DINE ON IODINE - PART II - IS IT JUST FOR THYROID HEALTH?

 

 

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

Anesthetics (general)	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

http://www.localhealth.com/article/iodine-deficiency/symptoms

 

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

http://iodineresearch.com/ortholoadingtest.html

http://hakalalabs.com/testing.html

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.