Iodine for the thyroid

What the thyroid gland is and what it does
The thyroid is controlled by the hypothalamus and pituitary. The gland gets its name from the Greek word for "shield", after its shape, a double-lobed structure.
This gland is found in the neck below the mouth and at approximately the same level as the cricoid cartilage which is just above the middle of your collarbone. The thyroid controls how quickly the body burns energy, makes proteins, and how sensitive the body should be to other hormones.
Your thyroid gland needs iodine to make thyroid hormone, which maintains normal metabolism in all cells of the body.
Dietary iodine deficiencies were common before iodine was added to table salt. You need to check your table salt has added Iodine.
Iodine deficiency causes enlargement of the thyroid, a condition known as goiter. However, if you are not deficient in iodine, taking extra iodine will not help your thyroid work better, and it might even cause problems.

For reasons that are not clear, supplementary iodine might also be helpful for cyclic mastalgia.


Seaweed and Kelp are excellent sources of Iodine
Kelp refers to several species of large, brown algae that can grow to enormous sizes reaching upto 80m in length which grows mainly in the oceans of the northern hemisphere. Kelp also known as Kombu is a type of seaweed, but not all seaweed is kelp the term seaweed loosely describes any type of vegetation growing in the ocean, including many other types of algae and plants.

Kelp is a regular part of a normal human diet in many parts of the world, such as Japan, Alaska, and Hawaii. It is also incorporated into some vitamin and mineral supplements because of its nutrient value. Kelp is a good source of folic acid (a B vitamin), as well as many other vitamins and minerals, especially iodine

One type of seaweed which also has high levels of iodine is Bladderwrack (latin: Fucus vesiculosusin), this was the original source of iodine, discovered in 1811. It is one of the most common algae found on the shores of the British Isles, as well as being found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.