Senior Member

Posts: 110
From:Tampa, FL, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 04-16-2003 11:25 AM            

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Please excuse my ignorance.... Still in the learning stages.... With all my thyroid issues I've been really picky about what I take and eat as of late. I recently noticed that Centrum has 150 mcg of Iodine. I've been taking Centrum religiously once everyday for, at least, the past 9 years. My question is: Is this too much Iodine when combined with other foods like beer (non-alcoholic - ODUL'S), veggies, tuna, and other foods that contain Iodine?

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-16-2003).]

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posted 04-16-2003 08:31 PM            

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Oh baby, let me tell you what iodine can do! I have had Hashi's for 6 years--never had a problem with eating seafood or iodized salt (in other people's houses; I use kosher salt at home)--then this year I decided to be healthy and take a multivitamin. It contained the same amount of iodine as yours, and I took it for 50 days and felt myself getting a tiny bit more hypo as time went on. So I thought I better stop taking it--and when I did, it created a type of thyroiditis. I am now suffering (and I do mean SUFFERING) the effects--it feels like being hyper and hypo at the same time, is extremely miserable and only tolerable with beta blockers. I have missed 2 weeks of work and don't expect to go back for about a month.
HOWEVER, I must stress that this does not happen to everybody, only those whose thyroids are incapacitated or sensitive to the iodine. If I were you, I would definitely check with my doc. Maybe if you back off the iodine slowly you won't create the havoc I did. I don't know what all your thyroid issues are, but this is something I strongly advise getting your doc's assistance. I say it this strongly not to scare you but because I don't want anybody to go thru what I'm going thru!

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From:California Sierra Mountains
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posted 04-17-2003 12:13 AM            

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I agree, back off slowly. Perhaps you can break the tablets?

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posted 04-17-2003 10:38 AM            

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OK - Will do. I'll start taking half of the tablets a day and ask my doctor's opinion on my next visit. I am definately allergic to Shellfish (iodine) already, hives, itchy mouth etc etc.., so why did the Iodine in the multivitamin not cause a reaction? I really appreciate the responses..

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-17-2003).]

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posted 04-17-2003 11:26 AM            

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Is it definitely the iodine in shellfish you're sensitive to, or could it be something else in shellfish?
I don't know how much iodine is in shellfish vs. the vitamins, or whether chewing and swallowing vs. gulping down a pill might make some difference, or whether the source of the iodine matters. But iodine is very thyroactive. Here's a link explaining what happens when an impaired thyroid gets a good whallop of iodine: The Jodbasedow Effect The article deals mostly with previously iodine-deficient subjects, but the same process happens to those with debilitated thyroids.
Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by wobbly (edited 04-17-2003).]

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posted 04-17-2003 12:53 PM            

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Very good question wobbly! My doctor basically said that since I'm allergic to shellfish I am allergic to Iodine. I guess based on the symptoms of anaphalaxys (sp?) I get?? I really don't know... It would make sense though that if I'm that allergic to iodine I would have a reaciton to it in any form. Right? I know shellfish has a concentrated dose of Iodine but if its anything less or more than the Mutivitamin I have no idea... You've raised some great points for my PCP! Thanks for the link! Very interesting...

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-17-2003).]

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posted 04-17-2003 02:59 PM            

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Just thought I'd offer my two cents on this subject. It's too soon to be making yourself crazy about your iodine consumption, Lev. Looking around the Net, I found that it would take a very excessive daily intake of iodine over the span of a decade or more to cause real problems. And an "excessive" intake is defined as being in the range of over 2000 mcg/day or more.
You already don't eat seafood, which is the highest food source. Unless you eat a lot of sea vegetables [kelp or other seaweeds], it's unlikely you've gotten a harmfully excessive amount. Maybe not impossible, but unlikely.

The thing is, the reason it's so hard to pinpoint the amount of iodine in various foods, is because it varies so widely...depending on the concentration of it in soil where the food is grown, or the kind of feed the meat producers give the animals, etc.

I found this website that offers good information about iodine dietary requirements. There's also a chart listing common foods and their content: http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/nutrition/factsheets/iodine.html
Hope it helps.

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From:Tampa, FL, USA
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posted 04-17-2003 03:30 PM            

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midwest1, thanks for your two cents. Not going crazy (yet) but certainly very concious of what is going into my body now. Thanks for the link! 2000 mcg sure sounds like a lot but, depending on the diet, it adds up quickly. I've probably cut out about 700mcg per day already in my quest. Still finding out about more foods.. Just discovered how much Iodine bread had from that link you provided - I eat two to three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches a day up until today! I would guestimate that my daily Iodine intake was pretty close to 1500 mcg per day for at least 7 of those 9 years - this is based on food I now know about. Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-17-2003).]

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From:California Sierra Mountains
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posted 04-18-2003 01:09 PM            

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Hi Lev,
All kinds of preprepared and prepackaged foods have loads of iodized salt in them, too. Fast food is also loaded. Low and no fat means added sugar and salt.

It used to be that we knew the basic content of foods we ate, according to the location they were produced, but now that we get food from all over the world, we have no ide of the true content. Then there is the altered foods. Yikes!

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posted 04-18-2003 03:20 PM            

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Holly cow! So much for TV dinners, fast foods and most soups! I never knew that about low fat and fat free foods either! Gosh! My iodine intake must have been through the roof! Thank you all kindly for the lessons.. Where can I find information on the "right" kind of foods to eat as I slowly decrease my iodine intake? I hope I'm making sense - really foggy and zombie brain dead kind of day for me so far.. Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-18-2003).]

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From:California Sierra Mountains
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posted 04-18-2003 07:53 PM            

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Hi Lev,
I think the information Archive thread has a list of specific foods to avoid. The book, The Thyroid Solution, has a list of goitrous foods to avoid or eat in moderation.

A lot of folks think they help themselves by eating low or no fat prepared foods, but check the labels for carbs, sometime, compared to regular. I would rather eat the regular product. Some fat helps us not over eat, too. Of course we don't ever want to load up on saturated fat.

What I do now, is eat whole foods, raw or steamed.
You can eat any cabbage family food cooked. That way, nothing is added, unless you add it. You can buy non iodized salt, and use herbs all you want.

Nowadays we can buy peeled carrots, bagged lettuce, etc, and frozen vegetables and fruit that is still whole food, but is quick and easy to cook. Canned has little food value left, but is better than preprepared.
It is a little more inconvenient to plan and cook, than throwing a pot pie (LOADED with salt), for instance, in the oven. But it really is non-food, anyway. It has little vegetables or meat, being mostly white flour both in the crust and in the thickener.

There are usually some fast foods that are healthy. Get a chicken salad, or grilled chicken, and throw away the bun, or at least half of the bun. Ask for extra lettuce and tomato, and easy on the sauce, or no sauce. I have found that I don't miss it. It is better to take the time to eat a salad than to get a sandwich on the run, though Sub sandwiches can be fairly healthy if on sour dough bread. Just throw away half the bread. If in a hurry, eating on the run, I may wrap the meat in lettuce. It works well. Taco Bell is out, for the most part, unless they have a salad. But I have been known to get a burrito without rice and eat the inside, and leave the tortilla.

If you eat this way, then you should not be getting all the extra iodized salt.

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From:Tampa, FL, USA
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posted 04-19-2003 12:31 PM            

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Thanks TF! I really appreciate your input! Will do!

[This message has been edited by Lev (edited 04-19-2003).]

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