Hormone Health Hub: Expert Insights on Testing, Balance & Better Living — thyroid function test

 

If you often feel tired, struggle with weight changes, or have thyroid concerns, it might be time to check your iodine levels with a simple home test.

 

Iodine deficiency is a significant and underappreciated global health problem, with urinary iodine levels in many Western populations having fallen substantially over recent decades. As an essential component of thyroid hormones, iodine deficiency impairs thyroid function, promotes goitre, and has wide-ranging consequences for metabolism, cognitive development, breast health, and reproductive health. Women of childbearing age are particularly vulnerable. This article explains the causes and consequences of iodine deficiency, who is most at risk, and how at-home dried urine testing using ICP-MS analysis can accurately confirm your iodine status.

Iodine deficiency is more common than many realise. This guide walks through how to assess iodine status using dietary recall, symptom profiling, and a three-part laboratory panel — including thyroid function, thyroglobulin, and urinary iodine and bromine testing.

Once iodine deficiency is confirmed through laboratory assessment, choosing the right supplement form is critical. This guide explains the difference between iodide and molecular iodine, how to dose safely, what to consider with Hashimoto's, and how to monitor your progress with at-home hormone testing.