first six pages on iodine

[Guest guest]

Iodine: Bring Back the Universal Nutrient Medicine

Medical textbooks contain several vital pieces of misinformation

about the essential element Iodine, which may have caused

more human misery and death than both world wars combined.

Dr.

Guy Abraham

The present situation we find ourselves in at the very beginning of the 21st

century demands that we quickly reengineer medicine, not only mainstream

allopathic but all the branches and alternatives. Consciousness is just forming

around the conclusion that more than the majority of humans today are suffering

from chronic poisoning. It is not just the fact that the tide of toxic chemicals

is rising and accumulating in our cells and blood streams, wreaking

physiological, emotional and mental havoc, but there is also a sheer drop in the

quality and quantity of key nutrients being consumed. Iodine is a perfect

example, in today's world the last thing you want to be short on is iodine.

Iodine is detected in every organ and tissue in the body.

We might debate about the optimum dosage but we should find quick agreement that

iodine is absolutely necessary for a healthy thyroid as well as healthy ovaries,

breasts and prostate. Beside the greater risk for breast cancer in iodine

deficient women, there is convincing evidence that iodine deficiency increases

also the risk of thyroid cancer. These are just a few of the reasons to become

interested in iodine. In an age of increasing toxic exposures we all need more

not less iodine because it has very specific protective effects against several

common poisons like fluoride, bromide, and to a lesser extent it helps eliminate

lead and mercury from the body. Dr. Sebastiano Venturi, in Evolution of Dietary

Antioxidants: Role of Iodine, makes it clear that iodine is a crucial

antioxidant and apoptosis-inductor with anti-tumoral and anti-atherosclerotic

activity. When we supplement with iodine we will see increased antioxidant

activity and immune system function.[ii]

Iodine, Cancer and Fibrocystic Disease

Several studies have demonstrated a relationship

between low iodine intake and fibrocystic disease of the

breast (FDB), both in women and laboratory animals.[iii]

The first thing that happens to a woman when she develops an iodine deficiency

is a problem with her reproductive organs: breast deformation, and general

calcification. Dr. Derry said, " Lugol's solution is an iodine-in-water

solution used by the medical profession for 200 years. One drop (6.5 mg per

drop) of Lugol's daily in water, orange juice or milk will gradually eliminate

the first phase of the cancer development namely fibrocystic disease of the

breast so no new cancers can start. It also will kill abnormal cells floating

around in the body at remote sites from the original cancer. Of course this

approach appears to work for prostate cancer as prostate cancer is similar to

breast cancer in many respects. Indeed, it likely will help with most cancers.

Also higher doses of iodine are required for inflammatory breast cancer. As well

we know that large doses of intravenous iodine are harmless which makes one

wonder what effect this would have on cancer growth. "

Because iodine deficiency results in increased iodine trapping

by the thyroid, iodine deficient individuals of all ages

are more susceptible to radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

Iodine plays a crucial role in the body's elimination system by inducing

apoptosis, or what is called programmed cell death, and this is vital because

this process is essential to growth and development and for destroying cells

that represent a threat to the integrity of the organism, like cancer cells and

cells infected with viruses.

Women with goiters (a visible, non-cancerous enlargement of

the thyroid gland) owing to iodine deficiency have been found

to have a three times greater incidence of breast cancer.

A high intake of iodine is associated with a low incidence breast

cancer, and a low intake with a high incidence of breast cancer.

Dr.

Jr.

Iodine is a very important primary nutrient in regards to people's health and

healing. So essential is iodine for life that those who are deficient in it

suffer from a wide variety of afflictions (including cancer) that are difficult

to trace back to this trace mineral. Iodine used to be considered much more

importantly, so much so that up until 20 years ago, it had been routinely added

to bread as a supplement. " Just how likely is an iodine deficiency in cancer? In

an in-house study, 60 cancer patients (various types) were given the

iodine-loading test and then measured for urinary excretion. All 60 patients

were found to be seriously deficient in body stores of iodine and some had great

excesses of bromine. The best case excreted only 50 percent of the load and the

worst excreted only 20 percent (that means they were retaining a very high 80

percent). Folks, these are some serious numbers. One hundred percent of these

cancer sufferers were deficient in iodine! I assure you the problem is

population wide, " writes Dr. Rowen.

60 million mainland Japanese consume a daily average

of 13.8 mg of elemental iodine, and they are one of the healthiest

nations based on overall well being and cancer statistics.[iv]

Iodine is available in small amounts in some salts but health officials do not

consider that most of the iodine evaporates while sitting on the kitchen table.

In the United States 45 percent of American households buy salt without iodine

and over the last three decades people who do use iodized table salt have

decreased their consumption of it by 65 percent. Americans are consuming less

iodine when in reality they need much more.

Iodine the Antiseptic

Iodine is by far the best antibiotic, antiviral and antiseptic of all time.

