National Iodine Brain Trust

Miami Can Be the Smartest City
in America

A quiet public health crisis is limiting the cognitive potential of millions of Americans. The solution is simple, proven, and costs six dollars.

Miami Chapter — Founding City
50%+ of American women of childbearing age are iodine insufficient
#23 America's world IQ ranking today — down from #1 in 1971
$6 cost of a complete two-year iodine supplementation supply
Scroll ↓
Start Here

Am I Iodine Deficient?
How Can I Tell?

Most people who are iodine insufficient have no idea. There is no obvious symptom in mild to moderate deficiency — only a quiet, gradual dimming of cognitive potential that goes unrecognized for a lifetime. Here is what to look for, and what to do.

Common Signs of Iodine Insufficiency

  • Persistent fatigue and low energy that sleep does not resolve
  • Difficulty concentrating or retaining information
  • Feeling mentally "foggy" or slow
  • Unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing weight
  • Feeling cold when others are comfortable
  • Dry skin, brittle nails, thinning hair
  • Mild depression or low mood without clear cause
  • Swelling at the base of the throat (goiter — advanced deficiency)
  • Irregular menstrual cycles in women
  • Difficulty becoming or staying pregnant

Who Is Most at Risk?

  • Women who are pregnant, planning pregnancy, or breastfeeding
  • Women of childbearing age generally
  • People who rarely eat seafood or dairy
  • People who use sea salt, kosher salt, or Himalayan salt instead of iodized table salt
  • People whose diet consists primarily of processed or restaurant food
  • Vegetarians and vegans
  • People living in inland regions away from ocean-influenced rainfall
  • Children and adolescents in low-income households
  • Elderly individuals with limited dietary variety

How To Know For Certain

1

Urinary iodine test The most accurate measure. A simple urine test, available through your physician or many commercial labs, measures your iodine excretion level. A result below 100 mcg/L indicates insufficiency; below 50 mcg/L is deficiency.

2

Ask your OB/GYN or primary care physician Request a urinary iodine measurement at your next visit. Most physicians do not routinely order this test — you may need to ask specifically.

3

Thyroid function tests TSH and thyroid hormone levels can indicate iodine-related thyroid stress, though normal thyroid labs do not rule out mild insufficiency.

4

Start supplementing Given that over half of American women of childbearing age are insufficient, modest supplementation is low-risk and supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We provide it free — see below.

Peer-Reviewed Evidence

The Science Is Settled

Iodine insufficiency is not a fringe concern. It is documented by the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, confirmed by leading researchers at major universities, and formally acknowledged by America's most respected medical associations.

CDC / NHANES

Over Half of American Women Are Insufficient

The CDC's own National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey documents that more than 50% of American women of childbearing age are iodine insufficient. Nearly one in four pregnant women is frankly deficient.

British Journal of Psychiatry

35% Reduction in Violent Behavior

Dr. C. Bernard Gesch of Oxford University demonstrated in a landmark randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that micronutrient supplementation including iodine and selenium reduced violent behavior in young offenders by 35%. Serious incidents fell by 37%.

AAP / ACOG

Formally Endorsed by Medical Associations

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now formally recommend iodine supplementation during pregnancy. The evidence base has reached the level of institutional consensus.

"Iodine has no equal in the speed and effectiveness of its anti-viral and anti-bacterial activity, and no microorganism is known to develop resistance to its disinfecting effects."
— Prof. Purnendu K. Dasgupta, Ph.D., Hamish Small Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas Arlington. Foremost U.S. researcher on iodine insufficiency in the American population.

The iodized salt solution introduced in 1924 succeeded in eliminating epidemic goiter — and that success became a dangerous assumption. Today, Americans eat less table salt by design. The salt we do consume comes largely from processed foods that use non-iodized varieties. Iodine sublimates — evaporates — from salt sitting on supermarket shelves and in kitchen cabinets. The public health infrastructure that solved iodine deficiency a century ago has quietly collapsed. The cognitive consequences are now measurable in population-level IQ data: America ranked first in the world in average IQ in 1971. Today we rank twenty-third.

The Miami Initiative

A Five-Year Plan to Make Miami
the Smartest City in America

We are proposing that Miami-Dade become the first city in America to systematically address iodine insufficiency at scale — and in doing so, establish a replicable model for every major American city.

