Notes on Iodine Deficiency

At the WAPF Wise Traditions conference this year, they had a whole series of lectures on iodine deficiency. Contrary to popular belief, iodine deficiency is widespread in America. Iodine deficiency causes all sorts of health problems, including thyroid disease, cancer, and Down’s Syndrome.

Why are so many people iodine deficient? First of all, most of us don’t consume enough iodine. On top of that, we consume many substances that block iodine absorption in our body. There are halogens in our water including fluoride, chlorine, and perchlorate (rocket fuel).

Goitrogens also block iodine uptake. There are some notable goitrogens in our food supply. One of them is bromide which is in most commercial bread, as well as some soft drinks (Mountain Dew for example).

One of the biggest goitrogens in our food supply (and it’s everywhere in our food supply) is soy. Soybean oil is in salad dressing and mayonnaise. It’s in commercial baby formula. It’s in almost all packaged cakes, candies chips, and crackers. And pretty much every meal you eat at a restaurant cooks their food in soybean oil.

Not only that, but most of the cows, poultry and pigs in this country are fed a diet of industrial corn and soybeans. So even if you think you’re not eating lots of soy, you probably are.