Is Iodine Found in Kelp Good for the Thyroid?

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by: Darrell Miller
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Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 Time: 10:29 PM
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Kelp is delicious seaweed that has been a part of diets of communities close to the ocean since prehistoric times. It has high concentrations of nutritional iodine present in hormones released from the thyroid glad that is believed to influence physical growth and development in individuals of school age. In fact, those who can't get their hands on seafood, people in the highlands for example, are reported to suffer ailments resulting from iodine deficiency.

Kelp forests are a group of kelps that are marine species classified as brown algae that thrive along much of shallow coastal waters, making them ready food source of islanders and human populations along the coast for centuries. They are multicellular organisms but possess a noticeably simple anatomy, consisting of long stem-like structures that support the leaf-like blades and a root-like formation at the base. Each stem extends up to 80 meters, growing at a notably high rate of half a meter in a day on average.

Culinary Significance

Its culinary use has been recorded as early as the 7th century B.C., but it has been incorporated to coastal cuisines much earlier, historians noting their value as food to have been discovered in the prehistoric times. European societies in the subarctic regions, the Scandinavian countries in particular, have enjoyed the time-proven health benefits of kelp that is now known as organic iodine.

Edible kelps have been of special importance in the diets of North Asian peoples, especially in Japan where natives believe that it is fundamental in achieving the authentic flavor of the local cuisine. As early as the 12th century A.D. when the Japanese learned a drying technique that allows it to be stored for a couple of days, trading of dried kelp began between ethnic groups of Japanese islands and the Korean peninsula.

Iodine and Thyroid

What the Japanese call the distinct Japanese taste was actually pointed out in the discovery of umami, identified as one of the five basic tastes sensed by the human tongue in addition to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Incidence of iodine deficiency is a rarity among the Japanese as they savor the tastes given off by soup and broth stocks formulated from kelp. Apart from iodine, kelp is a rich source of glutamic acid, an amino acid that plays a key role in learning.

The manufacture of hormones in the thyroid gland requires the participation of elemental iodine. The absence of iodine in the body incapacitates the thyroid's ability to produce its hormones in that iodine is in fact a part of the molecular structure of these hormones. Very low levels of thyroid hormones in the blood signal the brain for increased releases of thyroid, and the brain in turn signals the thyroid gland to produce more.

The ensuing chemical reactions result in the swelling of the thyroid gland, which lead to more serious conditions such as goiter, fatigue, and mental retardation. The Japanese have always relied on kelp as a vegetable source of readily absorbable iodine.

Kelp is available in capsule or tablet forms for easy consumption. You can find kelp supplements are your local or internet vitamin store.

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