Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women and it causes death of almost 40.000 women every year. One out of 8 women in the US gets diagnosed with breast cancer.
One surprising fact is that a mineral can help you reduce the risk of getting breast cancer and one thing you need to do is to make sure you’re getting enough of it.
How Iodine Can Help You?
Your thyroid gland needs iodine to function properly. 60% of the iodine in your body gets stored in your thyroid gland. It helps with the production and the release of the hormones that control the base metabolic system.
When you take iodine, your calorie intake converts it into energy production and doesn’t get stored as body fat. Iodine also improves your digestion, boosts your energy and helps you control your weight.
How Is Iodine Deficiency Linked To Breast Cancer?
Some researchers explain that there’s a link between iodine interactions with estrogen pathways. A surprising fact is that the essential and natural hormone estrogen is linked to increased risk of getting breast cancer. The hormone causes stimulation of breast cell division and that’s why experts link the hormone with breast cancer development.
Many researchers claim that iodine is the only mineral that can help you prevent breast cancer. It minimizes the estrogen induced growth of breast cells and it reduces the inhibition of a specific estrogen response inhibitor.
One study done in Japan shows that one certain seaweed that’s rich in iodine has suppressed breast cancer tumors in rats. The seaweed is a commonly consumed in Japan and maybe that’s the reason why the number of Japanese women diagnosed with cancer is 50% lower than the number in the US.
Symptoms of Iodine Deficiency:
- Abnormal weight gain
- Regular frustration
- Bad perception levels
- Coarse skin
- Depression
- Decreased fertility
- Goiter
How to Increase Your Iodine Intake
Marine animals and plants are rich in iodine. Here are the best natural sources of iodine that you must start adding into your diet: Sardines, herring perch, deep-water whitefish, oyster, tuna, halibut, lobster, salmon, clams, sea bass, haddock and shrimp.
Here are the plant-based iodine sources to add in your diet: Lima beans, brown seaweed kelp, summer squash, dulse, garlic, swiss chard, soybeans, summer squash, spinach, sesame seeds and turnip greens.