Iodine deficiency iodate as dough conditioner in bread and baked goods was gradually replaced by the use of other conditioning agents such as bromide. Iodine deficiency resulting in goiter occurs in 187 million people globally (2.7% of the population). It resulted in 2700 deaths in 2013 up from 2100 deaths in 1990. A low amount of thyroxine (one of the two thyroid hormones) in the blood, due to lack of dietary iodine to make it, gives rise to high levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which stimulates the thyroid gland to increase many biochemical processes; the cellular growth and proliferation can result
Iodine in biology Iodine in biology Iodine is an essential trace element in biological systems. It has the distinction of being the heaviest element commonly needed by living organisms as well as the second-heaviest known to be used by any form of life (only tungsten, a component of a few bacterial enzymes, has a higher atomic number and atomic weight). It is a component of biochemical pathways in organisms from all biological kingdoms, suggesting its fundamental significance throughout the evolutionary history of life. Iodine is critical to the proper functioning of the vertebrate endocrine system, and plays smaller roles in numerous other organs,