Feeling tired, loss of energy, dry nails, hair and skin? Chances are you're with 63% of the UK population that are unknowingly iodine deficient.
A new supplement called Napiers Organic Seagreens Hebridean Kelp Supplement, which contains organic seaweed, is being backed by a study published with the University of Glasgow for its health and beauty benefits.
New research out this week said that women with diets low in dairy products and seafood should take a daily seaweed supplement to boost vital iodine levels.
Nutrition experts said Napiers Seagreens Hebridean Kelp Supplement, containing extract of wild wrack seaweed from Scotland's Outer Hebrides, could significantly boost low iodine levels in young women.
Now an independent study at the University of Glasgow has reported that the supplement replenishes the body's levels of iodine in as little as three days.
Writing in the British Journal of Nutrition, the experts tested Napiers Seagreens Hebridean Kelp Supplement and found that a single capsule contained the same amount of iodine as eating one-and-a-half whole mackerel a day.
A lack of iodine can be one of the main causes of an underactive thyroid, prompting feelings of being run down, lacking in energy, weight gain, aching muscles and brittle fingernails.
British researchers say that iodine deficiency in pregnant women in the UK should be treated as an important public issue.
The new study was based on 42 women, aged 25, who took one seaweed supplement capsule over a period of two weeks. Before the trial their consumption of iodine was far lower than the daily minimum recommended intake of 140mcg with 52% of the group found to be iodine insufficient.
The results showed a significant rise from 93mcg per day to 262mcg per day in the group with low iodine levels before the study.
'Our pure wild organic seaweed is sustainably harvested from the clear waters off the remote conservation islands of the Outer Hebrides,' said a spokesperson for Edinburgh-based Napiers, which has been making herbal and plant remedies since 1860.
'This method of harvesting and drying is essential in preserving the ocean – it doesn't strip out all life from the sea bed maintaining purity – not contaminated with metals or effluent maintaining all nutrients – through gentle drying of the seaweed.'
The researchers found that other seaweed supplements contained much lower levels of iodine.
