Iodine deficiency and hypothyroidism overlap. When you lack iodine, you get the disease. See whether you lack it and act fast!
Our thyroid gland has many functions; the most important one being releasing hormones. For this function, the thyroid glands needs iodine, a mineral that we intake with specific foods and drinks.
When there’s too much or not enough iodine in our body, the thyroid gland cannot work properly and many thyroid gland disorders can develop. But, the most common thyroid disorder that iodine deficiency causes is hypothyroidism.
Nonetheless, iodine deficiency is considered as one of the three most common deficiencies. Although everyone knows how important iodine is for the thyroid health and our overall health, they still don’t regularly check whether they have enough or lack iodine.
In addition, iodine plays other four important roles in our bodies such as: metabolism stabilization, fertility, immune system boosting and control of body weight.
Having that in mind, it is safe to mention that iodine deficiency can cause different types of cancer, as: thyroid, prostate, breast cancer and fibrocystic breast disease.
So, ready to find out how you can check whether you have iodine deficiency and hypothyroidism? Follow our lead and you can test yourself for iodine deficiency at home!
Iodine deficiency and hypothyroidism test
Bear in mind that you don’t need to do this test if you haven’t felt any of iodine deficiency symptoms.These symptoms include:fatigue, hands that are shaking, insomnia, tiredness, sweating and difficulty losing some pounds. One of the most recognizable symptoms is dry skin, especially dry hand skin.
Once you see that you have at least 3 of the symptoms listed above, make sure you get some iodine from the local pharmacy. Right before going to sleep, apply a few drops of iodine on your elbows. Go to sleep as you usually do, and forget about putting the iodine.
When you wake up, first thing you should do is check your elbows. If the skin on your elbows is dry and your body effectively absorbed the iodine, you have iodine deficiency. This is your body telling you that it lacks iodine and it has absorbed the iodine because of that.
Now, you probably assume what the next step is… paying your doctor a visit! Your doctor will ask you to do another test. If your diagnose is indeed hypothyroidism, you get a proper treatment.