Old stuff

Things disappear from the net, so I think it useful to post this:

DR. JOHNSON'S HEALTHY LIVING NEWSLETTER

Friday, November 10, 2006

Iodine: The Forgotten Health Link

From 1900 to the 1960s almost every single U.S. physician used Lugol (iodine) supplements in his or her practice for both hypo- and hyperthyroid, as well as many, many other conditions-all with excellent results. In fact, iodine was considered a panacea for all human ills (12). It is the most deficient trace mineral in the world with an acknowledged third of mankind functioning below optimal level due to deficiency (10). In fact, low intake of iodine is the worlds leading cause of intellectual deficiency (11). Yet, as unbelievable as it may sound, this essential element has suffered from total neglect regarding establishing the proper amount required by the human body for optimal health. Today a phobia-generated by medical misinformation against iodine therapy-has caused physicians to avoid this powerful treatment like the plague.

By avoiding iodine therapy, you could be missing out on the very link that could get you well. Today we know that total body iodine fulfillment or sufficiency can finally resolve tough, stubborn problems that resist all other treatments. Called orthoiodosupplementation, this treatment employs elemental iodine supplements until the thyroid gland and all other iodine-sensitive sites in the body have reached iodine sufficiency.

The most commonly difficult problems for which this therapy has been called a panacea are fibrocystic breasts, polycystic ovary syndrome, hypo- and hyperthyroid (with or without goiter), brain fog, constipation, obesity, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and even some heart problems-most notably irreversible arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation.

...more at [www.curezone.com]

I used Lugols, still do - but it failed to stop my AF. I thought it had for a while as I went 6 months without any discernible AF, but it came back in spades. I still think it's important to take Iodine as a supplement, but from what I understand one has to be careful that TSH levels aren't adversely affected.

I never could reconcile the pro/anti high dose iodine sides. I modestly supplement with around 1 mg/day of iodine as potassium iodide. I also use povidone iodine for water purification away from civilization (4 drops/liter and 30 minutes <[www.high-altitude-medicine.com] ). When I gave blood a few days ago, I noticed my temp was 97.9 deg F, as it was 8 weeks ago. This is an increase of about 1/2 deg from a few years ago. I almost always give blood at the same time - 5PM and after not eating lunch, since I never eat lunch, so the variables are relatively constant.

I used some povidone iodine on my skin yesterday and noticed it was still there 20 hours later. So according to the "patch test" (as described in William's link) I'm reasonably iodine saturated. I've also seen reports that are dismissive of the accuracy of this test.

I've not noticed any change in my afib due to iodine or lack thereof.

George

Hi George,

Iodine is essential and one of the major deficiencies found in many diets. The midwest used to be famous even as the old 'goiter belt' due to low levels in soil of the region, same story with much of Europe.

Like anything good its best to maintain a broad optimal range and not over or under do it. David Brownstein has a lot of good long term practical insights on proper repletion.

I stick now with around 6.25mg a day of Iodoral which is the tablet from of Lugols combining both Iodine and Potassium Iodide following the original Lugols formula.

I have modest low thyroid output without working at it, and yet with during my most active AFIB period I was careful about not overdoing thyroid replacement and erring on the lower side while using Iodoral, some tyrosine, selenium, zinc and magnesium as well as trying to keep my ferritin levels above 50 and below 100 all in an effort to give a decent boost to my free T3 levels. That along with the Thyroid boosting effects of growth hormone has keep my 24hr urine levels of both urinary T4 and T3 in a fairly decent range without having to take any Dessicated thyroid or Cytomel.

The skin patch can give some indication but isn't that reliable in many cases. ZRT Labs has a new test kit you can order without a Docs prescription for Iodine levels that seem to work pretty well and the gold standard is a 24 hour urine Iodine loading test where you take a single 50mg Iodoral tablet before starting the 24 hour urine collection and then measure the amount recovered at the end of 24 hours. That will really tell you where you are at in term of onboard iodine stores and repletion.

Shannon

William,

If I remember rightly you had my problem with iodine - an intolerance causing cold-like symptoms.

I did work up to 15 mgs a day but couldn't stand the side effects so only use a very small amount every other day and even that causes mild symptoms. I know I need more.

Did you ever manage to overcome the intolerance?

Sam

P.S. Nice to see you posting again!

Having been born and raised in the Goiter Belt region of Ohio...I'd like to comment to readers that it's important to realize many such areas still exist in the US... rather than :used to be famous for"...many areas of the country have iodine-deficient soil. The interesting point of living here all my life and eventually having thryoid-related problems is that I have yet to have a medical practitioner curious about my iodine level. I suffered greatly with many obvious symptoms and consequences of low iodine ... many were severe and yet, no practitioner ever made the connection or was even curious.

Some years ago when I pushed for the Iodine challenge test as recommended by the iodine gurus, I tested moderately low. I've been supplementing ever since and that has helped reduce and eliminate thyroid nodules that resulted from low iodine and allowed me to reduce Armour Thyroid hormone to a very low maintenance dose. Unfortunately, it can't reverse the many surgeries deemed necessary but could have easily been prevented or reversed with proper iodine dosing and monitoring.

