Looking for some iodine during pregnancy guidelines? Are you specifically concerned about an iodine deficiency during breastfeeding? In this article, I want to clear up some common questions and concerns when it comes to the topic of iodine levels and breastfeeding.
Your iodine levels are so important, and it is so important to get them right. I’ll take you through the various levels you should aim for as a pregnant or breastfeeding woman, as well as which foods you should avoid or enjoy.
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Breastfeeding is such a unique time, and not just because you are creating nourishment for another human being. It’s also unique because your nutritional needs during breastfeeding are completely different to other times in life.
That’s why I want to start by identifying where you are right now. Let’s think about things in terms of the different kinds of women who may be breastfeeding.
You will likely find yourself in one of the following categories:
If you are a woman who has no family history of thyroid disease, and you don’t have it currently, you may end up with a bit more leeway than these other categories.
For those in the remaining three categories, you need to be particularly careful about how much iodine you are getting. You need to key in on a very specific amount.
That’s because those prone to thyroid disease cannot function as well on such a wide potential range of iodine intake. Their needs become super specific, and this in turn has an effect on their health, in general.
Key Insight: Those more prone to getting thyroid disease are at risk of getting too much iodine (and not less). Too much can be harmful to both mom and baby.
When it comes to iodine during breastfeeding, the guidelines are essentially the same as the amount of iodine required when a woman is pregnant. We would be looking at around 50 micrograms (mcg) more than she would otherwise need in a non-pregnant state.
A woman that is neither pregnant nor breastfeeding needs somewhere between 50-200 mcg of iodine for good overall health.
If she is prone to thyroid disease or on medication, it gets a bit more complicated. We may need to be careful with some lower amounts in this case.
During pregnancy and during lactation, a woman would need between 150-250 mcg (100-200 mcg when considering medications) of iodine.
Let’s quickly summarize so you have all the information at a glance:
Here’s something that shocked me: The amount of iodine in food varies tremendously.
When I wrote The Thyroid Reset Diet, I analyzed over 600 foods and I found more than 50 samples from most of the foods.
What I saw was that so many foods could have such a range of iodine within them. From season to season, from various parts of the country, or even from batch to batch!
The most appropriate route is to think of food in terms of categories of iodine. In the same book I just mentioned, the Thyroid Reset Diet, I broke down foods into three categories:
While “Green Light Foods” are not entirely free from iodine, they are not likely to contribute to excessive amounts of iodine that may put your health at risk.
“Yellow Light Foods” have moderate amounts of iodine but are fairly consistent. You likely won’t find them having massive amounts on occasion, so they are relatively safer.
Finally, we have “Red Light Foods.” These are foods that always, or often enough, have unsafe amounts of iodine in them. We want to avoid these ones.
Key Insight: When it comes to iodine during breastfeeding, you are going to want to include at least one or two servings of Yellow Light Foods in your daily diet.
If you are on thyroid medication, that is more like one serving of Yellow Light Foods.
Let’s start with our Green Light Foods, the ones that have very little amounts of iodine.
These would include most fruits, vegetables, legumes (like beans and peas), nuts, seeds, most animal protein, and egg whites.
Yellow Light Foods will include things like:
Finally, we have our Red Light Foods. This will include things like sea vegetables, processed grains, many types of dairy, and iodine supplements.
Key Insight: You can find the complete list in the Thyroid Reset Diet. Or, you can simply click the following link to access a full list.
While iodine does make its way into breast milk, it isn’t a linear equation.
If there is too much iodine, there is a pump that brings iodine into the breast milk. This is called the sodium iodide symporter (NIS).
The NIS prevents the body from being exposed to dangerous amounts of iodine. So, when there is a lot of iodine, the pump shuts itself off.
This causes an issue, because if you get too much iodine in the form of supplements or Red Light Foods, the pump may shut off and prevent any iodine from getting in your breast milk.
This is a bit of a catch-twenty-two. Because your baby does need iodine, just not too much, but it also has repercussions if it gets no iodine at all from your breast milk.
Ultimately, this really highlights just how important it is to get the right amounts of daily iodine through your diet. It reduces a lot of risks and ensures the health of your baby.
Key Insight: For breastfeeding moms, you need to look to have around 100-250 mcg of iodine (per day), which results in 1-2 servings of Yellow Light Foods most days.
But, what about iodine in salt or iodine in prenatal supplements?
First, let’s talk about salt. The drawback of iodine in salt is that you can find it as iodized salt or naturally occurring in some types of sea salt (or pink Himalayan salt).
Both of these sources will contain iodine, but the amounts are not as predictable as we might otherwise like. If you can’t reasonably rely on it, you shouldn’t look to do it.
Then, we think about iodine in prenatal supplements or other daily vitamins. The trick here is that, while they can have it, the variability is even higher.
And, it wasn’t even close – so, supplements are off the table because they are just as unreliable as salt (which is already unreliable). Especially when you’re breastfeeding, and looking out for your own health as well as your baby’s, we really need reliability.
As I have detailed above, the best way to get iodine for breastfeeding mothers is through food. These are foods that you can find easily, they are easy to enjoy, and they can offer a much more reliable and consistent amount of iodine compared to salt or supplements.
Ultimately, iodine is all about striking exactly the right balance. You don’t want too much, and you don’t want to avoid it entirely. Especially when you are looking out for the health of your little one, you want to follow a safe, stable and reliable pattern of iodine consumption.
Iodine is important, but it’s just as important that you get the right amounts. As I mentioned in today’s article, The Thyroid Reset Diet was built around understanding the pivotal role of iodine (and where we can find it) in our diets.
For your health, and your baby’s, I hope you will take a look today. It is filled with great tips to ensure you are getting the right amount of iodine, through the right foods, so that you don’t have to worry about iodine deficiency when breastfeeding.
P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:
1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
2. Need A Thyroid Supplement Recommendation? Take My Thyroid Specific Formulations Quiz Now
3. Need a Personalized Supplement? Check out My Thyroid Specific Formulations
4. Download and use my Favorite Recipes Cookbook Here
5. Check out my podcast Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairytales Here
Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.
Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.
Dr. Alan Christianson
Alan Christianson is a Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD) who is a board-certified Naturopathic Endocrinologist with a focus on thyroid disorders. He is the author of The Metabolism Reset Diet and the New York Times bestselling book The Adrenal Reset Diet.
He founded Integrative Health, a physician group dedicated to helping people with thyroid disease and weight-loss resistance regain their health.
He has been named a Top Doctor in Phoenix magazine and has appeared on national TV shows and in numerous print media.
Dr. Christianson resides in the woods by a lake in Northern Minnesota with his wife Kirin.
