8 Signs Of Iodine Deficiency You Might Not Expect

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Health Coach Kait (BSc Nutrition & Exercise) is a certified health and nutrition coach, and today she’s here to talk about iodine—which is important for many of our body functions, from thyroid hormone production to metabolic regulation to heart rate management, as well as more superficial-but-important-too things like our skin and hair.

Kait’s hitlist

Here’s what she recommends we look out for:

  • Swollen neck: even a slightly swollen neck might indicate low iodine levels (this is because that’s where the thyroid glands are)
  • Hair loss: iodine is needed for healthy hair growth, so a deficiency can lead to hair loss / thinning hair
  • Dry and flaky skin: with iodine’s role in our homeostatic system not being covered, our skin can dry out as a result
  • Feeling cold all the time: because of iodine’s temperature-regulating activities
  • Slow heart rate: A metabolic slump due to iodine deficiency can slow down the heart rate, leading to fatigue and weakness (and worse, if it persists)
  • Brain fog: trouble focusing can be a symptom of the same metabolic slump
  • Fatigue: this is again more or less the same thing, but she said eight signs, so we’re giving you the eight!
  • Irregular period (if you normally have such, of course): because iodine affects reproductive hormones too, an imbalance can disrupt menstrual cycles.

For more on each of these, as well as how to get more iodine in your diet, enjoy:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Further reading

You might also like to read:

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    • Brown Rice vs Buckwheat – Which is Healthier?

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      Our Verdict

      When comparing brown rice to buckwheat, we picked the buckwheat.

      Why?

      In terms of macros, brown rice has more carbs, while buckwheat has nearly 2x the fiber, and more protein. An easy choice here: buckwheat for the win.

      In the category of vitamins, brown rice has more of vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, and E, while buckwheat has more of vitamins B9, K, and choline. A win for brown rice this time, although as a point in buckwheat’s favor, while most of the margins of difference are comparable, buckwheat has nearly 10x the vitamin K.

      When it comes to minerals, brown rice has more manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc, while buckwheat has more calcium, copper, iron, and magnesium. A win for buckwheat again this time.

      A quick note on gluten: both of these are naturally gluten-free, so that’s not an issue here. Buckwheat, despite its name, is not a wheat, nor even closely related to wheat. It’s not even technically a grain; it’s a flowering plant of which we eat the groats. In taxonomic terms, buckwheat is about as related to wheat as a lionfish is to a lion.

      Adding up the sections makes for an overall 2:1 win for buckwheat, though even if it weren’t for that, which is someone more likely to hear from a doctor, “you need to eat more fiber”, or “you need to eat more vitamin E”? Thus, even had the categories been tied (let’s imagine it had been tied on minerals, say) that’d have been a tiebreaker in favor of buckwheat. As it is, buckwheat already won by strength of numbers anyway.

      Of course, do enjoy either or both; diversity is good!

      Want to learn more?

      You might like to read:

      Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?

      Enjoy!

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    • You can train your nose – and 4 other surprising facts about your sense of smell

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      Would you give up your sense of smell to keep your hair? What about your phone?

      A 2022 US study compared smell to other senses (sight and hearing) and personally prized commodities (including money, a pet or hair) to see what people valued more.

      The researchers found smell was viewed as much less important than sight and hearing, and valued less than many commodities. For example, half the women surveyed said they’d choose to keep their hair over sense of smell.

      Smell often goes under the radar as one of the least valued senses. But it is one of the first sensory systems vertebrates developed and is linked to your mental health, memory and more.

      Here are five fascinating facts about your olfactory system.

      DimaBerlin/Shutterstock

      1. Smell is linked to memory and emotion

      Why can the waft of fresh baking trigger joyful childhood memories? And why might a certain perfume jolt you back to a painful breakup?

      Smell is directly linked to both your memory and emotions. This connection was first established by American psychologist Donald Laird in 1935 (although French novelist Marcel Proust had already made it famous in his reverie about the scent of madeleines baking.)

      Odours are first captured by special olfactory nerve cells inside your nose. These cells extend upwards from the roof of your nose towards the smell-processing centre of your brain, called the olfactory bulb.

      Diagram showing odour particles travelling through the nose into the brain.
      Smells are first detected by nerve cells in the nose. Axel_Kock/Shutterstock

      From the olfactory bulb they form direct connection with the brain’s limbic system. This includes the amygdala, where emotions are generated, and the hippocampus, where memories are created.

      Other senses – such as sight and hearing – aren’t directly connected to the lymbic system.

      One 2004 study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to demonstrate odours trigger a much stronger emotional and memory response in the brain than a visual cue.

      2. Your sense of smell constantly regenerates

      You can lose your ability to smell due to injury or infection – for example during and after a COVID infection. This is known as olfactory dysfunction. In most cases it’s temporary, returning to normal within a few weeks.

