Dr. Amy Nett: Okay, so let me answer these one at a time. So if a child has a diet low in iodine, I would probably still do testing before doing supplementation. I would also try just try doing a little bit of kelp flakes or something before getting into specific supplementation. I always try to minimize supplements, especially in children, and especially if they don’t actually have any symptoms.
And then the question, “If someone has known Hashimoto’s, would you do iodine testing on them? In the week 37 material we specifically talk about doing testing on people with hypothyroidism without Hashimoto’s, so I wondered it should be done on someone with Hashimoto’s.” Yeah, I think it is reasonable to do iodine testing on people who have Hashimoto’s so that you can know whether or not you want to consider supplementation. Because remember, iodine supplementation is even potentially a little bit more risky in someone with Hashimoto’s, and we tend to start at lower doses even. So if you suspect iodine or otherwise nutrient deficiency in someone, I absolutely would do the testing before just starting. But kelp capsules tend to be pretty safe in someone who does not have Hashimoto’s. So again if you just suspect that someone you know, they’re not eating any sea vegetables, dairy, that sort of thing, you could probably do some occasional kelp capsules. But if you want to know whether or not there’s iodine deficiency in terms of doing targeted supplementation, then absolutely I would test, and remember, for that we do hair analysis and 24-hour urine.