Iodine is an important mineral as it is essential for thyroid hormones. The detail is that the body does not produce it, so we must obtain it from our daily intake . It is not so difficult! It is found in various foods, and in its natural form it is in soil and seawater. Not in Vamos it is common to hear popularly things like “you have to go to the beach to load up on iodine.” However, more needs to be done than that.

According to the American Thyroid Society , the United States is considered a region with an iodine-balanced population, but many other parts of the world are considered deficient. In fact, they claim that approximately 40% of the world’s population is at risk of iodine deficiency.

Dr. Rossana De Jongh Delgado , a specialist in clinical nutrition, explains that the hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine contain iodine in their structure, that is, the thyroid hormone as such is a molecule that has iodine plus a protein. , which is part of the essential aspects to have good thyroid function.

The doctor points out that, as mentioned, the human body is incapable of producing iodine and that even people who live in coastal areas can inhale – so to speak – iodine, which is said to have less risk of deficiency, while Those who live far from the coast do have a tendency to have it. In fact, there are nicknames such as “the cretin of the Andes”, or “ the cretin of the Alps ” that refer to cretinism, a disease characterized by a low level of thyroid hormones during childhood.

“ Just as a deficiency can lead to a decrease in thyroid hormones, an excess can lead to an alteration and even be contraindicated if the patient is prescribed synthetic thyroid hormone medications.