Could Iodine Deficiency Be The Reason Why You Can't Lose Weight?

If you are seriously trying to lose weight, chances are have tried several different diet programs, yet you're still not getting down to your desired or ideal weight. One big reason could be that you are having problems with one little molecule.

Every cell in your body requires Iodine, especially your thyroid which uses iodine for making thyroid hormones (T3 & T4) which regulates everything from your metabolism to your digestion.

Because symptoms slowly creeps up on you, it is very common to not realize that there has been a change in your energy level, memory, menstrual periods and skin texture. You could even be losing your hair over this one, just like I did. 

I've personally been dealing with symptoms of iodine deficiency for close to 20 years or longer.

Oct 26 1999 - The day after my partial thyroidectomy

It's lead me to having half of my thyroid removed due to a large goiter (caused by iodine deficiency) at the age of 25. Had I known what I know now, I would have supplemented with iodine and selenium (to protect my thyroid), changed my diet and worked to shrink the goiter, which is totally possible.

But, instead I let them remove half of my thyroid gland and have been paying the price ever since.

Because I never got to the root cause of why I had a goiter in the first place (which I believe was connected to iodine deficiency), I developed two more nodules (discovered 18 years later) on the remaining half, which I am currently working on shrinking. If the surgeon had his way, he would be removing the remaining half of my thyroid, leaving reliant on medications for the rest of my life. 

I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line I lost the moons on my fingers, which many believe is a sign of iodine deficiency.

For the last 10+ years I have been slowly losing my hair. Just a couple of years ago it got so bad that I had no choice but to chop it off above my shoulders, just so it looked like I had hair. It was so thin!!

I've had crazy hormonal issues from cystic acne, periods that lasted over 60 days, to fiber cystic breast, again all connected to iodine and the thyroid.

I used to be icebox in the winter, cold was painful and weight was always a struggle. But since I've been upping my co-factors (supplements) and started taking iodine, my health is slowly returning. 

Looking back, I can definitely see that a lack of iodine, on top of an already deficient body, played a huge role in what I've been through.

The lack of thyroid hormones in your body is called Hypothyroidism. There are several symptoms that Hypothyroidism will cause, one is weight gain.

First of all, it decreases your basal metabolic rate and overall metabolism. That is the rate that you use up energy. Basically what that means is that the normal muscle tone is lost and your muscles tend to be much more relaxed than normal.

Your internal organs that use muscles will also be affected. You will probably notice that mostly by a change in your bowel habits. You will tend to become constipated. 

Secondly, lack of thyroid hormone will make you lazy and a little crazy. At least that is my excuse, hehe....but seriously, the lack of thyroid hormones and mental health issues are very connected. 

Dr. Oliver Sacks (made famous in the movie Awakenings) describes one man that had to be helped out of bed in the morning. He was then fed and led to a chair in the corner. In the evening he was led back to bed. During the day he would not even talk. This happened day after day for years!

Finally, for some reason, he ended up at the doctors office and was found to be severely hypothyroid. He returned to normal with treatment, but did not even remember all those years where he was a zombie, wow right!!

If you suspect that you might have hypothyroidism consider these associated symptoms: dry skin, brittle nails, constipation, thinning eyebrows, irregular or heavy menstrual periods, feeling tired and weak, cold skin, coarse, retaining water, thinning hair or lump in the neck. Any, or all of these can occur, plus more.

You have an increased chance of getting this condition if you have a goiter, diabetes, iodine deficiency and some medications. Some women develop this as a complication of pregnancy.

If you always buy salt with no iodine, there is a chance that you could develop hypothyroidism as a result of the lack of iodine. Remember, iodine is part of the thyroid hormone molecule. Without iodine, your body cannot make thyroid hormones.

If you think you may have hypothyroidism, you should see your medical doctor (or work with us) to get a blood test.

Assuming that you have guessed right, that your numbers outside of the lab ranges, your doctor will prescribe a thyroid hormone supplement that, in theory, will help you to feel better.

There's a few problems that can occur here ...

One, it's often tricky to get on the correct does of thyroid hormone or to even find the right medication for you.

You will often bounce back and forth between feeling weak and tired and feeling jittery. That's because thyroid hormones are constantly fluctuating, so if you're still producing your own thyroid hormones, then you could be getting extra on some days and less on others.

There are several different ways to supplement with thyroid hormones, and many times doctors may not be open to trying them all out. Which can mean that you're not given the best treatment for your unique composition.

Two, lab ranges are often very large and are comprised of values that have been gathered from people who themselves are not well. For example, TSH lab ranges are often somewhere in this range of 0.32 - 4.00 mmol/L in Canada.

I personally have never been as high as 4, but not too long ago the upper limit was 10. I can't even fathom how horrible one would feel with a TSH level that high. When I am up around 2, I feel pretty crappy and suffer with symptoms big time!

With these ranges, it's not uncommon for a doctor to see you at 0.34 or 3.98 and say your fine, telling you you're borderline, and that he'll "see you again soon." Meanwhile, you feel lick crap, you're body is inflamed and in pain, yet, they fail to acknowledge how you're feeling and only look at the numbers. Sound familiar?

With functional medicine, we look at the ranges entirely differently and we don't treat the numbers. We treat the human who is having symptoms. We look for clinical correlation, dig deeper looking for the root cause, and apply intelligent allopathy to help make our clients feel comfortable, while the body is repairing itself. 

Going back to the TSH example, from a functional medicine perspective, your TSH should be withing the range of 1.2 - 2.0. If you're above the high range, you're most likely not feeling so good and you're also someone who is likely struggling with their weight. 

While the opposite is true for those below this range. You most likely have heart palpation's, feel anxious and may have a hard time keeping weigh on.

If you're on medications such as Synthroid or Levothyroxine and you're still having symptoms related to hypothyroidism, then you may want to talk to your doctor about adjusting your dose or trying a product that has both T3 and T4.

If your doctor isn't willing to work with you to correct your does, then perhaps you should look for another doctor. I suggest finding a doctor who work in the field of functional medicine. 

It should also be stated, DO NOT start supplementing with iodine unless you are working with a health practitioner that knows and understand iodine therapy. Iodine, when taken incorrectly can do more harm than good and that is not what you want to have happen.

If you have, or suspect you have, a thyroid condition, this is my specialty, I would love to guide and support you on your health journey. Set up a complimentary, no-obligation Clarity Call to see if we're the right fit for working together. 

Here are some great resources if you're interested in reading up on iodine.

https://www.thyroidfoundation.org.au/page/13/iodine-nutrition-iodine-deficiency
https://livinglovecommunity.com/2017/06/20/iodine-selenium-and-hashimotos-a-balancing-act/
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/iodine-deficiency-and-weight-loss-it-next-big-thing

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