Dr. Derry

The antiseptic properties of iodine are used to sterilize every surface and

material in hospitals. Iodine is an excellent microbicide with a broad range of

action that includes almost all of the important health-related microorganisms,

such as enteric bacteria, enteric viruses, bacterial viruses, fungi and

protozoan cysts.[v] The minimum number of iodine molecules required to destroy

one bacterium varies with the species. For H. influenzae it was calculated to be

15000 molecules of iodine per cell. When bacteria are treated with iodine, the

inorganic phosphate up-take and oxygen consumption by the cells immediately

ceases. [vi]

Though iodine kills all single celled organisms such as these it is not

exploited for internal use by modern day physicians to combat internal

infections, which of course is a great mistake. Dr. Derry says iodine is

effective " for standard pathogens such as Staphylococcus, but also iodine has

the broadest range of action, fewest side effects and no development of

bacterial resistance. " Some doctors have reported that it is excellent for the

treatment of mononucleosis.

Iodine is able to penetrate quickly through the cell walls of microorganisms.

Iodine is a deadly enemy of single cell microorganisms thus it can be our best

friend. Iodine was not available to these life forms at the beginning of

evolution and it was not until seaweed concentrated it did it become involved in

higher life forms. It is for this reason that the simplest level of life cannot

tolerate iodine. Iodine kills single celled organisms by combining with the

amino acids tyrosine or histidine when they are exposed to the extra-cellular

environment. All single cells showing tyrosine on their outer cell membranes are

killed instantly by a simple chemical reaction with iodine that denatures

proteins. Nature and evolution have given us an important mechanism to control

pathogenic life forms and we should use it and trust it to protect us in ways

that antibiotics can't. As we shall see directly below, so powerful is iodine in

a protective sense that it also helps us rid the body, not only of harmful

chemicals and heavy metals, but also rids the body of abnormal cells meaning it

qualifies as an anticancer agent.

Elemental iodine is a potent germicide with a wide spectrum of activity and low

toxicity to tissues. A solution containing 50 ppm iodine kills bacteria in 1 min

and spores in 15 min. It is poorly soluble in water but readily dissolves in

ethanol, which enhances its antibacterial activity. Iodine tincture contains 2%

iodine and 2.4% sodium iodide (NaI) dissolved in 50% ethanol; it is used as a

skin disinfectant. Strong iodine tincture contains 7% iodine and 5% potassium

iodide (KI) dissolved in 95% ethanol; it is more potent but also more irritating

than tincture of iodine. Iodine solution contains 2% iodine and 2.4% NaI

dissolved in aqueous solution; it is used as a nonirritant antiseptic on wounds

and abrasions. Strong iodine solution (Lugol's solution) contains 5% iodine and

10% KI in aqueous solution. Iodophores (eg, povidone-iodine) are water-soluble

combinations of iodine with detergents, wetting agents that are solubilizers,

and other carriers. They slowly release iodine as an antimicrobial agent and are

widely used as skin disinfectants, particularly before surgery.

Medical iodophobia has reached pandemic proportions.

It is highly contagious and has wreaked havoc on

the practice of medicine and on the U.S. population.

Dr. Guy Abraham

According to current W.H.O. statistics more than 3 billion people in the world

live in iodine deficient countries and it is known that deficiencies of

selenium, vitamin A and iron may exacerbate the effects of iodine deficiency. In

the analysis of " National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys " data of

moderate to severe iodine deficiency is present now in a significant proportion

of the U.S. population, with a clear increasing trend over the past 20 years,

caused by reduced iodized table salt usage.[vii] Along with magnesium and

selenium, iodine is one of the most deficient minerals in our bodies. Iodine is

essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, but selenium-dependent enzymes

(iodothyronine deiodinases) are also required for the conversion of thyroxine

(T4) to the biologically active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3). Selenium

is the primary mineral responsible for T4 to T3 (thyroid hormones) conversion in

the liver.

Selenium is absolutely essential in the age of mercury toxicity for it is the

perfect antidote for mercury exposure. It is literally raining mercury all over

the world but especially in the northern hemisphere. And of course with the

dentists poisoning a world of patients with mercury dental amalgam and the

doctors with their mercury laden vaccines, selenium is more important than most

of us can imagine. One must remember that mercury strips the body of selenium

for the selenium stores get used up quickly because of its great affinity for

mercury. Selenium deficiency impairs thyroid hormone metabolism by inhibiting

the synthesis and activity of the iodothyronine deiodinases, which convert

thyroxine (T4) to the more metabolically active 3,3'-5 triiodothyronine (T3).

