Iodine Deficiency 4: ADD: Why Test before pregnancy for Iodine?

Iodine, Pregnancy and ADD Continued:         

Iodine deficiency is a sleeper, and significantly related to fibrocystic breast disease, estrogen metabolism and estrogen dominance [more later], multiple pesticides and xenoestrogens, chlorine, fluorine, and bromine in so many of our everyday foods, water and hygiene products [toothpaste]. All of these substances bump iodine out of our bodies and effect us on multiple cellular and neurological levels. Coupled with the fact that we have diminished iodine intake, we now find ourselves in a blossoming sea of iodine deficiency problems.

And these problems can occur, as we have previously posted, from before we are born to our advancing years, and can encourage our hasty deterioration.

Who cares? The people with chronic psych illness increasingly care a great deal, as many are hopeless and looking for real evidence and real answers. Depression, moods, fibromyalgia, dementia, all float downstream in the swill.

If we don't understand this iodine problem more completely we will be missing some important intervention opportunities.

To close for now the ADD/iodine discussion, one more quote from the paper in the previous post on ADD, Thyroid and Iodine Deficiency: [see the specific refs there}

Take a look at these remarks at the end of that paper:

Supporting Vermiglio’s study is an earlier one performed by Dr. Hauser and colleagues at the
National Institutes of Health. In 1993, they determined that patients
who were affected by generalized resistance to thyroid hormones (GRTH)
exhibited the symptoms of ADHD 2.5 times as strongly those who were not
affected by GRTH (16). As GRTH is a congenital disorder, the results of
this study, taking into account the studies of Vermiglio, Soldin, and
Stein, suggest strongly that ADHD is an effect of a brain deformation
brought on by low metabolism of thyroxine in the first and second
trimesters of gestation.

Because the effect of hypothyroidism during gestation is strongly suspected to be a permanent brain structure change, new studies relating ADHD to hypothyroidism or iodine deficiency
are unlikely to suggest treatments or cures for ADHD patients. As the
brain cannot be re-structured after it has formed, it is doubtful that
iodine or thyroxine supplementation after birth would cause noticeable
effect on behavior. Instead, this research strengthens the preventative
advice to women who are pregnant or may become pregnant: be tested for
thyroid activity, and make sure to consume recommended daily doses
iodine throughout pregnancy.

I have heard anecdotal
reports from informed colleagues who have tried to take this
information a bit further, used iodine supplementation with children
after age 3 for ADD. Ultimately they agreed with these concluding
remarks regarding the necessity for early intervention/prevention.
After 3 appears too late to have an impact on the iodine/hypothyroid origin
of ADD.

The fact that iodine doesn't work after three may at first appear
counterintuitive, because we know the brain is still vigorously
growing, and we would guess that supplementation around 3 would be
helpful. Again, it's anecdotal, but they do agree we have to get on the
problem earlier, with mothers even before pregnancy.

In the bigger picture, we must first confirm the accuracy of observations regarding iodine, pregnancy and ADD, then identify earlier, more pervasive solutions for this
possible origin of the ADD epidemic.

And, by the way, let's not forget the mothers who are themselves
short on iodine as young women. Does the topic of breast cancer sound
like it might bring psych problems? An important interface exists
between iodine deficiency and estrogen dominance in chronic illness,
specifically breast cancer.

Take a look at good evidence and hormone studies in this book on Premenopause
during the ages from 30-50 by Dr John Lee. And every woman concerned
about HRT, estrogen, fibrocystic breast disease and breast cancer
should then read this one on Breast Cancer, also by Lee.

Interesting how psych problems such as ADD coalesce with challenges
discoverd in a variety of chronic somatic illnesses. Modern technology,
with increasingly accurate testing on a molecular and cellular level,
daily informs us of the need for more attention to matters we have all
taken for granted, especially here in the US: what we eat/don't eat can turn the tide!