Iodine: The Universal Nutrient By Guy E. Abraham, M.D. In textbooks of medicine, endocrinology and thyroidology, the essential element iodine is mentioned only in connection with the most severe forms of deficiency of this nutrient: cretinism, iodine-deficiency induced goiter and hypothyroidism. Due to thyroid fixation, inhibitors of iodine uptake and utilization by target cells are [...]