IODINE

by Phillip Day

Much has come out in recent times about the global iodine deficiency. Lynne Farrow's book, The Iodine Crisis, explains why over 70% of the world's population is thought to be affected by an iodine deficiency disorder.1 Iodine deficiency is heavily implicated not only in the sex organ cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian, etc.), but also in cancers in general. Iodine deficiency plays a major role in hypothyroidism, hair-loss (alopecia), menopausal issues, Parkinson’s, chronic headaches, fibrocystic breast disease, cysts, chronic fatigue type syndromes (ME, fibromyalgia, etc.), ADD/ADHD-type disorders, prostatitis, depression and other mental disorders, infertility and infections.

Iodine is required to manufacture not only thyroxine, but all other hormones of the body. Hormone-producing sites other than the thyroid depend on iodine, e.g. the adrenals, thymus, ovaries, hypothalamus and pituitary. Iodine has been found to alter gene expression in the breasts, modulate estrogen activity, and prevent problems with abnormal BRCA1 expression.2 Female breasts are major storage sites for iodine, and iodine-deficient breasts are more vulnerable to abnormal cell architecture, cysts, fibrocystic disease and cancer. Breasts require 6 mg/day of iodine, the thyroid, 6 mg/day, and that’s just two organs. Overall, an iodine-replete adult will hold up to 2,000 mg of iodine in sites throughout the body.

Iodine presents powerful antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic and anti-cancer properties to the body. It should be the mainstay in treating breast cancer, fibrocystic breasts and ovarian cysts reckons Dr David Brownstein, author of Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It, and a world-renowned authority on iodine:

"Every cell in the body contains and utilizes iodine. Iodine is concentrated in the glandular system of the body. The thyroid gland contains a higher concentration of iodine than any other organ of the body. Large amounts of iodine are also stored in many other areas of the body, including the salivary glands, cerebrospinal fluid and the brain, gastric mucosa, breasts, ovaries, and the ciliary body of the eye. In the brain, iodine concentrates in the substantia nigra, an area of the brain that has been associated with Parkinson's Disease."3

The thyroid gland has an affinity for iodine brought into the body through food and water intake. The thyroid can contain 50 mg of iodine, and performs an important germicidal role, since the body's entire blood supply traverses the thyroid gland every 17 minutes. This system allows viruses, giardia, bacteria and other blood contaminants to be weakened and subsequently destroyed on successive passes.

So what has happened to make such a high percentage of the population iodine-deficient? In simple terms, iodine has been driven from us by industry's increased use of other halogen elements, namely chlorine, fluorine and bromine compounds, which compete for the body’s iodine (halogen) receptors and iodine transporter cells. The use of chlorine and fluorine in the public drinking water supply has ensured that iodine has been steadily supplanted. Similarly, the use of bromides and bromates in antibacterial pool cleansers, agrichemicals, brominated vegetable oils, pharmaceutical drugs and inhalers, and fire-retardant materials has created the modern, linked epidemics of bromide toxicity and iodine deficiency.

In the 1960s, iodine was used as a dough conditioner. Due to erroneous concerns that this might cause problems with the thyroid gland, scientists advocated iodine to be replaced by bromine in the 1980s.4 Iodine supports fertility, bromine suppresses fertility. Did our social architects know this? I imagine they did. Lynne Farrow's book will also explain how iodine came to be labelled 'dangerous' and 'a poison' due to Big Pharma profit motives, an unwarranted worry that exists to this day. They even have a word for it: iodophobia.

In the same way that harmful chlorine, fluorine and bromine compounds displace iodine, a steady intake of iodine in the correct form can detoxify these poisons and remove them from the body. Guy Abraham MD, a leading researcher on iodine, reports that "increasing iodide intake should lower bromide levels in the thyroid, preventing and reversing its thyrotoxic and goitrogenic effects." In plain English, put in the iodine using therapeutically relevant doses, and the bad stuff like fluoride, bromide, perchlorate, etc. comes out.

WHICH BEGS THE QUESTIONS:

What is the best iodine to use?

Lugol's Iodine Solution (15%) Each drop from the dispenser is nominally calibrated at around 7.5 mg of iodine per drop, plus 11.25 mg of potassium iodide, though the drops do vary in size.5

Iodine Plus is a special tabletised version of Lugo's, yielding 12.5 mg per tab. Both types of Lugol's are available from the Credence store for international shipment at www.credence.org.

How much should you take?

The RDA is 150 mcg, which is, like most RDAs, therapeutically irrelevant for adults. Adults can start at 12.5 - 18 mg/day (1 drop of Lugol's 15% or 1 Iodine Plus 12.5 mg tablet) for a week, then increase to 50 mg/day (3-6 drops, or 4 tablets) or more, according to advice from your iodine-literate practitioner. I encourage everyone to read Lynne Farrow's excellent book, The Iodine Crisis, as a matter of first resort. This is an excellent resource which comprehensively answers the questions people have about iodine supplementation.

NOTE: The important element selenium is also required for the creation of at least 11 essential selenoenzymes, two of which (glutathione peroxidase and iodothyronine deiodinase) are required for activating and deactivating thyroid hormone.6 Selenium is best taken in its most effective, organic form of selenomethionine along with vitamins A, C and natural E. An ideal combo supplement, Selenium Plus, (200 mcg selenium) is carried by Credence to accomplish this.

SUMMARY

Iodine has the ability to resist radiation and disease and is necessary for the thyroid gland to perform properly.

The thyroid gland is located in the neck, and all the blood in the body passes through it every 17 minutes. Because the cells making up this gland have an affinity for iodine ('symporter' tissues), during this 17-minute passage the gland's secretion of iodine kills germs that may have gained entry into the blood through an injury to the skin or the lining of the nose or throat, or from being eaten and absorbed by the digestive tract. Virulent pathogens are rendered weaker during successive passes through the thyroid gland until they are finally destroyed, but only if the gland has its normal supply of iodine.

It is well established that the iodine content of the thyroid gland is dependent upon the iodine available in the food and water intake of the individual. If the iodine intake is low, the gland is deprived of a vital element needed to do its work.

Iodine:

1 Farrow, Lynne The Iodine Crisis, Devon Press, 2013, available via www.credence.org

2 Int. J of Med. Sci. 2008 5($): 189-196

3 Brownstein, David Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You can't Live Without It, Medical Alternatives Press, West Bloomfield, Michigan, USA, 2009, p.24

4 Ibid. p.102. Some nations like Britain removed bromates in bread in the 1990s.

5 http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/lugolschart

6 Ibid. p.183-188