Fortunately, we have the expertise of researchers and practitioners such as Guy Abraham, MD, Jorge Flechas, MD, David Brownstein, MD, Mark Sircus, Ac., OMD, DM (P), Nikolas Hedberg, DC, DABCI and many more to help identify and recognize deficiency symptoms and test patients so they can avoid the severe manifestations of being iodine deficient.

Too late to reverse my iatrogenic results but not too late to keep spreading the word about the importance of Iodine for health.

There are many archived posts on the topic of iodine deficiency. If you aren't aware, now's the time to start reading.

Jackie

Sam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> William,
>
> If I remember rightly you had my problem with
> iodine - an intolerance causing cold-like
> symptoms.
>
> I did work up to 15 mgs a day but couldn't stand
> the side effects so only use a very small amount
> every other day and even that causes mild
> symptoms. I know I need more.
>
> Did you ever manage to overcome the intolerance?
>
> Sam
>
> P.S. Nice to see you posting again!


Hi Sam;

I remember a recent backwards cold, started in the lung and ended in the nose, but if it was beginning of iodine supplementation it's lost in the mists of time. And also in the horrors of detoxes, of which I have had a bunch.
It's been two years last November since I gradually increased to the standard dose, which is at least 100 mg/16 drops of Lugol's, and the only thing left that bothers me about detox is back pain so I can't shovel all the snow we are getting this year. This is from an old injury and it is healing the cartilage and ligament damage, maybe nervous system damage too - I seem to stagger less.

In the beginning Lugol's gave me a sore stomach, so I used Magnascent for two months, quit for a few weeks. then back to Lugol's, then Lugol's and Saturated Solution of Potassium Iodide. Presently take 9 drops Lugol's morning and 15 drops SSKI with food in the evening.
The intent was and is to flush all the poisons out, such as bromine, fluorine, mercury, lead etc. and so forth. Seems to be working.

Please note: when taking iodine, the companion nutrients such as selenomethionine first and salt etc. are essential, lest you have thyroid problems.
And the experience of some is that tiny amounts of iodine will start to lift toxins, but are not enough to flush them out, so you get unpleasant detox symptoms but no healing.

Thanks for kind word.

William

Thanks, William,

I'll gradually raise the dose again and see what happens.

Sam

Thanks Jackie,

Also, to clarify, my reference that the upper midwest "used to be known as the goiter belt" for sure was not meant to imply that suddenly the native soils in that region have become replete with iodine. It was mainly a reference to the relative lack of full blown goiters seen these days. It seems even iodized salt, as poor a form of iodine supplementation as that is, may yet still be enough to reduce the most extreme manifestation of goiter. But on the other hand, ironically, that too has only allowed a kind of dismissive complacency to arise in many medical professionals who, simply because they don't see much full blown obvious goiter any longer, assume iodine deficiency is now a non-issue which is not at all the case.

A close analogy is the lack of full blown rickets now making many docs feel that Vitamin D deficiency is rare when, in fact, a true functional deficiency effecting so many aspects of health is literally rampant in most every part of the world. Especially in somewhat more northern latitudes, but really nearly everywhere.

Shannon

Shannon - Thanks. I agree with your assessment. The goiters that used to be seen in the Great Lakes Goiter Belt region are definitely absent (visually) but that doesn't mean that the condition isn't sub-clinically present in many people. In my case, the undiagnosed hypothyroidism that I undoubtedly had for many years, did eventually manifest in an enlarged thyroid... identified as 'goiteroid tissue' with nodules. And after treating for 10 years with Synthroid (wrong choice of drugs)... the situation worsened and the nodules became more prominent. However, a person observing my neck would have no clue that I had 'goiteroid tissue'... but it's evident on ultrasound.

Over 30 years of seeing various doctors for treatment, very few actually palpated the gland and only in the past 10 years and a new endocrinologist, was I instructed to have an annual ultrasound because of the maligancy risk with the nodules. And as I mentioned previously, no one has ever been curious about my iodine levels via lab evaluation which seems odd since it's such a critical nutrient.

That's just the physical presentation.. the hormonal imbalance as a result of iodine deficiency manifested in my body in various ways including fibrocystic breast disease and resulting unnecessary surgeries... polycystic ovaries and uterine fibroids... involving more unnecessary surgery... and undoubtedly, helped contributed to Afib since I definitely tested and remained hypothyroid even though my numbers were in the range. All because no one bothered to connect the dots between my physical symptoms and manifestations of an obvious iodine deficiency but went straight for the knife.

My emphasis is that while I formerly consumed plenty of iodized salt years ago, it did nothing to prevent or reverse the goiteroid tissue or correct the hypothyroidism. or the other hyperplasias. Only until recent years, when I began to add iodine supplementally and in sufficient dosing did I have an ultrasound report indicating that two of the nodules had disappeared.... or they would be wanting to do thyroid surgery as well. With iodine supplementation, I am able to lower the Armour thyroid hormone dosing significantly. My mouth is no longer continually dry and I no longer have dry-eye syndrome.

In the posts on the Iodine topic, it's stated that very little actual iodine does manage to stay with the salt once added so relying on table salt for optimal iodine intake may be misleading. While commercially processed foods contain a lot of sodium, iodine isn't added to that because it distorts taste and obviously adds cost.

We all need to be aware of the importance of iodine in the body.

Jackie