Over the next few weeks I want to breakdown a number of micronutrients. Why? Because if you are want to enhance your training, lose weight, or just feel better about yourself, if you don’t have all the nutrients in your diet, you will not see those results as fast as what you could or see any result at all!
The first nutrient I want to discuss is Iodine which I find most people are not consuming enough of!
Iodine is vital for thyroid function . The thyroid is an organ that sits in the middle of the throat. Its primary function is to secrete hormones required for metabolic functions such as growth and energy expenditure. Basically it provides the hormones that determine how fast or slow our metabolism will be. If the thyroid is overactive your metabolism is fast, if it is underactive your metabolism will be slow.
Two hormones produced by the thyroid are responsible for the metabolism called thyroxine and tri-Iodothyronine (T3 & T4). Iodine is responsible for the production of T3 and T4. So if you do not consume enough iodine in your diet you may not be producing enough of these hormones to help speed up your metabolism, therefore making it harder for weight loss!!
Now after saying this, it does not mean you need to go crazy on the iodine consumption because too much can be toxic to the body. You need to be able to find the right balance of too much versus not enough!
The foods with the highest concentration of iodine are seafoods and seaweed! Oysters are the highest, along with tinned salmon. Dairy has a higher level of iodine as well as the sanitisation of the equipment used to sterilise the equipment had iodine in it, however these techniques are being phased out and dairy is not as much of a reliable source as it used to be. Most soils also contain higher levels of iodine, so most fruits and vegetables will contain it. However not all soil quality is not what it used to be and certain terrains have lower levels. Dark Green leafy vegies seem to have the highest levels of iodine! However, as a few foods are now fortified with iodine, including bread and iodised salt. Lastly water has iodine in it as a result of the purification process. So drinking more water will help with your iodine intake!
I am not that much of a fan of supplements unless I know they work well. However I was shown and have tried one supplement by ATP Science called T432. It provides iodine along with zinc and selenium to help increase your metabolism and burn fat. I have tried this product and have noticed a difference and is one that I will continue to promote! Here is the link to the product. http://atpscience.com/shop/capsules/t432/ which explains a few of the points I have already discussed.
If you do not want to spend the money on the product, make sure you get enough of the listed products above. Or, check in with me and I can give you a nutritional break down of your diet and let you know if you are consuming enough iodine to help your metabolism work at its best!!
Comments