Dr. Westin Childs Podcast: Thyroid | Weight Loss | Hormones

Many people believe that iodine is dangerous if you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and that it should be avoided? Is this actually true? Not exactly. In this video, I will explain the logic behind why I recommend that every thyroid patient use iodine. For starters, iodine is required for thyroid function. If you don't have enough iodine in your body then you won't be able to produce thyroid hormone. Because thyroid hormone is required for life, not consuming iodine may eventually put you in a life threatening situation. Furthermore, human beings do not have the ability to produce iodine on their own which means that you must consume it from your diet. Having said that, taking iodine may cause problems in some people but it’s not usually the fault of iodine by itself. Instead, it’s that iodine triggers a cascade of events which may lead to cell damage. Iodine may cause issues in those with hashimoto's via the following mechanism: Taking iodine increases how much iodine is being utilized by thyroid pero