quote name='dlt1200' date='Apr 23 2009, 03:59 PM' post='280942']


So did he make any recommendation for iodine ?? perhaps how much to take? how about if you take thyroid meds? (Next time..... take him out to lunch!!!!!!!!!!)

I was reading about iodine today at your suggestion and a couple of the studies note a connections between thyroid issues and BC. Could lack of iodine be what causes thyroids to be out of whack?????????

Dee
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Hey, Dee,

The doc was amazed and said to keep doing what I was doing.

I am still learning, but quickly. Others who have more knowledge should post.
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Yes, I think that the lack of iodine could be causing a lot of our thyroid problems and breast cancer.
Perhaps Cancer in general?



I recently read in a magazine that 23% of American Woman have low thyroid. (10% of males) Additionally, 28% of people have "sub clinical" or what we would label as "mild hypothyroidism." This is Me! My thyroid screens for T3 & T4 always show up as normal, but on the low side.

Iodine supplements are tricky because autoimmune thyroid diseases like Graves' Disease or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis have nothing to do with iodine deficiency at all. So you really have to know what what your thyroid is doing. Some people are very sensitive to iodine or kelp supplementation; it aggravates their thyroid problem. They should NOT take iodine at all.

Now that we have that out of the way.......

If you are slightly on the low side, and have mild or sub clinical low thyroid, you could safely supplement with an over the counter iodine supplement. I read that if you are on thyroid meds, and you have to keep upping your dose or still having symptoms, that supplementation could help correct this. (WARNING....DO NOT add iodine with thyroid meds until you check with your doctor.)


Iodine deficiency is said to be uncommon in the US, because we eat iodized salt, but I don't eat a lot of salt or bread.

In the 60's, the iodine in bread was replaced with bromine.
Bromine blocks thyroid function and may interfere with the anticancer effect of iodine on the breast This could very well explain why cancers seem to be on the rise. ?????




In the 1900's, they used iodine effectively for both low & high thyroid activity. If you have low thyroid, you can go to the health food store and pick up iodine or sea kelp. I use both, but not every day.
I can tell if I am getting too much iodine, by my body temp. If I overheat (not hot flash), I skip a day or two or three.

You can get a free dvd about iodine, by calling (800)223-1601. This is contains a lot of information.

Orthoiodosupplementation:
# Title Duration
1 An overview 22 mins.
2 The first 100 years: From the discovery of iodine to its essentiality in human health. 20 mins.
3 The first half of the 20th century: Isolation and synthesis of thyroid hormones. 23 mins.
4 Use of iodine/iodide in clinical medicine: Historical background. 15 mins.
5 Iodization of salt and the appearance of autoimmune thyroiditis. 10 mins.
6 The RDA versus whole body sufficiency for iodine. 15 mins.
7 Interactions of iodine with other halogens: Clinical implications. 12 mins.
8 The concept of orthoiodosupplementation.

Be aware that they really want to sell you their product, which I used at one time...and their recommended dose was too high for me.

I hope this give you enough information so that you can go get more. Post what you find, ok?

Shebee

Hello Shebee,

I've been reading up on iodine as well so I was surprised to find this post today. I’m not an expert but this is what I have learned through reading and a site I belong to. It took me a minute to type this up because my temporary recall is horrific for too many reasons to recount.

Iodine is used in all glands to produce hormones. "The second largest concentration of iodine in the female body is in the breasts. To give you an idea of how much iodine your body needs, the breasts must have 100 times as much iodine in the blood to have their fill as does the thyroid! The same is true for the other endocrine glands, the prostate, stomach, and white blood cells." Apparently people aren’t consuming enough because of mercury contamination in fish and depletion in our soil.

