The thyroid, a small gland in front of the neck, requires a sufficient amount of iodine to produce the hormones needed to function normally. Kelp is a type of seaweed rich in folic acid and iodine. People from East Asia, including the Koreans and Japanese, regularly eat kelp in soups and salads. Westerners, however, get most iodine from fortified foods and substances such as table salt. Although iodine is essential to a healthy diet, too much from any source, including kelp, is bad for the thyroid. Consult your health professional before taking kelp to treat your thyroid problem.
Radioactive Iodine Treatment
Too much sea kelp is bad for thyroid patients who receive radioactive iodine treatments, according to a report from Boston University published in the January 2009 "New England Journal of Medicine." In the report, a 55-year-old thyroid cancer patient was eating a low iodine diet to facilitate radioactive iodine treatment, but his iodine levels continued to increase. Low amounts of iodine in the diet enable your body to better uptake the radioactive iodine, making the treatment more effective. His doctors traced the iodine intake to a selenium supplement containing kelp. After eight weeks without the supplement, his iodine levels returned to normal.
Iodine Supplements
A study by the University Hospital in Tübingen, Germany and reported in the June 2006 issue of the "Journal of General Internal Medicine," advises physicians recommend against thyroid patients self-medicating with iodine supplements made of kelp. This warning was prompted by a case study of one 39-year-old-woman. She had an enlarged thyroid and suffered from iodine toxicity because she drank tea containing kelp for four weeks resulting in hyperthyroidism as part of an natural treatment prescribed by a Chinese alternative practitioner.
Thyroid Scan
Eating too much sea kelp is not good if you want an accurate thyroid scan. Eating kelp or kelp supplements can interfere with the results of this important test that reveals many details about your thyroid gland, including the overactive or underactive parts. If your doctor schedules you for a thyroid scan, foods such as iodized table salt and shellfish, or supplements that contain kelp, can cause inaccurate results. Talk with your doctor about which foods, medications and dietary supplements to avoid before your thyroid scan.
Misconception
It is a common misconception that the iodine in kelp helps thyroid problems, according to the NYU Langone Medical Center. An iodine deficiency can cause your thyroid gland to function abnormally but this deficiency is rare in Western diets. Taking extra iodine when your body does not need it can cause thyroid dysfunction, rather than improve it.
Member Comments