Iodine for fertility and health

Iodine is so important for the healthy functioning of the thyroid, but soils are often depleted of this nutrient and chemicals such as flouride and bromine and chlorine can displace iodine in the body. Without a health thyroid, which controls so many hormones, fertility is sure to be compromised.

Iodine is also generally good for health. At the turn of the century, doctors gave people who seemed generally unwell, infertile, etc. iodine as a matter of course. I just read an old book called Vermont Folk Medicine that talks about using a simple iodine solution called Lugol's for better health, and Lugol's is making a comeback for everything from thyroid issues to cancer healing--lack of iodine may be a factor in developing certain cancers such as breast cancer.

It's also interested to note that the Japanese and Okinawans have the best longevity stats (as anyone following the healthcare debate will find), and the Japanese diet probably has about the most natural iodine with all the seafood and seaweed. And, interestingly, Japanese women have the lowest rates of breast cancer in the world.

In order to make up for our lousy iodine intake, the government iodizes salt. But I don't like/trust bleached table salt read more here) and would like to get my iodine another way.

Food sources of iodine include seaweeds (although the popular sushi seaweed, nori, probably has the least) and seafood. Many fish unfortunately are contaminated with mercury, which kind of negates the benefits, but smaller fish like sardines can fill the bill.

But even so, it's difficult to get enough iodine. Our family probably gets more natural iodine than most families as we eat seaweed fairly regularly. It turned out our son even had a sluggish thyroid, and I used a potassium iodine product called Ioderal, which helped bring his hormone levels back to normal. I have thryoid issues myself and used this product but didn't find any help for my fatigue, etc.

But I tried this "nascent iodine," which is supposed to be a particularly bio-available source of iodine, a few drops in a glass of water three times a day and noticed slightly more energy. And more proof, my thyroid hormone levels were improved as well. I felt it was helping enough that I even brought the bottle with me on a recent trip to NORTH KOREA, and I kept up with a bunch of students on what was a very physically demanding trip. It was also handy knowing that I could put 15 drops in a glass of water to sterilize it if I needed to.

The taste is not great, but the results are worth it. Again, I am not a medical professional but only recounting my experience with this product. Get it here.