      This is because every few months your olfactory nerve cells die and are replaced by new cells.

      We’re not entirely sure how this occurs, but it likely involves your nose’s stem cells, the olfactory bulb and other cells in the olfactory nerves.

      Other areas of your nervous system – including your brain and spinal cord – cannot regenerate and repair after an injury.

      Constant regeneration may be a protective mechanism, as the olfactory nerves are vulnerable to damage caused by the external environment, including toxins (such as cigarette smoke), chemicals and pathogens (such as the flu virus).

      But following a COVID infection some people might continue to experience a loss of smell. Studies suggest the virus and a long-term immune response damages the cells that allow the olfactory system to regenerate.

      3. Smell is linked to mental health

      Around 5% of the global population suffer from anosmia – total loss of smell. An estimated 15-20% suffer partial loss, known as hyposmia.

      Given smell loss is often a primary and long-term symptom of COVID, these numbers are likely to be higher since the pandemic.

      Yet in Australia, the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction remains surprisingly understudied.

      Losing your sense of smell is shown to impact your personal and social relationships. For example, it can mean you miss out on shared eating experiences, or cause changes in sexual desire and behaviour.

      In older people, declining ability to smell is associated with a higher risk of depression and even death, although we still don’t know why.

      An older woman in a hat leans towards a tomato vine to sniff it.
      Losing your sense of smell can have a major impact on mental health. Halfpoint/Shutterstock

      4. Loss of smell can help identify neurodegenerative diseases

      Partial or full loss of smell is often an early indicator for a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

      Patients frequently report losing their sense of smell years before any symptoms show in body or brain function. However many people are not aware they are losing their sense of smell.

      There are ways you can determine if you have smell loss and to what extent. You may be able to visit a formal smell testing centre or do a self-test at home, which assesses your ability to identify household items like coffee, wine or soap.

      5. You can train your nose back into smelling

      “Smell training” is emerging as a promising experimental treatment option for olfactory dysfunction. For people experiencing smell loss after COVID, it’s been show to improve the ability to detect and differentiate odours.

      Smell training (or “olfactory training”) was first tested in 2009 in a German psychology study. It involves sniffing robust odours — such as floral, citrus, aromatic or fruity scents — at least twice a day for 10—20 seconds at a time, usually over a 3—6 month period.

      Participants are asked to focus on the memory of the smell while sniffing and recall information about the odour and its intensity. This is believed to help reorganise the nerve connections in the brain, although the exact mechanism behind it is unclear.

      Some studies recommend using a single set of scents, while others recommend switching to a new set of odours after a certain amount of time. However both methods show significant improvement in smelling.

      This training has also been shown to alleviate depressive symptoms and improve cognitive decline both in older adults and those suffering from dementia.

      Just like physiotherapy after a physical injury, olfactory training is thought to act like rehabilitation for your sense of smell. It retrains the nerves in your nose and the connections it forms within the brain, allowing you to correctly detect, process and interpret odours.

      Lynn Nazareth, Research Scientist in Olfactory Biology, CSIRO

      This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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    • The Dopamine Precursor And More

      10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

      What Is This Supplement “NALT”?

      N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine (NALT) is a form of tyrosine, an amino acid that the body uses to build other things. What other things, you ask?

      Well, like most amino acids, it can be used to make proteins. But most importantly and excitingly, the body uses it to make a collection of neurotransmitters—including dopamine and norepinephrine!

      • Dopamine you’ll probably remember as “the reward chemical” or perhaps “the motivation molecule”
      • Norepinephrine, also called noradrenaline, is what powers us up when we need a burst of energy.

      Both of these things tend to get depleted under stressful conditions, and sometimes the body can need a bit of help replenishing them.

      What does the science say?

      This is Research Review Monday, after all, so let’s review some research! We’re going to dive into what we think is a very illustrative study:

      A 2015 team of researchers wanted to know whether tyrosine (in the form of NALT) could be used as a cognitive enhancer to give a boost in adverse situations (times of stress, for example).

      They noted:

      ❝The potential of using tyrosine supplementation to treat clinical disorders seems limited and its benefits are likely determined by the presence and extent of impaired neurotransmitter function and synthesis.❞

      More on this later, but first, the positive that they also found:

      ❝In contrast, tyrosine does seem to effectively enhance cognitive performance, particularly in short-term stressful and/or cognitively demanding situations. We conclude that tyrosine is an effective enhancer of cognition, but only when neurotransmitter function is intact and dopamine and/or norepinephrine is temporarily depleted❞

      That “but only”, is actually good too, by the way!

      You do not want too much dopamine (that could cause addiction and/or psychosis) or too much norepinephrine (that could cause hypertension and/or heart attacks). You want just the right amount!

