Your thyroid is a gland on the front side of the base of your neck that regulates hormone production and metabolism. Iodine is a mineral that affects thyroid metabolism, which plays a role in calcium absorption. While you should get adequate iodine and calcium in your diet, in some cases you may need to take a dietary supplement. Let your health care provider know if you take iodine or calcium supplements, or even a multivitamin. These minerals can be toxic at high doses and may be harmful.
Thyroid Function
Your metabolism is a series of continuous processes that pulls energy from the foods you eat. This energy supports basic system functions, as well as your everyday activities. Your thyroid produces hormones called thyroxine and triiodothyronine that play essential roles in synthesizing protein from food, producing enzymes and regulating metabolism.
Iodine
Iodine is a component of thyroxine and triiodothyronine thyroid hormones. Thyrotropin, a hormone made by your pituitary gland, helps your thyroid absorb iodine, so your body can produce and secrete important thyroid hormones. When you have inadequate iodine in your diet, thyrotropin levels elevate, swelling your thyroid, a condition called goiter. This early sign of iodine deficiency leads to hypothyroidism and your thyroid can't produce enough thyroxine and triiodothyronine, slowing your metabolism. On the other hand, too much iodine leads to hyperthyroidism, or an overactive thyroid. Having hyperthyroidism overstimulates your metabolism, resulting in constant hunger, nervousness and excessive weight loss, notes the Better Health Channel.
Calcium
Your body works hard to keep a steady stream of calcium in the blood. When calcium serum levels drop, calcium pulls automatically from your bones to keep your blood calcium at a constant level. For this process to occur, parathyroid hormones, made by your parathyroid glands behind the thyroid, need to activate vitamin D so your body can absorb more calcium. Having hyperthyroidism from too much iodine or other disorder affects your ability to metabolize calcium. In addition, since most iodine in your diet comes from iodized salt, which contains sodium, a diet high in salt may make you deficient in calcium. Both calcium and sodium compete for absorption, so having too much sodium may lead to a high loss of calcium through urine, states the Linus Pauling Institute. Your body may not get the calcium it needs to support bone formation and structure, resulting in osteoporosis, or weak, brittle bones.
Recommended Dietary Allowance
Keep your metabolism working properly and support normal thyroid function by ingesting the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of iodine and calcium. As a healthy adult, you need 150 mcg of daily iodine, the Office of Dietary Supplements reports. Eating salty foods, seaweed, cod or eggs helps add iodine to your diet. Additionally, make sure you get 1,000 mg of calcium each day. Dairy foods are your best options for boosting your calcium intake -- an 8 oz. glass of milk provides one-third of your RDA. Milk and dairy are also excellent sources of iodine. Since iodine and calcium can be toxic and cause problems at high levels, do not exceed the tolerable upper intake level, also called UL. The UL for iodine is 1,100 mcg and calcium is 2,500 mg.
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