Iodine can be used to detoxify the body of heavy metals, fluoride, chlorine, and bromides which are everywhere and results in iodine depletion! Apparently, the symptoms for thyroid deficiency (hypothyroidism) and fluoride poisoning are very similar which is why I started looking into it. As you suggested, iodine has been used to successfully treat cancers, fibroids, acne, goiters, hypothyroidism, fluoride poisoning, hair loss, miscarriage, moles, cold or flu, anxiety, cholesterol, increase proper levels of stomach acid, to purify contaminated water, etc. The recommended dosage by the FDA is apparently 150 mcg, although from what I’ve read, the Japanese eat much, much more, I think 100 times more, and don’t have the type of health problems that we have here in the U.S. or adverse affects from it. Sources of iodine include salt water fish, cod liver oil, seaweed, iodized salt, with smaller amounts found in bran, broccoli, spinach, cashews, watermelon, tea, egg yolks, etc.. Kelp can also be used to supplement iodine, which is what I’ve been using, although some sources of kelp may contain arsenic! If one has a Vitamin B deficiency, they may have problems absorbing Iodine until that deficiency is resolved. Iodoral, one tablet, contains 5 mg. of iodine and 7.5 of potassium iodide which is equivalent to 2 drops of Lugol’s solution. Apparently, they have started limiting the sale of Lugol’s because it is being used to make Meth! One can also have too much iodine, suspected overdoses of iodine can be managed with bread (contains bromide) and chocolate...I can't remember why that was but I remember the chocolate!

According to Hulda Clark, A Cure for All Disease, there is a skin patch test that one can do. To test for a deficiency simply paint a 2” patch on the body. If it fades and is absorbed within 4-12 hours then you are deficient! Of course, there are some doctors who don’t find the skin test reliable and use other testing methods such as an Iodine Load Testing (urine test) that can be purchased over the internet or a Minerals Test.

I'm currently considering switching over since my skin patch test disappeared quickly but I may order the Iodine Loading Test just to be sure.

Peace,

TJ

I used to think the skin patch test was accurate, but no longer. Everyone's skin is different and absorbs things at a different rate. I think we've seen this with estrogen. And I have been on several thyroid groups where people have overdosed on this after reading some of the popular 'bandwagon' iodine stuff out there. Ladies, this stuff is something that should be used with caution despite what you've read, and I've read all the same stuff. There are many studies and papers published on PubMed over many years showing how iodine in excess of 150-300mcg/day has CAUSED hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's.

Back when I was first trying to figure out what was wrong with me, I also read all those websites and foolishly took the advice of those who pooh-pooh the studies and deny that the Wolff-Chaikoff effect can have permanent effects. Not true, and there are studies to show this. But at first I did not know that and I jumped on the iodine bandwagon and took the recommended high daily dose. After 3 days I was a mess, and it was right after that I really went downhill and I have my suspicions that it triggered my Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The studies are clear that those with Hashi's should not take it, and many of us who did ended up in the ER from going hyperthyroid. Yet the iodine rangers have a cookie-cutter approach and get quite militant about insisting that everyone can take it if only they do a myriad of things. They refuse to admit that some people just cannot take it.

And when people on the groups would get very ill from the iodine and post about it, they are told they are just detoxing from bromide, that that iodine is displacing it. Yet if you look up the adverse effects of bromide, they are nothing like what these people are experiencing.

Please exercise caution with iodine, it is very powerful. You are especially at risk for adverse effects if you have undiagnosed Hashimoto's or are positive for TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) Yes, the sites promoting it are quite convincing, and yes, iodine has helped many people, but the fact is that, just like everything else, it can be harmful to some, regardless of what they say.

If you do decide to use it, please start with one drop for a couple of weeks and slowly build up from there. The pill form that they advocate is too high of a dose to start. It does tend to have a cumulative effect, so even if you feel good for several days on X amount of drops, suddenly you reach a tipping point and you are feeling hyper.

Oh, meant to add that a couple of the most popular iodine sites are either selling the product or run by those who do. Not exactly unbiased and a real conflict of interest. They conveniently leave out the many, many studies showing the downside of iodine and only publish those that are favorable. And even some of those draw faulty conclusions.