      So it’s good that NALT says “hey, if you need some more, it’s here, if not, no worries, I’m not going to overload you with this”.

      Read the study: Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands

      About that limitation…

      Remember they said that it seemed unlikely to help in treating clinical disorders with impaired neurotransmitter function and/or synthesis?

      Imagine that you employ a chef in a restaurant, and they can’t keep up with the demand, and consequently some of the diners aren’t getting fed. Can you fix this by supplying the chef with more ingredients?

      Well, yes, if and only if the problem is “the chef wasn’t given enough ingredients”. If the problem is that the oven (or the chef’s wrist) is broken, more ingredients aren’t going to help at all—something different is needed in those cases.

      So it is with, for example, many cases of depression.

      See for example: Tyrosine for depression: a double-blind trial

      About blood pressure…

      You may be wondering, “if NALT is a precursor of norepinephrine, a vasoconstrictor, will this increase my blood pressure adversely?”

      Well, check with your doctor as your own situation may vary, but under normal circumstances, no. The effect of NALT is adaptogenic, meaning that it can help keep its relevant neurotransmitters at healthy levels—not too low or high.

      See what we mean, for example in this study where it actually helped keep blood pressure down while improving cognitive performance under stress:

      Effect of tyrosine on cognitive function and blood pressure under stress

      Bottom line:

      For most people, NALT is a safe and helpful way to help keep healthy levels of dopamine and norepinephrine during times of stress, giving cognitive benefits along the way.

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      • Signs Of Low Estrogen In Women: What Your Skin, Hair, & Nails Are Trying To Tell You

        10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

        Skin, hair, and nails are often thought of purely as a beauty thing, but in fact they can be indicative of a lot of other aspects of health. Dr. Andrea Suarez takes us through some of them in this video about the systemic (i.e., whole-body, not just related to sex things) effects of estrogen, and/or a deficiency thereof.

        Beyond the cosmetic

        Low estrogen levels are usual in women during and after untreated menopause, resulting in various changes in the skin, hair, and nails, that reflect deeper issues, down to bone health, heart health, brain health, and more. Since we can’t see our bones or hearts or brains without scans (or a serious accident/incident), we’re going to focus on the outward signs of estrogen deficiency.

        Estrogen helps maintain healthy collagen production, skin elasticity, wound healing, and moisture retention, making it essential for youthful and resilient skin. Declining estrogen levels with menopause lead to a thinner epidermis, decreased collagen production, and more pronounced wrinkles. Skin elasticity also diminishes, which slows the skin’s ability to recover from stretching or deformation. Wound healing also becomes slower, increasing the risk of infections and extended recovery periods after injuries or surgeries—bearing in mind that collagen is needed in everything from our skin to our internal connective tissue (fascia) and joints and bones. So all those things are going to struggle to recover from injury (and surgery is also an injury) without it.

        Other visible changes associated with declining estrogen include significant dryness as a result of reduced hyaluronic acid and glycosaminoglycan production, which are essential for moisture retention. The skin becomes more prone to irritation and increased water loss. Additionally, estrogen deficiency results in less resistance to oxidative stress, making the skin more susceptible to damage from environmental factors such as UV radiation and pollution, as well as any from-the-inside pollution that some may have depending on diet and lifestyle.

        Acne and enlarged pores are associated with increased testosterone, but testosterone and estrogen are antagonistic in most ways, and in this case a decrease in estrogen will do the same, due increased unopposed androgen signaling affecting the oil glands. The loss of supportive collagen also causes the skin around pores to lose structure, making them appear larger. The reduction in skin hydration further exacerbates the visibility of pores and can contribute to the development of blackheads due to abnormal cell turnover.

        Blood vessel issues tend to arise as estrogen levels drop, leading to a reduction in angiogenesis, i.e. the formation and integrity of blood vessels. This results in more fragile and leaky blood vessels, making the skin more prone to bruising, especially on areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the backs of the hands. This weakened vasculature also further contributes to the slower wound healing that we talked about, due to less efficient delivery of growth factors.

        Hair and nail changes often accompany estrogen deficiency. Women may notice hair thinning, increased breakage, and a greater likelihood of androgenic alopecia. The texture of the hair can change, becoming more brittle. Similarly, nails can develop ridges, split more easily, and become more fragile due to reduced collagen and keratin production, which also affects the skin around the nails.

        As for what to do about it? Management options for estrogen-deficient skin include:

        • Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which can improve skin elasticity, boost collagen production, and reduce dryness and fragility, as well as addressing the many more serious internal things that are caused by the same deficiency as these outward signs.
        • Low-dose topical estrogen cream, which can help alleviate skin dryness and increase skin strength, won’t give the systemic benefits (incl. to bones, heart, brain, etc) that only systemic HRT can yield.
        • Plant-based phytoestrogens, which are not well-evidenced, but may be better than nothing if nothing is your only other option. However, if you are taking anything other form of estrogen, don’t use phytoestrogens as well, or they will compete for estrogen receptors, and do the job not nearly so well while impeding the bioidentical estrogen from doing its much better job.

