Committed to health
Iodine is a crucial micronutrient for the biosynthesis of thyroid hormones in the thyroid gland, and dietary deficiency impairs optimal differentiation and function of the nervous system at both the neonatal and adult stages. For this reason, at the international level, public health policies have been established to provide the population with the necessary amount of this element through iodized salt. On the other hand, recent data indicate that in its molecular form (I2), iodine is also important for the normal function of several organs that absorb and use it, mainly the breast and prostate glands, as well as the pancreatic, gastric, nervous, and immune systems.
Since 1991, Mexico and other Western countries have pursued the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating iodine deficiency by iodizing table salt: Iodized salt. Currently, more than 80 percent of the salt sold in cities is estimated to meet the standard. However, in some rural areas, the salt consumed does not contain iodide. Molecular iodine is naturally available only in fresh seaweed, and in Western countries there are no supplements that contain it.
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT IODINE
Iodine is a chemical element belonging to halogens (group 17). It has as symbol I, with atomic mass 126.9 and atomic number 53. It is a component of the "nuclear ash" that formed our universe. In fact, it is derived from a nucleosynthesis process that occurred more than 10 billion years ago in a stellar supernova that exploded and dispersed its dust giving rise to the formation of our planet Earth about 5 billion years ago.
Iodine is essential in the diet of all living animals, so it is considered a trace element. Iodine is scarce on the surface of the earth, because, for hundreds of millions of years, it has been swept away by rain and glaciations, and transported from the earth's crust to the sea, which is enriched in form of iodide (I-)......
Our research group belongs to the Institute of Neurobiology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, located at the Juriquilla Campus in Querétaro. The assignment with iodized products and their function in different tissues since 2001. In 2005 we published for the first time that molecular iodine and not thyroid hormones or sodium chloride (iodized salt) was responsible for preventing initiation and Breast cancer progression in a rat model. Later also in preclinical studies we show that the iodine supplement together with conventional chemotherapy sensitizes cancer cells and it is possible to reduce the amount of chemotherapy up to 4 times while maintaining the anti-cancerous effects.
