I'm curious to know if anyone knows anything about the virtues or dangers of taking iodine supplement??

A friend of mine, whose opinion i value, highly praises the virtues of iodine. He recently started taking iodine and he speaks of the strength and vitality he feels. He is a man of 70 years old; he says that for the first time in some 15 years he is able to once again do a deep knee bend.

Anyway, any comments whatsoever on Iodine?

(interesting article regarding iodine: [www.lewrockwell.com])

seitai

I think it woulbe be better to take a seaweed such as kelp nori or dulse or one of the others for iodine,as seaveg has high iodine content, rather than a supplement.

It would be more effective to take a seaweed such as kelp nori or dulse or one of the others for iodine,as seaveg has high iodine content,as it is natural rather than a supplement,

I agree with ariel55, you can get iodine if you are abnormally low from seaweed. Anything from the whole state is the best possible thing.

Seaweed, dulse, kelp are all now contaminated from the arsenic, mercury and pesticides in the ocean. Dr. Brownstein as well as government agencies have tested them. Seaweed is great for sucking up iodine from sea water but it is also good in absorbing toxins.

Iodine is the only supplement I don't get from foods except the occasional viamin C in the winter.

I was already thinking of stopping seaweeds due to the b12 analogues.

It makes sense they would be contaminated with pollution, the kelp from Iceland maybe better as iceland is less polluted.

Only water-soluble iodine is safe, and that in small amounts[1200-1800 mcgs/6-8 weeks]. The safest is that administered as a painted patch, rather than orally. And look into "safe" harvested wakame or alaria. Too much iodine can kill you! Please be careful!

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The safest is that administered as a painted patch, rather than orally

Is the painted patch safer then eating it as part of a whole food ?

Yes, in the sense that one can monitor absorption. Typically, a 4" diameter circle of iodine is painted on a fatty part of one's body--inner thigh, belly--and left on over several consecutive days, unwashed. If one's iodine stores are depleted, the iodine circle should visibly diminish as it is absorbed. If it disappears, more iodine is painted on. Once the iodine circle ceases to diminish in size, one may assume that iodine stores have been sufficiently replenished, and no further supplementing is necessary. This sounds troublesome, but is considered fairly accurate, as results are obvious. I have opted in the past to take water soluble iodine sublingually, instead, and that is also surprisingly accurate. I literally felt "better" after a week, and had that iodiney smell at the back of my palate, which usually indicates that one's had enough. After a few days off iodine, the smell dissipated but the feeling of well-being persisted. If one consumes seaweeds regularily, and one is attuned to one's body, the same effects should be felt, I suppose. It depends on whether one is a pro or anti supplement rawtarian.

I have been taking 50 mg of iodine (as Iodoral tablets) for the last four years to keep my breast cancer from recurring. If 1200-1600 mcg were the limit I would be dead years ago. Instead, I am thriving. Timukha described "a feeling of wellbeing." Yes, I agree and for me I got more energy, clearer skin and easier to maintain healthy weight.

There a lot of us taking iodine, not just breast cancer people. See www.breastcancerchoices.org/iodine

The MYTH that iodine can kill you started after World War 2. The skull and cross bones on the tincture of Iodine bottle refers to the alcohol in the tincture.

Be well,
Anom

I live right near a bay where the seaweed is plentiful and of several varieties. It breaks my heart that it's so close but contaminated. Thirty years ago seaweed wasn't contaminated and my family would have been able to eat it.

I wonder if the oceans have the ability to decontaminate themselves. If they do, maybe the next generation can go back to eating kelp.

I love taking Iodine. I use Lugols's 5% solution at least 4 x a week..and I take between 4-8 drops per day in distilled water. I think if you can eat deep water seaweeds and seaveggies, or seaweeds cultavated by Japan you will find it a good source to supp with, but you need to eat plenty of it and almost daily. I can't do that, but for the Japanese on their natural diet they can and they like it, and it's accessible.

I also have found that what the 'Iodine' Dr.'s are doing has already been done by Gerson..so you might want to find the Gerson books, or therapy..which so makes sense to me. I just got a book written or really his book udated by his daughter that I love. It so closely resembles what I've been doing, that I added in some of his other protocols..like potassium supps (while I increase the green drinks) for the edema I've been fighting with since the winter I spent in Oregon and the exposure to black mold. It's helping a lot..and just over a few days I can see a difference.

I learned that to get rid of edema, one has to have potassium rich diet of lots of green leafy veggies, green juices, fruits, and cut out sodium and salty foods, which then helps to get rid of the excess water that cells are hanging on to..which causes the edema.