        And for all at any age, sunscreen continues to be one of the best things to put on one’s skin for general skin health, and this is even more true if running low on estrogen.

        For more on all of this, enjoy:

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        Want to learn more?

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      • Planning Ahead For Better Sleep

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        Sleep: 6 Dimensions And 24 Hours!

        A woman with dark hair, planning ahead for better sleep, against a white background.

        This is Dr. Lisa Matricciani, a sleep specialist from the University of South Australia, where she teaches in the School of Health Sciences.

        What does she want us to know?

        Healthy sleep begins before breakfast

        The perfect bedtime routine is all well and good, but we need to begin much earlier in the day, Dr. Matricciani advises.

        Specifically, moderate to vigorous activity early in the day plays a big part.

        Before breakfast is best, but even midday/afternoon exercise is associated with better sleep at night.

        Read more: Daytime Physical Activity is Key to Unlocking Better Sleep

        Plan your time well to sleep—but watch out!

        Dr. Matricciani’s research has also found that while it’s important to plan around getting a good night’s sleep (including planning when this will happen), allocating too much time for sleep results in more restless sleep:

        ❝Allocating more time to sleep was associated with earlier sleep onsets, later sleep offsets, less efficient and more consistent sleep patterns for both children and adults.❞

        ~ Dr. Lisa Matricciani et al.

        Read more: Time use and dimensions of healthy sleep: A cross-sectional study of Australian children and adults

        (this was very large study involving 1,168 children and 1.360 adults, mostly women)

        What counts as good sleep quality? Is it just efficiency?

        It is not! Although that’s one part of it. You may remember our previous main feature:

        The 6 Dimensions Of Sleep (And Why They Matter)

        Dr. Matricciani agrees:

        ❝Everyone knows that sleep is important. But when we think about sleep, we mainly focus on how many hours of sleep we get, when we should also be looking at our sleep experience as a whole❞

        ~ Dr. Lisa Matricciani

        Read more: Trouble sleeping? You could be at risk of type 2 diabetes

        That’s not a cheery headline, but here’s her paper about it:

        Multidimensional Sleep and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes: Examining Self-Report and Objective Dimensions of Sleep

        And no, we don’t get a free pass on getting less sleep / less good quality sleep as we get older (alas):

        Why You Probably Need More Sleep

        So, time to get planning for the best sleep!

        Enjoy videos?

        Here’s how 7News Australia broke the news of Dr. Matricciani’s more recent work:

        !

        Rest well!

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      • Your Vitamins are Obsolete: The Vitamer Revolution – by Dr. Sheldon Zablow

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        First, what this is not:a book to tell you “throw out your vitamins and just eat these foods”.

        This book focuses mainly on two vitamins in which deficiencies are common especially as we get older: B9 and B12.

        So, what does the title mean? It’s not so much that your vitamins are obsolete—that would imply that they were more useful previously, which is not the case. Rather, the most common forms of vitamins B9 and B12 provided in supplements are folic acid and cyanocobalamin, respectively, which as he demonstrates with extensive research to back up his claims, cannot be easily absorbed or used especially well.

        About those vitamers: a vitamer is simply a form of a vitamin—most vitamins we need can arrive in a variety of forms. In the case of vitamins B9 and B12, he advocates for ditching vitamers folic acid and cyanocobalamin, cheap as they are, and springing for bioactive vitamers L-methylfolate, methylcobalamin, and adenosylcobalamin.

        He also discusses (again, just as well-evidenced as the above things) why we might struggle to get enough from our diet after a certain age. For example, if trying to get these vitamins from meat, 50% of people over 50 cannot manufacture enough stomach acid to break down that protein to release the vitamins.

        And as for methyl-B12 vitamers, you might expect you can get those from meat, and technically you can, but they don’t occur in all animals, just in one kind of animal. Specifically, the kind that has the largest brain-to-body ratio. However, eating the meat of this animal can result in protein folding errors in general and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in particular, so the author does not recommend eating humans, however nutritionally convenient that would be.

        All this means that supplementation after a certain age really can be a sensible way to do it—but do it wisely, and pick the right vitamers.

        The style of the book is informationally dense, but very readable even for a layperson provided one starts at the beginning and reads forwards, as otherwise one will find oneself in a mire of terms whose explanations one missed when they were first introduced.

        Bottom line: if you are over 50 and/or have any known or suspected issues with vitamins B9 and/or B12, this book becomes very important reading.

        Click here to check out Your Vitamins Are Obsolete, and get your body what it needs!

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