Low Throid and Iodine

2663 Views 11 Replies 5 Participants Last post by eisel, Oct 16, 2011

Gabby

Discussion Starter · Oct 11, 2011

Just wanted to share, I have a two yr old Dobie that had a low throid last yr. Vet said since he is so young and the throid was just a little bit low that I should try an Iodine supplement. I did. We just pulled the test again and all his throid levels are normal.

Want to brag a bit and also let others know that you may be able to help your dog with a low throid with Iodine. Not saying it will work for everyone, but it is worth a try.

I will have him tested again to see where he is.

P.S. I love my Dobie.

Save

Reactions: 2

1 - 12 of 12 Posts

mmctaq

· #2 · Oct 12, 2011

I am wondering if you feed raw. I suspect iodine definciency is not that uncommon in raw-fed dogs who are not being fed whole prey animals or not being fed the portion of necks which contains the thyroid gland. Pretty much all of the dietary iodine that is taken in by an animal is immediately taken up and stored in the thyroid gland... the other tissues of the animal will contain practically none, so if you do not feed that portion of the animal that contains the gland, you will run into problems with iodine levels.

You do want to be careful with iodine or kelp supplementation. Often, too much of a good thing is as bad as not enough.

Save

Reactions: 2

Gabby

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 12, 2011

I do feed raw and I do give my dogs chicken necks, now I am not positive that it contains the thriod glan. Thanks for the input. It is a great thing to know.

Do you have any other input on feeding raw, as to what I should watch for.

Save

Reactions: 1

DreamValley

· #4 · Oct 12, 2011 (Edited)

MMCTAG humans don't eat kibble and many of them have thyroid issues. Maybe we should switch to?

(just kidding)

I add kelt to raw food daily. What risks do I face?

Can you please explain "necks with thyroid"?
Do you mean a bird head and neck with skin on it?
That's really hard to find on the market.

Gabby what kind of iodine did you give to your boy? Thanks for sharing your info.

Save

Reactions: 1

mmctaq

· #5 · Oct 13, 2011

I have spent considerable time trying to find out where, exactly, the thyroid gland of poultry is located... you'd think that it would be easy to learn, but it's not! I suspect that it may be low enough on the neck that it may not be included (the necks may be removed above the thyroid)... but, I am not sure. At any rate, that gland will contain all of the iodine that the animal has consumed.

I calculated the iodine requirement of my 70# bitch to be just over 400 micrograms... that is about 1 1/2 times the amount recommended for adult humans, and is supplied by about 1/7 teaspoon kelp. Many of the recommendations out there regarding kelp for dogs are for whole teaspoons or even more than one teaspoon, and this is too much.

There are books and e-mail lists (I am on RAW-lite : RAW-lite) and a decent FAQ regarding raw feeding on this forum. The subject is really too large to simply throw tips out there. Is there something more specific you were wondering?

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 3

Ninabug

· #6 · Oct 13, 2011

mmctaq said:
I have spent considerable time trying to find out where, exactly, the thyroid gland of poultry is located... you'd think that it would be easy to learn, but it's not! I suspect that it may be low enough on the neck that it may not be included (the necks may be removed above the thyroid)... but, I am not sure. At any rate, that gland will contain all of the iodine that the animal has consumed.

I calculated the iodine requirement of my 70# bitch to be just over 400 micrograms... that is about 1 1/2 times the amount recommended for adult humans, and is supplied by about 1/7 teaspoon kelp. Many of the recommendations out there regarding kelp for dogs are for whole teaspoons or even more than one teaspoon, and this is too much.

There are books and e-mail lists (I am on RAW-lite : RAW-lite) and a decent FAQ regarding raw feeding on this forum. The subject is really too large to simply throw tips out there. Is there something more specific you were wondering?

I'm curious as to how you know that 1 teaspoon is too much for your dog? Is that based on what the human requirements are? If so, that may not be accurate. There are plenty of drugs and supplements where dogs (and cats) get considerably higher doses. Animals metabolize differently from us. For example benedryl: I couldn't take more than 25mg a night for allergies...but my dog gets 1mg/lb twice a day. That's WAY more than I take...but it's the appropriate dose.
Just wondering where you got your facts from. Thanks

Save

Reactions: 1

Gabby

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 13, 2011

I use Iosol Iodine from Wellness Resources. I chose that one because it absorbs well into the body and pretty in expensive. Here is a link.