Year 1

Baseline Measurement

Urinary iodine testing across Miami-Dade school districts in partnership with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Florida International University. The first city-level iodine deficiency map in American history. National news on its own.

Year 2

Maternal Supplementation

Free iodine supplementation to all pregnant women in Miami-Dade through OB/GYN offices, Jackson Health System, and WIC programs. Cost per recipient: six dollars. Infrastructure: already operational through the Church of Eden and Iodine.

Year 3

School-Based Intervention

Micronutrient supplementation integrated into Title I school nutrition programs, targeting the highest-deficiency populations first. Modeled on the Oxford University randomized controlled trial demonstrating a 35% reduction in behavioral incidents.

Year 4

Measurement and Publication

Academic performance metrics, behavioral incident rates, and juvenile justice referrals — all tracked against the Year 1 baseline. Data published in peer-reviewed journals and made available to every city in America.

Year 5

Miami Announces. America Follows.

Miami publishes its results and declares itself the first city in America to systematically address iodine insufficiency. The National Iodine Brain Trust offers its five-year template to every major American city. The model is replicable. The cost is negligible. The impact is generational.

Founding Advisory Panel

Physicians and Researchers
Giving Their Time Freely

The National Iodine Brain Trust is guided by a founding panel of physicians, researchers, educators, and legal scholars who believe this work is too important to leave undone. They participate without compensation, because the evidence compels them.
HG

Dr. Henry Gelband, M.D.

Pediatric Cardiology, Chairman (ret.) · Professor of Pharmacology (ret.)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine · 50 years of clinical practice
MM

Dr. Michael Martin, MD/MPH/MBA

Professor of Internal Medicine
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) · Epidemiologist with 20 years following the iodine insufficiency literature
JT

Dr. Jeffrey Tarrand, Ph.D.

Chairman, Department of Pathology
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
PD

Prof. Purnendu K. Dasgupta, Ph.D.

Hamish Small Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of Texas Arlington · Foremost U.S. researcher on iodine insufficiency in the American population
JB

Dr. Javier Berezdevin, Ph.D.

Psychologist and Counselor (ret.)
Miami-Dade County Public Schools · Decades of direct experience with Miami-Dade students affected by cognitive and behavioral deficits
JD

James DeChurch, Esq.

Senior Attorney
Fowler White Burnett, P.A. · Lead counsel for the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine · Expert in medical liability and institutional health policy

Panel participation pending formal confirmation. Institutional affiliations listed for identification purposes only.

Free Supplementation

Request Your Free Supply

Through our nonprofit partner, the Church of Eden and Iodine, we provide a free two-year supply of iodine supplementation to anyone who asks. No purchase. No obligation. No catch. Just iodine, delivered to your door.

Free Two-Year Supply

A complete two-year iodine supplementation supply — 200 doses, sufficient to provide meaningful protection for a woman through pregnancy and beyond — delivered to any U.S. address. Provided by the Church of Eden and Iodine, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.

Request Free Iodine →

Questions About Iodine?

We are a resource. Whether you want to understand the science, discuss your specific situation, or simply learn more about iodine insufficiency and what you can do about it — reach out. We respond to every inquiry personally.

Ask Us Anything →
Knowledge Base

Iodine Resources

We have assembled a library of peer-reviewed research, clinical studies, and educational materials on iodine insufficiency, supplementation, maternal health, and cognitive development. Available to anyone, free of charge.

📄

Clinical Research Library

Peer-reviewed publications on iodine insufficiency, maternal health, fetal neurology, and cognitive development. Continuously updated.

🧬

The Iodine-Brain Connection

How iodine affects neurological development from conception through adolescence — the mechanisms, the evidence, and the implications.

🤱

For Expecting Mothers

What every pregnant woman should know about iodine, why your OB/GYN may not have mentioned it, and what to do about it today.

🏫

For Educators and Counselors

How iodine insufficiency manifests in the classroom — behavioral, academic, and cognitive indicators — and how to help.

⚖️

Policy and Advocacy

The case for updated dietary guidelines, standard-of-care reform in obstetrics, and city-level public health intervention.

📬

Request a Document

Looking for a specific study or clinical reference? Email us at gene@nationaliodinebraintrust.org and we will find it for you.

Full resource library launching shortly. Email us for immediate access to specific documents.

Stay Informed

Join the Conversation