Wow, what a controversial subject. From patient
forums to medical experts to holistic practitioners
to nutritionists, many disagreements and dare I say it, wishy-washy stances on
iodine. I have never seen so many not on the same page when it comes to
something this essential to the body.
The controversies surrounding these chemical
conversations, caused me to want a drink –a frozen margarita
lined with iodized salt.
At the end of the last blog post (part one in the series),
I ended with the question, “Why has iodine deficiencies increased?” This
concern is not as controversial. Majority of the experts in the field agree
that we are. Here is what has slowly
occurred from the 1970’s until now.
· Foods
that used to be fortified with iodine, like milk and bread have been replaced
with bromine. Some pesticides, flame-retardants and pharmaceutical drugs have
bromine in them (Bromine also depletes the body of iodine)
· In
1924, the government added iodine to salt, but because of the National Heart Association’s
campaign stating that excess salt causes heart disease, many consumers have
gone to low-salt diets
· Salt
companies have quietly gone away from iodizing all their product lines and
began introducing other salt options without iodine -as iodizing was a strong
government recommendation, not a mandate
· Increased
use of fluorinated prescription medication – Fluoride depletes iodine from the
body
· Fluoride
added to water. This occurred in the U.S. in 1960, soon after Iodine
deficiencies started to increase...hmmmmmm
· Chlorination
to our water supply – Chlorine deplete iodine
· Poor
farming techniques, the soils are depleted of iodine, which means the foods we eat,
will also be deficient of this mineral
Bromine, chlorine, fluoride and iodine are all in
the same chemical family called halogens.
Since bromine, chlorine and fluoride
are in abundance, in just about everything we consume, the body thinks it is
iodine and accepts it into body receptors. It thinks it is the essential element iodine because of their similar chemical make-up;
meanwhile, the body has bromine, chlorine, and fluoride hanging out in these
receptors that it has no business being in; in excess, they are toxic. Thus,
not only are they bad for you, they are kicking out what actually needs to be
there -iodine
Dr. Edward F. Group, an expert on nutrition, author
of the book, The Green Body Cleanse believes
the increase of thyroid related conditions, breast and prostate cancers are because
of our decreased consumption of iodine.
Plus, with those three aforementioned bullies that
are everywhere, environmentally and in most of our food sources, it is apparent
we are in an iodine crisis.
To make matters worse, we cannot deny the increased
use of prescription medication, some have bromine and fluoride in them.
Medications
that deplete Iodine
|
Anti-fungal
antibiotics
|
Appetite
suppressants
|
Antacids
|
Antihistamines
|
Arthritis
(rheumatoid)
|
Anti-anxiety
|
Antilipemics
(cholesterol lowering)
|
Psychotropic
(anti-psychotics)
|
Antibiotics
(Fluoroquinolones)
|
Anti-malarial
|
Steroids/anti-inflammatory
agents
|
Antidepressants
|
Antimetabolites
(chemotherapy)
|
|
I have seen reports of anywhere from 10 to 75
percent of the U.S population has an iodine deficiency. I would be more inclined to believe it is on
the higher side.
Therefore, because of all the things out there that are
kicking iodine out, sometimes your multi-vitamin supplement isn’t enough to
push that evil bromide out and get the amount of iodine you need.
Guess what, it is not technically the thyroid who is
in charge of metabolism - it is iodine. Iodine is the big boss directing the
thyroid hormones what to do. Iodine and the thyroid work very closely together.
In fact, thyroid autoimmune conditions like Graves and some Hashimotos were
once treated with iodine and quite successfully. (For Hashis people they had to
be treated with iodine plus selenium). OK, so, if I were a doctor, the first
thing I would do, when a thyroid patient dons my doorstep would be to check their
iodine levels. The crucial chemical that controls it. Why is there a knee-jerk
reaction, then to give medication or offer extreme, radical procedures? That
was a rhetorical question, you don’t have to answer that...we both know the
answer to that question.
Now we have the options to test on our own, we don’t
have to rely on MD’s (who, chances are, won’t perform an iodine test). The best
way to see if there is a problem, is test for it...right? Sidebar: For the life
of me, I cannot understand, why, when a patient complains of heartburn, a doctor
automatically prescribes antacids, without testing. Heartburn is also a symptom
of low stomach acid...ummm, doc “So,
why aren’t you running tests to check a person’s acid levels in their stomach first before prescribing?” By the way,
antacids deplete iodine from the body.
Common symptoms
that can occur with prolonged iodine deficiency include:
- Constipation
- Depressed
mood
- Dry skin
- Fatigue
- Goiter (enlargement
of the thyroid, creating a mass in the neck)
- Increased
sensitivity to cold
- Menstrual
cycle abnormalities
- Protrusion
of the eyes
- Thickening
of the skin
- Fibrocystic
breasts
- Thinning
and brittleness of the hair and nails
- Unintended
weight gain
- Weakness
- Cysts
- Mental
Impairment – Brain fog
- Decreased
Concentration
- Difficulties
losing weight
- Fibroid
tumors
- Fibromyalgia
Serious symptoms that might indicate a life-threatening
condition
In some cases,
iodine deficiency can be life threatening. Seek immediate medical care (call
911) if you, or someone you are with, have any of these life-threatening
symptoms including:
- Being a
danger to oneself or others, including threatening, irrational or suicidal
behavior
- Bleeding
while pregnant
- Change in
level of consciousness or alertness, such as passing out or
unresponsiveness
- Change in
mental status or behavior change, such as confusion, delirium, lethargy,
hallucinations or delusions
- Chest
pain, chest tightness, chest pressure, palpitations
- Respiratory
or breathing problems, such as shortness of breath, difficulty breathing,
labored breathing, wheezing, not breathing, or choking
Iodine
tests:
Simple self-test for iodine deficiency:
To check whether you have enough iodine on board, you can
try this safe self-test at home. Simply dip a clean ball of cotton in
inexpensive red-tinged USP tincture of iodine from any drugstore. Paint a
2-inch circle of tincture of iodine on soft skin tissue, such as the inner arm
or thigh.
Now wait – if the yellow-orange stain takes more than 6
hours to disappear, you are likely to be replete with iodine. If the stain is
absorbed quickly (within 1–3 hours), your body may need a higher iodine intake.
Other
methods of testing
You can also go to your local independent lab to purchase
an iodine test.
NEXT WEEK
Dine
with iodine -Part III
I will address these main topics:
Supplementing iodine for people with autoimmune
diseases.
What if I don’t have a working thyroid should I take
iodine?
Taking iodine and the sickness (detox) that may
follow.
How much iodine do I need?
And finally, iodine is not just for thyroid health
I am going for that margarita now, see ya
CTL
Again, I will post references at the end of the
series (next week) I also emailed experts and they were nice enough to email me
back with answers; I will have their responses next week.
