Why Are We Iodine Deficient?

Some health practitioners and nutritionists say we get plenty of iodine in our diet and we don't need to worry about it. I think it isn't true that we get plenty of it. Most people eat iodized salt and think that is taking care of their need. I think there is something wrong with that picture. My reasons have a lot to do with Halogens and the chemical properties of them.

Chlorine, Fluorine, bromine and Iodine are all halogens. The more reactive halogens will replace the less reactive halogens in the body. The higher the molecular weight the less reactive the halogens. The most reactive would be Fluorine, then Chlorine, then Bromine and then Iodine. Most municipal water supplies are treated with chlorine so unless we do something to clean up our drinking water we are getting chlorine from our water into our bodies. Many supplies have added fluorine to the drinking water also plus toothpaste and deodorant and baking powder. We get bromine in much of our baking powder. Salt is made up of Sodium and Chlorine and some salt has iodine added to it. Of all these four chemicals, iodine is needed more in the body and is the least reactive halogen so it will get replaced if any of the other three are present.

It has been estimated by some medical doctors that 99.9 % of the people in the world are iodine deficient. It is widespread everywhere except in Japan where they use a lot of seaweed and kelp. If this is true, we all should pay attention to getting a better source of iodine in our diets so we can have our endocrine systems functioning up to capacity. We should also pay attention to cutting down on the other halogens so the iodine can be absorbed by the body.