Almost 50 years ago Dr. Broda Barnes, who wrote “Hypothyroidism, the Unsuspected Illness”, estimated that 40% of Americans were suffering and dying from a lack of thyroid hormones because our physicians were relying on unreliable laboratory tests for diagnosis. Incidentally this disease is also connected to weight gain and a recent study, financed by the Life Extension Foundation, found that 40% of Americans are obese. Dr. David Brownstein in his recent book “Overcoming Thyroid Disorders”, claims that continued reliance on blood tests is still leaving millions of hypothyroid Americans untreated. Frequent exposure to thyroid poisons like compounds of fluorine, chlorine and bromine and establishment medicine’s fear of iodine has increased the average American’s risk of developing the disease.
Iodine is present in every cell of our bodies but most of it is concentrated in the thyroid gland and breast tissues. Thyroid hormones control metabolism. A normal gland secretes about a spoonful of hormone in a year. Iodine is an important component of thyroid hormones. If sufficient amounts of it are not available, production of hormones is reduced and hypothyroidism results.
The National Academy of Sciences set the RDA for iodine at 150 micrograms per day about 1943 and now the average intake is estimated to be 240 micrograms. Before 1943 much larger amounts were prescribed and taken regularly by informed people. For example Albert Szent Georgyi, MD, PhD, who won a Nobel Prize in 1938 for discovering vitamin C, took grams of iodine to keep himself healthy. In his day physicians were taught: “If you don’t know where or why, prescribe KI (Potassium Iodide)”. Now they are taught that taking more than one milligram per day of Iodine is harmful and they warn their patients not to exceed that limit.
Japanese, considered to have the best health care in the world, do not fear Iodine. Their daily per capita intake was almost 14 mg in the l950s and rose to 43.8 mg in 2001 according to the Japanese Bureau of Public Health. Some of them who live near the sea shore ingest over 100 milligrams per day and they are reported to have the lowest breast cancer rates in Japan. Might the difference between 240 micrograms and 43.8 mg of iodine be important?
Dr. Donald Miller, Professor of Surgery at Washington University thinks so! He provided a wide ranging exposition of the importance of this element at the August 6, 2006 meeting of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness in Portland Oregon. He is comparison of American and Japanese health indicators should at least lead you to consider this possibility.
Life Expectancy (years) 77.85 81.25
Infant Mortality Rate 7.0 3.5
Furthermore, the incidence of breast cancer in the United States is highest in the world and Japan has the lowest rate. About 40,000 American women are expected to die of breast cancer this year as well as a few thousand men.
Dr. Bruce West’s Health Alert of February 2006 reported that breasts are the second main glandular storage site for iodine after the thyroid gland and that the relationship between breast health and iodine has been known for more than 100 years. Fibrocystic breast disease is the most significant breast symptom of iodine deficiency. He claimed that it was not unusual for women, desperate with this condition, to wind up with no breast pain after 3 weeks of taking 50 mgs of iodine daily.
Iodine deficiency disorders affect a great many people in this country. They range from the really serious, like Cretinism, through goiters to fatigue, depression, joint pain, cold intolerance, muscle aches and mental impairment.
Dr. Miller also suggested that the bone structure of modern day Cretins is so similar to that of Neanderthals that there is a very good chance that Neanderthals were not a separate species. They may have been simply iodine deficient Homo sapiens.
Body scans, using radioactive iodine, have shown that Iodine is present in the salivary glands, the stomach, the breasts, ovaries, thymus, the arterial and skeletal systems, etc. Furthermore it has been found to have many functions. All tissues in the body are more immune to disease when adequate iodine is present. It is an antioxidant, kills unwanted germs in the stomach, triggers apoptosis (defective cell death), disposes of toxins and parasites and inactivates some allergens according to Dr. Miller.
Microgram amounts of iodine may be enough to support the production of thyroid hormones, but available evidence indicates that milligram amounts are required for optimal health. To avoid fibrocystic breast disease, help prevent cancer and protect yourself in the event of a nuclear attack you need milligrams of iodine. Gram amounts can be helpful for treatment of cardiovascular, dermatological, fungal and pulmonary diseases.
Radioactive iodine is sometimes used to calm an overactive thyroid gland. The radioactivity kills some of the cells. Otherwise surgery is used to remove part of the gland.
Iodine can be obtained in several forms. Potassium Iodide (KI) comes in a 130 milligram tablet containing 100 mg of Iodine. A saturated solution of Potassium Iodide (SSKI) contains 38 mg per drop. Lugol’s solution, 5 % Iodine and 10% Potassium Iodide contains 6.5 mg per drop. Iodoral tablets, 5% Iodine and 10% Potassium Iodide contain 12.5 mg. Two drops per day of Lugol’s solution is said to be beneficial.
In large amounts iodine is poisonous and can kill you, but small amounts can keep you healthy and, possibly, save your life. Side effects are said to be minor and easily remedied by lowering the dose. They include acne, metallic taste, excessive saliva, headaches and palpitations. If you are taking thyroid medication, Dr. West suggests that you ask your doctor to cut your dose in half when you start the iodine. Ultimately you may not need it at all.
A few people are allergic to iodine. If so, Dr. West suggests you try the Nambudripad treatment. You can find practitioners through www.naet.com
Jack Phillips - 30 September 2012