Pregnancy and lactation offer a tremendous window of opportunity to support optimal brain development for your child. Many nutrients are involved with higher-level brain function. These include sulfur-rich protein, B vitamins, iodine, and DHA. All of these have been discussed extensively in this section and/or in the section on Prenatal Supplements.When...

Thyroid hormone works overtime during pregnancy. It sets the pace for your baby's growth and development, as well as the pace for the formation of all the hormones required to sustain a healthy pregnancy. In a sense, pregnancy is a true test of your thyroid system.It is important to understand your risks for pregnancy-related thyroid distress. The first...

Thyroid hormone sets the pace for energy (ATP) production in all your cells. If the pace is too slow you will not have a basic supply of energy needed to properly run your metabolism and mood. In addition to having the energy to make thyroid hormone in the first place (T4 -- thyroxine) your body must have the energy and capacity to convert T4 to the...

A common problem is that your thyroid lacks nutrients to make basic thyroid hormone, known as T4 (thyroxin), or you may lack key nutrients that help convert T4 to the biologically active T3. Your thyroid can be inflamed or stressed, which gets in the way of making T4 at an optimal rate. And your liver can be inflamed or stressed, which gets in the way of...

One of the key factors that helps induce weight gain and reduces the ease with which you can lose weight is the issue of environmental toxins, chemicals in food and water, and toxins from low-grade infections (like Candida or bacterial overgrowth). This issue is always made worse if your internal plumbing systems are not up to the challenge (constipation,...

When stress is either extremely intense or has been going on too long, then the relaxed reserves in your nervous system tend to deplete. This gives your brain a wired feeling, meaning you are likely to be more anxious or irritable during the day and have poorer quality sleep at night. This has a major bearing on how your subconscious brain (hypothalamus...

Thyroid health and function is an intricate web of artwork throughout the body. It is not just the thyroid gland and a single signal from the brain to the thyroid. It is a complicated web of activity throughout the brain and body down to 70 trillion cells and their cell membranes. When this web is working well, vigor, vitality, and healthy metabolic...

Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found perchlorate in the various brands of powdered baby formula that they tested. Perchlorate is a thyroid toxin, and feeding it to babies is a really bad idea. Unfortunately, the breast milk of women across the country has also been found to be contaminated with perchlorate....

Researchers followed 3,966 children for 8.5 years, tracking their diets and measuring their IQs. The bottom line is clear; the better children eats, the smarter they are. The United States needs to think in terms of optimizing its human potential.

If you desire your thyroid to work properly and thyroid hormone to work correctly in your body, it is vital that you have adequate selenium intake.

A unique brain-imaging study of identical twins and fraternal twins has shown that genes have a profound influence on the integrity of nerve cell connections, resulting in faster processing speed and potential for intelligence. The study identified that the health of the myelin sheathing of nerves was a key sign of brain health.

The loss of cognitive function as one grows older along with the loss of efficient thyroid function is a common occurrence. This means that optimizing thyroid function is one key factor that will contribute to better mental and cognitive skills. New science is now revealing that the condition of your red blood cells is an early predictor of thyroid...

Iodine deficiency, more than cretinism and goiter.

Does iodine excess lead to hypothyroidism? Evidence from a case-control study in India.

Iodine deficiency, pollutant chemicals, and the thyroid: new information on an old problem.

Iodine supplementation improves cognition in mildly iodine-deficient children

Iodine in evolution of salivary glands and in oral health.

Thyroid hormone levels predict the change in body weight: a prospective study.