My thyroid test show that I am normal but I have been wondering about iodine. I use Sea Salt and eat no bread or bran at all, any fish I eat is of the frozen kind. Should I be worried about iodine deficiency? Enough to supplement with Kelp tablets?

TIA for your opinions. I did ask my doctor this and while she didn't think I needed it she also didn't think it would do any harm. Because of her either/or attitude I bought the kelp tablets but I don't take them.

[quote name='SKEEWEEAKA' date='Apr 26 2009, 10:19 PM' post='281490']
[size=3]Hello Shebee,

Apparently people aren’t consuming enough because of mercury contamination in fish and depletion in our soil.

I
Good post. Thank you. I did the iodine urine challenge test years ago; I was low.

I did not realized that mercury could also be a culprit. I just recently found out that the new low energy light bulbs contain mercury! If you accidentally break one, mercury powder goes all over. If you vacuum it up, it just spreads. I am not going to use them ever again! In some countries, you must call the hazardous waste department to pick them up because they are so toxic.

...and all of our food products seem to have high fructose corn syrup which contains mercury. I am a big fan of Hershey's Choc. syrup, but they found mercury in it, too! I wonder if I could make my own and can it? This is one little pleasure in life that I don't want to give up!


______________

My thyroid test show that I am normal but I have been wondering about iodine. I use Sea Salt and eat no bread or bran at all, any fish I eat is of the frozen kind. Should I be worried about iodine deficiency? Enough to supplement with Kelp tablets?

TIA for your opinions. I did ask my doctor this and while she didn't think I needed it she also didn't think it would do any harm. Because of her either/or attitude I bought the kelp tablets but I don't take them. wink.gif
Carol
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Carol, I use sea-salt, too, with iodine. I don't seem to use much. I supplement with sea kelp drops when I feel the need. It does seem to regulate my body temp. I have noticed since I have been on bios for a while that my thyroid seems to being doing better. I think that my adrenals were on the verge of being shot, too.

As for advising you on taking supplements or not....just keep reading.

I take iodine, but not all of the time.
____________________

Sariah,

I am so sorry that you had a bad experience.


It is good that you warned everyone. I have been looking at the research at how many people in many countries are iodine depleted. Even in US & UK this is a growing problem.

Almost half of all Australian primary school children are mild to moderately iodine deficient.
With small changes, this could be corrected.


Russian researchers in 1966, showed that iodine effectively relieves signs and symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease and they treated women with iodine for this with a 71% success rate.

A decrease in iodine intake along with an increased consumption of halogens, fluoride and bromide, has created an epidemic of iodine deficiency in America. We keep reading that 1 in 7 women will get breast cancer in America? Thirty years ago American women consumed at least twice as much iodine as they do now. Only 1 in 20 developed breast cancer. If you eat store-bought bread, which everybody does, it contains bromide as a dough conditioner; bread used to contain iodine. Bromide competes with iodine.

Symptoms include dry skin, hair loss, fatigue and slowed reflexes....and etc.

In developing babies and young children, iodine deficiency is serious. It causes stunted growth, diminished intelligence and retardation. Lack of iodine is a major problem in developing countries and is considered to be the world's number one cause of preventable intellectual disability in children. Vegetarians may also be at risk of iodine deficiency if they do not eat seafood. They can get their iodine from iodized table salt or seaweed or supplements.

I am not advocating taking high doses. It is not an evil supplement. Hypothyroidism can be caused by iodine deficiency. There are many good studies that indicate iodine is not only good for us, but necessary.

Personally, this has been a good supplement for me and seems to keep my thyroid in check. ...and of course, as I said before, it is not for everyone...and check with your doctor.

On the thyroid boards that you have been on, everyone their is having problems for one reason or another. It would be foolish to suggest to them that they should take iodine without close medical supervision, but for the general population, it might be wise to take a look at adding iodine as a supplement. I am not being militant about it or on a bandwagon; it's just a good supplement if you need it.

