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reports that consumption of this mineral is decreasing in the US.

NHANES reports that the general US population has adequate iodine intake, but that ” certain groups likely do not achieve a sufficient dietary iodine intake according to the World Health Organization.”

According to Dr. David Brownstein, “The recent NHANES study reported that the majority—56%–of women of childbearing age were deficient in iodine. Furthermore, 37% of the young women studied were moderately deficient and 15% were severely deficient.”

These groups may need to take a dietary supplement to promote optimal endocrine health and thyroid function.

How Much Iodine Should You Take Per Day?

There is disagreement in the health community about how much iodine the body actually needs.

The US Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iodine in healthy individuals over 14 years of age is 150 micrograms (mcg) daily.

Pregnant and nursing women have slightly higher needs of 220 mcg per day and 290 mcg per day, respectively.

Based on these numbers, the majority of the US population is able to derive adequate amounts of this mineral from a healthy and nutritious diet.

However, some medical professionals believe that the RDA is too low to support optimal health. The 150 mcg/day recommendation was determined as the smallest amount that effectively prevents goiter.

Dr. David Brownstein states that 95% of more than 6000 patients he and his colleagues have tested over the decades have been deficient in iodine. He claims that the RDA is not enough to maintain “total body iodine sufficiency.”

In Japan, the average daily intake of iodine is more than 13 mg, due to high consumption of seaweed and other fish. This is significantly greater than the US RDA but is not believed to increase the risk of adverse side effects.

According to Dr. Mercola, “The Japanese consume 89 times more iodine than Americans due to their daily consumption of sea vegetables, and they have reduced rates of many chronic diseases, including the lowest rates of cancer in the world.”

Dr. Brownstein recommends determining the appropriate iodine supplement dosage for your needs with a physician. He has used dosages of 6.25-12.5 mg per day in patients and recommends taking selenium along with this mineral.

It is best to discuss how much iodine to take with a health professional before beginning to use this supplement. Excess levels of this mineral can contribute to thyroid dysfunction and other signs of iodine toxicity.

Consider having your doctor test your iodine levels to see if you are deficient. If you include enough iodine-rich foods in your diet, there may be no need to take an iodine supplement.

Iodine Deficiency Symptoms

Rates of deficiency may be significantly higher in certain parts of the world and affect people in developing countries more than in developed nations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that more than 2 billion people worldwide might be deficient in iodine. Of those, as many as 50 million may be experiencing severe symptoms.

According to WHO, maternal iodine deficiency is the leading cause of mental retardation in the developing fetus or infant. Pregnant and nursing women are recommended to use a pre-natal supplement that provides iodine.

Maternal iodine deficiency during pregnancy and/or lactation may cause cretinism; a severe form of mental retardation coupled with physical deformity.

Less serious symptoms of iodine deficiency include goiter, anxiety, depression and hypothyroidism. Researchers have also linked deficiency in this trace mineral with autism in children. [2] However, more research is required to confirm initial findings.

Dr. Edward Group III says that being deficient in iodine may cause impaired brain function and slowed metabolism. He also says that it can cause weakened immunity and compromised organ function.

Breast Health and Fibrocystic Breast Disease

According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, iodine is rated Possibly Effective for fibrocystic breast disease and mastalgia.

Taking 3000-6000 mcg iodine tablets daily for 5 months was found to reduce pain, nodularity and tenderness in women with cyclic mastalgia. This is a condition marked by unusually tender and lumpy breasts as well as pain that occurs with the menstrual cycle.

Canadian researchers also found that that roughly 70% of subjects receiving iodine supplements had improved symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease. The mechanism of action involved is not entirely clear. [3]

According to Dr. Group, “It is generally accepted that there is a connection between a lack of iodine in women, and breast pain/tenderness that can accompany the menstrual cycle.”

Because of this, new research is exploring possible links between iodine deficiency and breast cancer. There appears to be a correlation between low intake of this mineral and higher risk for certain types of cancer.

However, more research is needed to understand how iodine might be associated with breast cancer, fibrocystic breast disease or other related health conditions. The FDA has not approved this supplement as a drug for the prevention or treatment of any of these conditions.

Types of Iodine Supplements

There are many different formulations of iodine liquids, oral tablets and capsules sold online and in local health and nutrition stores. Two popular types of iodine supplements are Lugol’s solution and potassium iodide.

Potassium iodide is inorganic and may be difficult for the body to assimilate. It is estimated that only about 20% of potassium iodide gets used by the cells.

Potassium iodide has been shown to prevent the uptake of radioactive iodine into the thyroid gland, thus preserving thyroid health. According to the University of Maryland (UMM), it can reduce the risk of certain types of thyroid cancer.

Lugol’s solution contains 66% potassium iodide and 33% molecular iodine. A single drop of Lugol’s under the tongue provides 6.3 mg of iodine/iodide. In the body, iodide is converted to iodine. [4]

Best Iodine Supplement to Buy

According to Dr. Group, the best type of iodine supplement is nascent iodine, sometimes referred to as atomic iodine, Atomidine or detoxified iodine.

This product is also known as Transformative Nano-Colloidal Detoxified Iodine. It is purported to have an electromagnetic charge, which makes it unique from other forms of the mineral.

Because of its uneven number of electrons, it is claimed that the body is better able to absorb and utilize it within the thyroid gland. Unlike certain other iodine supplements, nascent iodine is also alcohol-free.

According to Dr. Group, nascent iodine “allows for a larger release of energy once consumed and is very similar to bio-available forms of iodine that are produced naturally in the thyroid gland.”

There is no research available to determine whether this product is superior to other forms of iodine dietary supplements. More research is needed to validate the health claims made regarding this formulation.

Seek medical advice before starting to take iodine supplements or increasing your dietary intake of this important trace mineral. Iodine can cause side effects and may not be appropriate for all people.

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