Wednesday, April 17, 2013

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU HAVE IODINE DEFICIENCY | NUTRIENT CORNER

Iodine is essential to proper body function and therefore extreme care must be taken to provide the body with the recommended dietary allowances.

SYMPTOMS OF IODINE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (IDD)


Iodine deficiency negatively affects the healthy and optimum functioning of all body processes. Some symptoms include:

Goiter
This is the enlargement of the thyroid glands and can be caused by different factors however iodine deficiency is the most common cause worldwide. Iodine regulates the rate of hormone release by the thyroid glands. Therefore, in people who are deficient of it, the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) causes the over-stimulation of the thyroid gland in an effort to produce increased amounts of thyroid hormone. According to WHfoods.com, “Goiter is more common in certain geographical areas of the world where iodine is lacking in the diet and where selenium is lacking in the soil. (Selenium is directly involved with certain activities of the thyroid gland.)”

Hypothyroidism
This refers to the production of hormones in very low quantities by thyroid gland. This affects general body functions and leads to fatigue, dry coarse/scaly skin, abnormal weight gain, weakness, constipation and depression.

Hyperthyroidism
Iodine deficiency also allows for the production of hormone in excessive amounts by the thyroid glands. This is referred to as hyperthyroidism and leads symptoms such as, weight loss, rapid heartbeat and appetite fluctuations.

Cretinism 
This is a condition that is characterized by hypothyroidism leading to malfunction/failure of the thyroid gland and/or severe mental retardation, stunted physical growth, deafness, and spasticity according to WHfoods.com. Iodine deficiency in pregnant women or infants leads to this condition and can be treated with iodine supplementation if detected early.

Mental retardation
 Iodine deficiency is recognized as the leading cause of mental retardation worldwide and this leads to poor mental activity. An IQ point decrease of up to 15 points can be recorded in most cases as result of conditions like cretinism.

CONCLUSION
Iodized salt is a special recommend for people to meet their iodine recommended dietary allowance (RDA). It’s relatively inexpensive and will go a long way to provide the much needed iodine for proper body functions.
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This article was reviewed on Monday, 31st April, 2013 By Nu. Sallah Stanley Kwesi (Nutritionist at Nutritional Talk)

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