80% of Pregnant Women Are Iodine Deficient

In 2009, over 16% of public school-aged boys are on a mood-altering drug. ADHD is being diagnosed at epidemic proportions. Young girls (as well as boys) are being treated with antidepressant drugs at record numbers. As Ricky asked Lucy we should all be asking, “Wha’ happened?”

A new letter to the Editor in the journal Thyroid (Vol. 19, N9, 2009, published ahead of print 8.13.09) reported that from 2001-2006, 80% of pregnant women and 80% of women of child-bearing age were not supplementing with iodine. During that same period, the authors reported that over 85% of lactating women were not taking a supplement containing iodine.

I have lectured about the problem with prenatal vitamins for years. Most prenatal vitamins do not contain iodine and the ones that do contain iodine do not contain enough. This is truly a public health disaster.

What happens when the pregnant mother is iodine deficient? Her baby has a significantly greater chance of developing mental retardation, thyroid problems, and behavioral problems such as ADHD.

In my book, Iodine Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It I describe the infant’s need for iodine. However, it is not only the young that need iodine. It is all of us.

Iodine deficiency is the number one nutritional deficiency affecting Americans. My research has shown over 96% of the nearly 5,000 patients I have tested deficient (and most severely deficient) in iodine. This should be a public health crisis. Forget about the health care bill, correct this problem and we will save untold amounts of money!

What can you do? Have your iodine levels checked and work with a health care practitioner knowledgeable about iodine. Generally, most people need milligram amounts of iodine to achieve whole body iodine sufficiency. In today’s toxic world, our iodine requirements are much higher than our predecessors. More information about iodine can be found in my books.