Remember iodine?

MeersalzOnce upon a time our mothers applied iodine to the wounds and cuts children got from  active childhood activity. Some older readers may remember iodine applications as a normal part of life.

But few people ever knew or remember iodine as an integral part of the body’s natural, healthful function.

Researchers of the early 20th Century became aware that iodine was plentiful in food from the sea, but deficient in inland countries, including the United States. Goiter, (iodine deficiency) was fairly common. Morton was the first to iodize salt, and for a time that seemed to solve the problem.

But in 2008, researchers became concerned that iodine deficiency had increased 4-fold over the last 40 years.

By then, scientists had become aware that minute amounts of the micro-mineral iodine was essential for healthy thyroid function. Iodine’s deficiency had also been linked to obesity, cognitive impairment, heart disease  and psychiatric disorders.

Iodine deficiency was very disturbing because iodine is  essential in brain development in children. Iodine deficiency was found to be the number one cause of preventable retardation worldwide.

By 2011 it was estimated that 75 percent of normal, ‘healthy’ adults did not consume enough iodine for healthy thyroid and other functions.

Worldwide, about 200 million people suffer from some sort of thyroid disorder, and in the United States 20 million people are dealing with thyroid problems.

Part of the blame lies with the government and medical ‘war on salt,’ as it was assumed that excessive salt was the cause of high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Salt is not the problem.The KIND of salt is.

Commercial salt, like most of the rest of the Standard American Diet, has been heavily processed and stripped of nutritional value. Raw sea salt, on the other hand, provides the minerals missing in much of the modern diet.

Remember iodine? It is in raw sea salt, vegetables and fish from clean seas, and good, whole food vitamins.

In today’s toxic environment, there are many iodine ANTAGONISTS, says Dr. Larry Wilson. Antagonists prevent the body from fully utilizing iodine.

One of the key antagonists is perchlorate, originally used in explosives and rocket fuel. Perchlorate now pervades the water and food supplies throughout the United States. It is even used as a flavor enhancer in processed foods.

Perchlorate blocks the thyroid gland’s ability to absorb and utilize dietary iodine. The thyroid controls our body’s metabolism and regulates body temperature and heart rate.

Another destructive antagonist is bromine, used in commercial breads and desserts, and chlorine and fluorine (in city water supplies).

“Our environment is literally swimming in iodine antagonists,” says Dr. Wilson. “The fluoride in water supplies is used to make many commercial food products. Fluoride water is used on crops. Thus, the fluoride levels in most crops are too high.”

Essential minerals are lacking in the modern diet. Thus, it is vitally important for each of us to learn about minerals needed for optimal health.

Remember iodine? It is only one of the minerals our bodies require.