I will seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.
~ Ludwig van BeethovenWhen you’ve worked in the Natural Health field for a while you begin to notice certain patterns among
the people you see; most of them don’t sleep well, they frequently feel stressed out, and they want to
lose weight, but can’t seem to. And while there are always other factors involved, most of the time any
and all of these situations can be attributed to the thyroid gland, and how well it’s functioning.
The thyroid is a little gland that hugs your trachea, just above your collarbone and plays an integral
role in every single bit of everything that goes on in your body! A major player in the feedback loop
between the hypothalamus and pituitary glands located in your brain, known as the HPT Axis, the
thyroid regulates all of your cellular metabolism; how you grow, heal and regenerate, how you
process food into energy, how you sleep, all of your hormonal (endocrine)systems, that means
reproductive, adrenal, and immune systems, even your blood pressure and central nervous system-
everything relies on the thyroid.
Thyroid and other Endocrine disorders are common in today’s population, particularly among women,
who go through major hormonal changes during pregnancy and menopause, but men aren’t immune,
note the new phenomena of Andropause that’s sweeping the nation.
This is thought to be due in part to a massive iodine deficiency (estimated at approximately 40% of
the world’s population) increased use of varying forms of radiation from Xrays and microwave ovens,
and the fact that we surround ourselves with Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in plastics, pesticides,
perfumes, cosmetics and even some foods!
Every cell in the body craves the trace mineral iodine, and the thyroid is in 
control of iodine 
storage
and dispersal. Found most abundantly in oceanic foods like kelp, and dulse seaweeds and spirulina
algae and shellfish, it’s also in raw milk, butter, eggs, and cheeses, particularly from grass-fed cows,
as well as pineapples, and dark green vegetables grown in good healthy soil.
Iodized Salt
Eggs
Seaweed and DarK Leafy Greens
Interesting tidbit: most inland folks used to get it primarily from wheat, as it was used when
processing flour (more on that in a later post) it was then added to table salt. But, salt became a pariah in
the last few years because of it’s suspected links to High Blood Pressure, and people were advised to cut down.
In pregnancy, severely low levels of iodine can cause “cretinism” or mental retardation coupled with
physical deformities, as well as deafness, and other forms of mental illness. Iodine deficiencies in
early childhood stunt the development of the Central Nervous System and can result in low IQ, and also lead
to ADD. During menopause, iodine deficiency can increase the risk for breast cancer, which appears
in higher rates in areas where goiters are common, particularly around the Great Lakes and the
central United States, where access to sea foods is minimal.
[ref]References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/08/iodine-is-important-but-new-study-shows-too-much-causes-problems.aspx
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothalamic%E2%80%93pituitary%E2%80%93thyroid_axis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andropause
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