The Importance of Iodine For Dogs

Iodine is vital. It regulates thyroid function, supports a healthy metabolism, aids in growth and development, prevents certain chronic diseases like cancer and supports cognitive health in your dog.

Unfortunately, many dogs (yes, even raw fed dogs) suffer from iodine deficiency.

In fact, did you know that there are at least 30 million people with this preventable condition?

Just like in people, iodine deficiency in dogs is completely preventable and I’m going to share with you how you can prevent a deficiency in your raw fed dog.

Iodine is a trace mineral and an essential component of the two thyroid hormones:

• triiodothyronine (T3)
• thyroxine (T4)

These hormones play a vital role in the process of the early growth and development of most organs, especially the brain. They also regulate the metabolic activities of most cells. An inadequate intake of iodine-rich foods leads to insufficient production of these hormones. This reduced production of thyroid hormones adversely affects muscle tissue, the heart, liver, kidney and your dog’s developing brain. (1)

And again, all of this is completely preventable.

Iodine Deficiency Symptoms in Dogs

Iodine is present throughout your dog’s body in just about every organ and tissue. Iodine is needed by almost every bodily system to keep your dog alive and energized. For this reason, iodine deficiency poses many risks to your dog’s health.

One of the most widespread symptoms of iodine deficiency is thyroid disorders. The thyroid is one of your dog’s body’s master glands responsible for balancing hormones. Thyroid disruption caused by a diet low in iodine-rich foods can cause fatigue, weight gain or loss, hormone imbalances, mood changes, and much more.

Clinical signs and symptoms of iodine deficiency in dogs include:

• Cold extremities
• Cold gums
• Constipation
• Depression
• Dry skin
• Fatigue
• Impaired cognitive function
• Impaired kidney function
• Joint stiffness
• Lethargy
• Memory problems
• Muscle weakness
• Recurrent infections
• Sensitivity to cold
• Shortness of breath
• Thinning or brittle hair

Causes of Iodine Deficiency in Dogs

Soils from poorly managed land or land that is susceptible to flooding and the washing away of the topsoil are likely to be deficient in iodine. Grass-fed animals raised on iodine-deficient soils or commercially raised animals fed food grown in deficient soils are all likely to be deficient in iodine if they are not given proper supplementation. (2)

Iodine does not occur naturally in specific foods; rather, it is present in the soil and absorbed by the plants grown in that soil, then ingested by plant-eating animals. When soil lacks iodine the whole of a given population, from plant life to carnivores, become deficient. (3)

Why Selenium is Also Important

Iodine deficiency, coupled with selenium deficiency can lead to thyroid imbalance. Many people who are diagnosed with iodine deficiency have been found to also have a selenium deficiency.

The thyroid gland needs both selenium and iodine to produce adequate levels of thyroid hormones. When there’s a deficiency in one or both, your dog’s body has low thyroid hormone levels. (4)

While iodine plays a vital role in your dog’s thyroid health, selenium is critical for recycling iodine. When selenium levels are low, the thyroid will work harder to produce thyroid hormones. Your dog’s body will also have a difficult time changing these hormones into forms utilized by cells. Because of this, it’s important to treat both deficits in order to re-establish normal thyroid health.

8 Benefits of Iodine

1. Iodine for Dogs Controls their Metabolic Rate

Iodine strongly influences the functioning of the thyroid glands by helping with the production of hormones responsible for controlling your dog’s base metabolic rate. Metabolic rate ensures the efficiency of your dog’s organ systems and the absorption of food and the transformation of food into energy.

2. Iodine for Dogs Maintains Optimal Energy Levels

Iodine plays a vital role in maintaining your dog’s optimal energy levels by the utilization of calories, without allowing them to be stored as excess fat.

3. Iodine for Dogs Helps Prevent Certain Cancers

Iodine plays a role in boosting immunity and inducing apoptosis, the self-destruction of dangerous, cancerous cells. (5)

While iodine assists in destroying mutated cells, it doesn’t destroy healthy cells in the process.

Studies show the ability of iodine to inhibit the growth of breast tumor development in humans. (6) This is supported by the low rate of breast cancer in parts of world, especially in Japan, where women consume a diet rich in iodine.

In fact, the depletion of iodine in soils and in turn foods, and the rising deficiencies, corollate with the rise of breast cancer.

4. Iodine for Dogs Removes Toxic Chemicals

Iodine can remove heavy metal toxins like lead and mercury from your dog’s body.

There are many extrathyroidal benefits of iodine for your dog, including antioxidant functions, maintaining the integrity of the mammary gland as well as antibacterial properties.

5. Iodine for Dogs Boosts Immunity

Iodine plays an important role as an immune booster. Iodine stimulates and increases the activity of antioxidants throughout your dog’s body to provide a strong defensive measure against various diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease.

6. Iodine for Dogs Forms Healthy Skin

Iodine helps with the formation of healthy skin, hair and teeth. Dry, inflamed, irritated, flaky and rough skin is a common sign of iodine deficiency.