Iosol Iodine for Thyroid Nutrition and Body Temperature

Save

Reactions: 2

DreamValley

· #8 · Oct 13, 2011

mmctaq said:
I have spent considerable time trying to find out where, exactly, the thyroid gland of poultry is located... you'd think that it would be easy to learn, but it's not! I suspect that it may be low enough on the neck that it may not be included (the necks may be removed above the thyroid)... but, I am not sure. At any rate, that gland will contain all of the iodine that the animal has consumed.

I calculated the iodine requirement of my 70# bitch to be just over 400 micrograms... that is about 1 1/2 times the amount recommended for adult humans, and is supplied by about 1/7 teaspoon kelp. Many of the recommendations out there regarding kelp for dogs are for whole teaspoons or even more than one teaspoon, and this is too much.

There are books and e-mail lists (I am on RAW-lite : RAW-lite) and a decent FAQ regarding raw feeding on this forum. The subject is really too large to simply throw tips out there. Is there something more specific you were wondering?

What happens if dogs consume too much iodine? May it harm their system?
I add approx. 1tsp kelp to raw food for two dogs. It should be fine.

Why didn't you mention fish? It has iodine is not it?

Yahoo groups search sucks. I have no time to read all posts. Any information posted there is useless to me.

Save

Reactions: 1

mmctaq

· #9 · Oct 13, 2011

Ninabug said:
I'm curious as to how you know that 1 teaspoon is too much for your dog? Is that based on what the human requirements are? If so, that may not be accurate. There are plenty of drugs and supplements where dogs (and cats) get considerably higher doses. Animals metabolize differently from us. For example benedryl: I couldn't take more than 25mg a night for allergies...but my dog gets 1mg/lb twice a day. That's WAY more than I take...but it's the appropriate dose.
Just wondering where you got your facts from. Thanks

No, this is not based on human requirements... as I said in my post, I calculated my 70# bitch's requirement to be about 1.5 times the requirement of an adult human... dogs do require more iodine than humans. The figure I quoted came from the revised Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, via Monica Segal's Optimal Nutrition. The 1/7 teaspoon is based on the assay of NOW Foods kelp (405 mcg. iodine per 3 of their tiny scoops, roughly 1/7 tsp.)... it is possible that different kelp products contain differing amounts of iodine... I would not purchase a kelp product which did not include iodine content on the labeling.

Save

Reactions: 2

mmctaq

· #10 · Oct 13, 2011

DreamValley said:
What happens if dogs consume too much iodine? May it harm their system?
I add approx. 1tsp kelp to raw food for two dogs. It should be fine.

Why didn't you mention fish? It has iodine is not it?

Yahoo groups search sucks. I have no time to read all posts. Any information posted there is useless to me.

The results of excess iodine intake can be the same as dietary deficiency, or the opposite... hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. So, yes, excess over time may be problematic.

Fish... it depends on which fish, from where, prepared how and whether or not the whole carcass is consumed (including the head). The USDA Nutrient Database does not list iodine content which means searching involves both overly-technical material (my head is about to 'splode!) or overly-simplistic material which is factually suspect (at least, to me). The iodine content of foods is so variable that making generalizations is probably unwise... it is probably useless to talk about the iodine content of milk without also talking about which cow eating what during which season of the year. I like absolutes, so researching something like this is more than a little frustrating for me LOL!

As with many (most, probably, if not all) nutrients which are necessary in trace amounts, too much iodine is probably as unhealthful as too little. From what has been studied about dogs, I would guess that your one teaspoon per two (Doberman, I assume?) dogs is about three times what is necessary but not into the upper ranges of what will cause a problem.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 2

eisel

· #11 · Oct 14, 2011

I went over this with Orijen and the analysis reading only 0.18mg/kg iodine. Supposedly it is supposed to read(according to Orijen CS) 4mg/kg. Not sure how they could FK that up(and not change the analysis as it has been months now)... anyways.. yeah, dogs require a good iodine source or bad things can happen. And as I suspected, it is very important to watch and be sure plenty of Iodine is in your doberman's food.

Save

Reactions: 1

eisel

· #12 · Oct 16, 2011

forgot aafco guidelines are very loose regarding iodine amounts...min is like 1.50gm/kg with a max of 50 gm/kg. I seriously doubt you will run into problems with too much iodine unless you feed an incredible amount of kelp and other sources rich in iodine daily for a long time.

Save

1 - 12 of 12 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month