Seaweeds Part 2

They are increasingly common now in food and food suppliments in the U.S. 15% of Americans enjoy Japanese cooking. They are considered an all natural source of minerals.Seaweeds are used for flavoring in Asian soup stocks, and other dishes where they remove the seaweed before serving. What is the effect on thyroid patients that are sensitive to iodine? Normals will escape from the effects of excess iodine, but patients with autoimmune thyroid disease will have negative effects. It can cause hypothyroidism in Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with growth of the goiter and even nodule formation. It can cause toxic hyperthyroidism in patients with nodular goiter. The problem is difficult because of the variation in iodine content of different seaweeds.People in Japan and Korea are habituated to their high iodine intake, but people with thyroid disease in low iodine consuming countries are at risk for iodine induced thyroid disease.