Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Mike, You wrote: > > ... I would agree with you. Everybody needs enough iodine. I just postulate > that " enough " might be different for people with no thyroid, or a severely > compromised thyroid. If the thyroid is the main agent of iodine storage > in the body, it seems logical that someone with a missing or very damaged > gland would need more iodine than somebody with a fully functional gland.... The logic of this hypothesis is faulty. The reason the thyroid accumulates iodine is not as repository for the rest of the body. Instead, it converts essentially all of the " stored " iodine into T4 and T3, which are then distributed to the rest of the body. Peripheral deiodization releases this iodine back into the blood, part of which is removed as waste and part which returns to the thyroid for recycling. If the thyroid is removed but the hormone production is fully replaced, then the peripheral tissues still get the same input concentration of iodine as before. If anything, the need for iodine in the body should be less, because all of the released iodine must be eliminated without the gland's recycling function, and because T4 type medications actually have a higher iodine density than a T4/T3/T2 mixture. OTOH, since most of the alleged harm of excess iodine involves damage to the thyroid or the induction of Hashi's thyroiditis, it is not clear that excess iodine would be as dangerous to someone who is hypoT, as long as there is not allergic reaction to iodized haptens. Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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