Sixty-Seven Percent Of British Women Suffer From Iodine Deficiency, Study Finds.

reports that a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology suggests that iodine deficiency in pregnancy “remains the leading cause of preventable retardation worldwide.” The Telegraph adds that the deficiency “is also implicated in stillbirth, miscarriage, physical impairment and thyroid dysfunction and thus is crucially important in pregnant women and young children especially.” The study examined data from the “Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children” and “found 67 per cent of British women suffered from a mild to moderate deficiency.” Iodine is not made naturally in the body and must be taken in through eating foods such as oily sea fish, shellfish, cow’s milk, cereals and grains. It plays a fundamental role in the healthy development of the baby’s brain and nervous system while in the womb, and severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy is one of the leading causes of brain damage in the developing world. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11793788/Iodine-supplements-for-pregnant-women-could-boost-IQ-and-save-NHS-thousands.html