In rats, concurrent selenium and iodine deficiency produces greater increases in

thyroid weight and plasma thyrotrophin than iodine deficiency alone, indicating

that a concurrent selenium deficiency could be a major determinant of the

severity of iodine deficiency.[viii]

Later studies showed that serum T4 was maintained at control levels when both

dietary iodine and selenium were low, but not when iodine alone, or selenium

alone, was low. Activity of thyroidal GSH-Px (erythrocyte glutathione

peroxidase) was lowest in rats fed a diet containing high iodine and low

selenium. The results suggested that high iodine intake, when selenium is

deficient, may permit thyroid tissue damage as a result of low thyroidal GSH-Px

activity during thyroid stimulation. A moderately low selenium intake normalized

circulating T4 concentration in the presence of iodine deficiency.[ix]

Adequate selenium nutritional status may help protect against some of the

neurological effects of iodine deficiency. Researchers involved in the

Supplementation en Vitamines et Mineraux AntioXydants (SU.VI.MAX) study in

France, which was designed to assess the effect of vitamin and mineral

supplements on chronic disease risk, evaluated the relationship between goiter

and selenium in a subset of this research population. Their findings suggest

that selenium supplements may be protective against goiter.[x] Selenium (Se) in

the form of selenocysteine is an essential component of the family of the

detoxifying enzymes glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) and of the iodothyronine

selenodeiodinases that catalyze the extrathyroidal production of

tri-iodothyronine (T(3)). Thus, Se deficiency may seriously influence the

generation of free radicals, the conversion of thyroxine (T(4)) to T(3) and a

thyroidal autoimmune process.

Recent studies concluded that a positive effect of Se on thyroidal autoimmune

process was shown[xi] and indicated that high serum Se levels (>120 ug/l) may

also influence the outcome of GD. (Graves disease). [xii] A recent study

testing the various dosages of selenium confirmed that doses greater than 100mcg

of selenium (as L-selenomethionine) were required to maximize glutathione

peroxidase activities in autoimmune thyroiditis.[xiii]

Selenium is also essential for the production of estrogen sulfotranserfase which

is the enzyme which breaks down estrogen. A deficiency of selenium can thus lead

to excessive amounts of estrogen, which may depress thyroid function, and also

upset the progesterone-estrogen balance. Animal studies have shown that the

addition of selenium supplementation will alleviate the effects of excess iodine

intake.[xiv] Iodine and selenium deficiencies must both be resolved for iodine

treatment to be effective.

Iodine is the agent which arouses (kindles) and keeps going the

flame of life. With the aid of our thyroid, in which the iodine is

manifesting, it can either damp this flame or kindle it to a dissolute fire.

Scholz

1990.

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Saker KE, Fike JH, Veit H, Ward DL (2004) Brown seaweed-(Tasco) treated

conserved forage enhances antioxidant status and immune function in

heat-stressed wether lambs. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 88:122-30.

[ii] Saker KE, VG, Fontenot JP, Bagley CP, Ivy RL, RR, Wester DB

(2001) Tasco-Forage: II. Monocyte immune cell response and performance of beef

steers grazing tall fescue treated with a seaweed extract. J Anim Sci

79:1022-31

[iii] Ghent, W., et al, Can. J. Surg., 36:453-460,1993.

Eskin, B., et al, Biological Trace Element Research, 49:9-19, 1995.

[iv] Abraham, G.E., The historical background of the iodine project. The

Original Internist, 12(2):57-66, 2005.

[v]

http://www.ispcorp.com/products/pharma/content/brochure/pvpiodine/antiact.html

[vi] STERILIZATION ACTION OF CHLORINE AND IODINE ON BACTERIA AND VIRUSES IN

WATER SYSTEMS; JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV BALTIMORE MD SCHOOLOF HYGIENE AND PUBLIC

HEALTH; Final rept. 1 Jul 1962-30 Jun 1966;

http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai? & verb=getRecord & metadataPrefix=html & identifier=AD\

0476804

[vii] Hollowell JG, Staehling NW, Hannon WH, et al. (1998) Iodine nutrition in

the United States. Trends and public health implications: iodine excretion data

from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I and III (1971-1974 and

1988-1994). J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83: 3401-3408

[viii] The role of selenium in thyroid hormone metabolism and effects of

selenium deficiency on thyroid hormone and iodine metabolism; Biol Trace Elem

Res. 1992 Apr-Jun;33:37-42

[ix] Dietary Iodine and Selenium Interact To Affect Thyroid Hormone Metabolism

of Rats; The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 127 No. 6 June 1997, pp. 1214-1218

[x] Selenium Fact Sheet: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/selenium.asp#h5

[xi] L-selenomethionine substitution suppresses serum concentrations of thyroid

peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) in patients with AIT, but suppression requires doses

higher than 100 microg/day which is sufficient to maximize glutathione

peroxidase activities.

[xii] Serum Selenium levels in patients with remission and relapse of Graves

Disease; Wertenbruch T, et al; Med Chem. 2007 May;3(3):281-4.

[xiii] Selenium treatment in autoimmune thyroiditis: 9-month follow-up with

variable doses. J Endocrinol. 2006 Jul;190(1):151-6. Entrez PubMed

[xiv] Selenium supplement alleviated the toxic effects of excessive iodine in

mice. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2006 Summer;111(1-3):229-38