Just my thoughts,
Best wishes,
Shebee

I just had thyroid blood tests again. I had tsh, FT4 and TT3 done. I asked about FT3 and she does TT3. I even looked on the lab sheet and there was no FT3 on it. Only TT3. I get the letter from my endo and she says labs are fine and see you in one year. I do have Hashimoto's but not on any thyroid meds. When I saw her, I asked if I had to be careful about iodine as I wanted to start taking a multivitamin. She said it was okay to take. So is 150 mcg in a multi-vitamin okay to take?

Hi Pemmy,
I wonder if your doctor is aware of all the studies that show iodine can be risky for those with hashi's?

That said, if you are going to take it at all, 150mcg is a pretty safe dose, just be sure you are not getting more in your multi.

Thanks Sariah, I was not planning on taking any extra doses of iodine. Just wondered if the 150mcg in a multi was okay. I see GNC has some multi's without iodine. I have no idea if my endo dr is aware of those studies. She is at a big teaching medical center. This was my follow up appt after parathyroid surgery to check calcium and pth levels which were okay. I asked for the thyroid tests. I asked if she did the 24 hour saliva test for adrenals. She said they don't do that if they think you might have Cushing's disease. I need to go for a reg physical so will ask reg dr questioins or any referal to other drs to see about this. Pam

That was they do the salvia test if they think you might have Cushing's Disease.

I am on BHRT but I am a huge believer in natural healing as much as possible. You know, I’ve read so much over the years about environmental toxins and how they can impact our lives. Of course, I enjoy reading and learning, which is a good thing because it is supposed to be good for brain function, memory, etc. and I am trying to improve those (not that it's working). That said, I think that none of us really know what impact environmental toxins are really having on us and our health. I suspect that when we are younger, depending upon what those toxins are, our bodies are much more capable of handling them. As we age, however, and our hormones change, we become more susceptible to illness and disease. The toxins that I discussed in my original post, heavy metals, bromide, chlorine, fluoride, and mercury (yes, I’m worried about those bulbs as well, try to stay away from corn syrup although its called something else too, and now need to throw out the chocolate syrup my daughter uses …heavy sigh) are everywhere and in everything, including vitamins, fish oil, etc., and can take a toll on our bodies causing numerous problems one of which can be an iodine deficiency which in turn can lead to suboptimal thyroid function and other problems.

I agree that we need to be careful in our attempts in using iodine because we can ingest too much, particularly when taking very high doses and other medications! Before I started the kelp (low dose form of iodine) I was having anxiety every day and the adrenal surges were off the charts. I take my temperature regularly and it varies between 95 and 96, most of the time, 95. Since starting the iodine my temperature is more around 96 and increases at ovulation and my high anxiety only returns during the luteal phase of my cycle or when I forget the kelp. The FDA approved dosage of 150 mcg may not be enough because of all of the toxins consumed that are depleting our bodies natural levels of iodine...or for someone who is dealing with thyroid or other absorption issues. I prefer the liquid forms because you can adjust your dosage up or down whether it is the kelp or the regular iodine. Instead of ingesting it, you can also paint it on, I remember my grandmother doing this when I was little for wounds! I think the tablets are 12 times the standard dosage (don't quote me on that one) so unless you are working with a medical doctor I would stay away from those.

In regards to the marketing efforts of some of the sites, I’m sure that takes place because it does with hormones as well and sometimes they have many sites. However, I tend to read a number of “natural healing” books as well as natural healing sites (earthclinic is a good one). I’ve spoken to many individuals who were told that their thyroid was not a problem, although it was low, and after being turned away repeatedly by doctors finally discovered iodine which has helped them regain their energy, their focus, decrease their anxiety, and lose weight. Of course, I understand that we all are different and that what may work for me may not necessarily work for someone else but trying it and keeping a journal of how you respond could be worth it! I also believe that it is important to get tested so that you know where you stand initially.