I highly recommend anyone to read his health protocol..just so you can broaden your basic knowledge of healthy whole foods..it's all very interesting. So, I'm not so impressed with the Iodine Docs..since they make it sound like they discovered the protocol of Iodine for breast cancer, etc..read Gerson..it's an eye opener.

Love,
Prism

The iodine docs don't go too much into the history of iodine but they do show it goes back at least 100 years. In the 1899 Merck Manual iodine was the most used remedy. But the Traditional Chinese Medicine writings (3,000 BC) recommend it as seaweeds.
Gerson used Iodine to rev up the metabolism of cancer patients. He got the info from the Lancet in 1896. But Gerson was unaware of the many other ways iodine worked. I've read Gerson's books and talked to his daughter Charltte who speaks a lot about cancer.

The recent iodine docs have worked hard to fight for acceptance of that 50 mg adult minimum. They have used trial an error and really stuck their necks out as they are all MDs. Some people do get some side effects because iodine detoxes bromide. There is a 100 year-old remedy for that. Dr. Bill Shevin wrote it up. It is basically sea salted water. www.breastcancerchoices.org/drshevin

Very early on when I would try the salt flush I couldn't stand all that salt..so I didn't do them..at all. I think I'm lucky in that way. I suggested that they recommend the salt flushes due to someone maybe freaking out of having done too much Iodine? Since Sodium dumps out Iodine as it also replaces postassium in the cells. Not a good thing..unless one truly overdoses with Iodine or becomes too hyper due to amount used.

I did come up with using Magnesium Oxide and Vit C as a mini liver/kidney flush at night though..which helped but didn't back off using salt and then was off doing so much of the green juices at the time that I think the edema came on.

I very much am liking adding the green juices/smoothies daily now, and other potassium rich foods, plus taking the supplement for now. I don't use even celtic sea salt and try to not eat anything salty which I used to be addicted to the last of my snack items..tortilla chips..but not so much anymore and that also means eating popcorn on occasion.

So for me, no salt or salty foods, more potassium rich foods and supps, and no salt flushes or baths of epsom salts. If I want something salty, it's celery or celery and a nut butter..but I'm also trying to not eat any nut butters for now also. I'm going to just add in the flaxseed oil to my daily smoothie and also use it for my body lotion if I want to use anything for skin.

I really am liking the Max Gerson book and they do have a website also. I'd love to go to their retreat..sounds very cleansing

I may have to try the coffee enemas sometime too.

Love,
Prism

Tamukha, what brand of iodine supplement do you use?

VeganLife,

I have used Iosol; 1830 mcgs daily in a small amount of water. It's "non-toxic" in that it's water soluble, which means your body is supposed to flush out the excess in urine and sweat, as with C and B Vitamins. Lugol's is good, too. Iodine CAN be toxic in large amounts; your body needs only trace amounts for proper metabolic function, and an excess that isn't flushed out CAN, over time, lead to thyroid malfunction--specifically, problems with hormone overproduction and metabolization. If you have to keep supplementing over long periods of time, obviously there's some sort of chronic deficiency. This may indicate a pituitary or genetic hypothyrotic disorder, i.e. Hashimoto's or Wilson's Diseases, or perhaps you consume too many cruciferous veg in their raw state(this has been discussed elsewhere on these boards). Supplementing with iodine, though advised, merely treats the symptom of iodine deficit, so to speak. And is useless or harmful if a pituitary disorder or overconsumption of cruciferi is the cause of symptoms. Luckily, this is one of those cases where, if you really read your body well and know how it functions, you can treat yourself. Conventional medicine, as should be expected, doesn't have an adequate therapy for subclinical hormone problems.

I read that even seaweed contains iodine in a form not easily digested by all persons, i.e., potassium iodide. Apparently some people should not take a potassium iodide supplement, nor should they eat large quantities of seaweed. The lack of digestibility supposedly causes severe rebound hypothyroid symptoms where you are worse off than what you were prior to supplementation.

Horsea, that is interesting , do you have a link to the info?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2008 05:01PM by Ariel55.

Hi. Item #3 on this page:

[www.wellnessresources.com]

Also, I recall reading an interview with a practitioner of Chinese Trad. medicine that seaweeds have a socalled cold energy [turns out this is iodine in the potassium iodide form] that makes it indigestible if taken in large quantities. Oh, now I remember, the Dr. was Shasta Tierra, and the interviewer was Mary Shomon of thyroid fame.

Hope this is helpful. Possibly the person dissing potassium iodide wants to sell his product rather than have you purchase the potassium iodide form - or maybe he is right.

Also, iodine supps should consist of both elemental iodine + an iodide form (but not sodium or potassium, just to muddy the waters for you!).

i don't think i would want to eat that much seaweed; that's kind of like just eating straight up salt, haha