7. Iodine for Dogs Prevents Enlarged Thyroid Gland

Iodine deficiency is the primary cause of goiter. When iodine intake becomes severely low, the thyroid compensates for the decreased levels by developing a swollen thyroid gland with nodules in order to absorb as much available iodine as possible.

According to a meta-analysis out of China, lower urinary iodine concentration values “were associated with an increased risk of goiter”. The study also found that “iodine deficiency may lead to an increased risk of goiter.” (7)

Recommended Daily Amount of Iodine for Dogs

Note: Be careful when researching iodine dosages because most are listed as per pound of dry food.

Iodine recommendations for dogs are given in terms of “dietary reference intakes” (DRIs): a set of values used for planning and assessing nutrient intakes.

Dr. Jean Dodd and the National Research Council RDA say that the healthy intake of iodine for dogs is 300mcg per 50lb of dog per day.

J.Crow’s(R) Lugol’s Solution bottle of 2% iodine is equivalent to USP standards or higher. This solution includes 94% distilled water, 4% potassium iodide and 2% iodine.

“The dropper dispenses vertically or horizontally. Each VERTICAL drop is approximately 3.00-3.125 mg of iodine/potassium iodide (approximately 1.250 mg iodine, 1.875 mg potassium iodide) and 2 drops is about 6.00-6.25 mgs of iodine/potassium iodide (approximately 2.5 mg iodine, 3.75 mg potassium iodide)” according to the information provided on their website.

Using J.Crow’s(R) Lugol’s Solution bottle of 2% iodine is the simplest and least expensive way to increase your dog’s iodine intake to a healthy level.

However, your goal should always be to make improvements to your dog’s health through increasing the quality of their whole foods (meats, bones and organs).

How can you best meet the recommended amounts of iodine for dogs?

Feed iodine-rich, animal-derived foods. But remember, the exact content of iodine in meats and organs of a particular animal depends on the iodine intake of that animal. Not all animal-derived foods are created equal.

Fish, raw milk, wild meats and organs, eggs from pastured hens and meats/organs from pastured and supplemented livestock all contain healthy levels of iodine.

Increasing Intake of Iodine Naturally

Iodine overdose can be dangerous, especially in dogs who are diagnosed with kidney disease. Too much iodine could result in thyroid papillary cancer and hyperthyroidism rather than prevention.

A healthy balance is required. Providing your dog with iodine through whole foods is ideal.

The Best Iodine-Rich Foods for Dogs

Keep in mind that iodine levels vary greatly within a type of food depending on the conditions in which it was grown or produced. Like we talked about above, because soil depletion is a concern for lowering iodine counts in foods, crops grown in depleted soils have lower levels of iodine than organically grown crops, grown in rich soils. Similarly, wild-caught fish and eggs from pastured hens are more likely to contain a higher level of nutrients than those that are farm-raised or conventionally produced.

Here are some of the best iodine rich foods:

Cod (wild-caught) — 3 ounces: 99 micrograms

Turkey — 2.5 ounces: 30 micrograms

Liver — 2.5 ounces: 32 micrograms

Raw Milk — 1 cup: 56 micrograms (Note: Raw milk is sold as a “pet food” in my state. This means that it isn’t tested for iodine levels and a dairy animal that is fed a poor diet will produce nutrient depleted milk. For this reason, I don’t rely on raw milk for my dogs’ iodine.)

Eggs from Pastured Hens — 1 large: 24 micrograms

Tuna — 3 ounces: 17 micrograms

Other sources of iodine for dogs:

Beef — 2.5 ounces: 11-14 micrograms

Chicken — 2.5 ounces: 10-11 micrograms

Pork — 2.5 ounces: 5-9 micrograms

Lamb — 2.5 ounces: 8 micrograms

Where My Dogs get their Iodine

I raise my own flocks of chickens, ducks, quail and geese for eggs and meat.

As a part of a balanced diet, my birds are fed kelp which is the single best source of iodine for omnivores and herbivores.

This means that my hens lay eggs with very healthy levels of iodine. My dogs eat this variety of eggs and the iodine is passed to them. Between the eggs and meats I raise, my dogs don’t always need iodine supplementation.

I do supplement when egg production is down and at the same time I’m feeding them meats from animals I have not raised myself. For example, my freezer is full of grass-fed beef right now, from a cow raised by a friend who didn’t supplement the cow with a source of iodine (kelp, for instance). While the meat is nutritionally superior when it comes to all other nutrients, a bit more iodine is needed in my dog’s diets while there are fewer eggs being laid and I’m feeding this beef as a staple.

I say all of this to explain that it’s very possible for your dog to get all of the iodine they need from whole foods, but it is more expensive and not everyone is at that stage.

If you do need to supplement, I highly recommend (because it’s what I use, as needed) J.Crow’s(R) Lugol’s Solution bottle of 2% iodine.