News 24 The main signs and symptoms of iodine deficiency

Iodine is very important for the human body, especially the work of the thyroid gland. What are the signs and symptoms of iodine deficiency in the body?

Iodine is a metal that plays an important role in the body: the thyroid gland is used specifically for the secretion of hormones, which contributes to the development and growth of cells as well as to the body. to metabolism, but what happens in case of deficiency?

Risk Categories

More than a third of the world's population is threatened by iodine deficiency, and the most dangerous groups are:

pregnant women
People who do not use iodized salt
People who follow a vegetarian diet.
Symptoms of iodine deficiency in the body
The lack of iodine in the body can cause different symptoms, and affect mainly as we have mentioned on the thyroid gland.

Here are the main signs and symptoms associated with iodine deficiency:

Swelling in the neck

The swelling of the anterior part of the neck is one of the first signs of iodine deficiency, a disorder known as goiter.

The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that is present in the front of the neck and secretes the hormones needed to stimulate the body by a hormone called TSH.

When the hormone TSH increases, the thyroid gland uses iodine to release its hormones. Therefore, when it is low in the body, the gland is not able to produce sufficient amounts of hormones.

The solution in this case is that the gland increases its function, which causes swelling and therefore swelling of the neck.

2 – sudden increase in weight

This occurs if the body does not contain a sufficient amount of iodine for the secretion of thyroid hormones.

These hormones regulate and accelerate the metabolism in the body, helping the body to turn food into energy and heat.

When these hormones are low due to iodine deficiency in the body, fewer calories are burned, which helps store the rest as fat, which ultimately leads to sudden weight gain.

3. Fatigue and general weakness

Iodine deficiency can cause general weakness and fatigue because thyroid hormones help the body produce energy. So, when their level goes down, the energy decreases in the body, resulting in a feeling of tiredness and weakness.

4. Hair loss
One of the most important roles of thyroid hormones in the body is the process of promoting the growth of hair follicles, but what happens when iodine deficiency?

When thyroid hormones are reduced due to iodine deficiency, the hair follicle ceases to regenerate, resulting in hair loss over time.

5 – dry skin and skin
At first, we mentioned that thyroid hormones are necessary for the regeneration of body cells, including skin.

In addition, the thyroid gland regulates the process of sweating and the low level of iodine in the body also affects it.

The result for all this is dry skin and a scrub.

6 – to be cold

The interpretation of the constant and unusual cold sensation may be due to a deficiency of iodine in the body that affects the action of the thyroid gland.

The low rate of metabolism in the body causes less heat generation, so a feeling of cold.

7. Pregnancy problems

Since pregnant women are among the most vulnerable to iodine deficiency, they must consume more prevention every day.

Iodine is of great importance for the health of pregnancy, it contributes to the development and development of the fetus properly, so that the lack of concentration negatively affects the child and the mother.

This means that the mother may have hypothyroidism, which affects the development of the fetal brain development.

Sources of iodine

The recommended daily intake of iodine is 150 μg per day, but pregnant women must consume 220 μg and breastfeeding should reach 290 μg.

Iodine can be found in:

The seaweeds
Yogurt
Iodized salt
Shrimp
Eggs
Tuna