How can iodine support the thyroid and a healthy pregnancy?

How does iodine support the thyroid and a healthy pregnancy?

Thyroid disease is the second most common endocrine disorder after diabetes in pregnancy. Fascinating!

Why?

During pregnancy, requirements for thyroid hormone increase because of the hormone load on the body to sustain pregnancy, often increasing by nearly 50% overall, as well as the daily load! That's a lot!

Remember, the thyroid is like the hormone thermostat of your body, and with this new life, it's really working over time to keep everything manageable as the body goes through these rapid changes and increase demands.

What are the chances this will impact you?

According to a 2023 paper by Shikha Singh and Sartaj Sandhu, the risk is low.

"During pregnancy, spontaneous hypothyroidism has a prevalence of about 2% to 3% with 0.3% to 0.5% women presenting with overt hypothyroidism and 2% to 2.5% with subclinical hypothyroidism."

Relatively low.

If you were to fall into this group of women, ignoring the problem could cause poor neurological and cognitive development in your baby. If your curious about the signs and symptoms of a thyroid deficiency check out my other posts!

An easy way to give your thyroid a boost, is to include it in your diet.

Most women are already deficient, but currently the WHO recommends 250 mcg of daily intake for pregnant and breastfeeding women, but no more as you can also swing the other way and cause developmental problems with TOO much daily intake of iodine.

Personally, I always opt for whole foods instead of synthetic substances. So look for a healthy and ethically sourced fish, shellfish, or seaweed for your best bioavailable iodine!