Again, I do believe that natural approaches are worth a try. Speaking of which, I received a message from someone on another site that I frequent regarding my recommendation of ACV for her. She was excited to report, because she is trying to get pregnant, that she finally had a period after 6 months! She believes it was the ACV, time will tell, but the thing is that trying it didn't cost her that much time or money depending upon whom you purchase it from!


Good Luck!

TJ

Hi Lovely ladies and fellow strugglers with life and health

I have read that you need to watch your ANA (anti neuclear antibody) count before you start or eat iodine. If it is high you have some kind of reaction going on in your body and increased iodine can make you very sick.

My ANA reading is normal and my TSH (according to my doctor) is ok too at 2.5 although i did read one site that said anything above 2.0 could be a problem. I bet it is an individual thing more than they have worked out yet some people are perhaps initially lower than others (I've always had low blood pressure eg) and so their normal TSH is lower. That's my guess anyway ... something like that, I mean they only start measuring it when there's a problem so how do they know what normal is (they get out their text book and make everybody the same). I've found out a lot of things about doctors lately and how they do things, meanwhile I'm going crazier and crazier, tears, mood swings, clumsiness, memory loss and a VERY weird feeling head.

I certainly have the symptoms plus a few more and FINALLY found a doctor that will look at more than blood tests. That's the prob doctors have their text books and go by that. My bloods showed up with anemia which I have been for months now and they finally mentioned it. So I got copies of all my blood tests and am off hunting for broader minded doctors like a lady GP in Sydney who has been through all this herself and thus got on to finding some real answers. (I'm from Canberra Australia) She says another way to tell is by taking your temperature first thing in the morning for 3 days if it is 36.5 C or lower than normal you could be hypothyroid.

She sounds great and I'm looking forward to going to her but have to wait until JULY! I may be in an assylum by then LOL.

Another thing I wanted to add but I'm going to put in a separate post 'cause it needs a heading is the Mercury poisoning. I had that in the back of my mind to investigate and a dentist appointment (since we who are unlucky enough to have amalgam fillings have it there rotting in our teeth aplenty). Then a chunk of amalgum filling fell out last night and that made me finally research that further. Most of the symptoms I have had along with epilepsy, shakes, tears, mood swings, sudden anger, and peri menopause are also symptoms of MERCURY POISONING (BTW the doctor didn't pick up on that either said I had PLENTY of estrogen floating around, didn't check my progesterone AT ALL).

I mean now I'm old enough (50) for hormones to go awry and for my mercury fillings to become old and rotten like that one was. Well, I'm off to the dentist to get it out starting next week. BUT they act like the possibility of my being sick through mercury poisoning is unreal, a lie! Not possible!! 'cause they don't want to be sued by millions of people whose mouths they filled with silver and mercury fillings years ago. Can you imagine! With me in my current mental state I was blown away! A whole fraternity in cahoots. When I rang back and mentioned the possibility of mercury poisoning they said I would have to get a blood test from the doctor to prove it. Then I looked that up too and according to some it doesn't show up on a blood test anyway.

Boy this whole thing has REALLY gotten to me but I guess ~ that's the world for you. A bit of a shock. I mean there are millions of us middle aged and older people out there with this poisonous mercury leaking into our blood and organs. But it's more that no one official is doing anything about it, conditions like MS and more being caused by it they say. Sorry to get carried away as I said it's a bit of a shock. Just thought it might be a good thing to let you know in my continuing search to feel healthier. Here's just one website http://www.peak-health-now.com/mercury_tox...y_symptoms.html

Oh also re what to eat and take I've found magnesium really helpful (relaxing) with the shaky thing (and it is good for epilepsy too someone told me) take it morning and night. Vitamin Bs, garlic, RIPE bananas, apricots, pumpkin and sunflower seeds AND some of these help with any mercury toxicity too. Apparently when you have your metal fillings removed you get a continuing dump of that mercury into your system for a while and these things help with that too.

Warm regards and God bless

Janette