Fw: [iodine] Which kind of iodine?

[Guest guest]

http://www.mbschachter.com/Iodine.htm

Iodine: Its Role In Health and Disease

Some New Exciting Concepts

B. Schachter, M.D.

Introduction

Guy Abraham MD, former professor of obstetrics, gynecology and

endocrinology at UCLA School of Medicine, has written a series of papers about

iodine that has drastically changed my thinking about its role in health and the

prevention and treatment of disease. I had been impressed by Dr. Abraham’s

previous work, which showed that vitamin B6 and magnesium could be very helpful

to women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and was eager to learn what he had to

say about iodine. Through a series of articles (See website link at the end of

this article), termed “The Iodine Project,†Dr. Abraham has proposed that

the optimal daily dose of iodine for a person is approximately 12.5 mg, which is

100 times the RDA of 0.125 mg. He believes that the current prevailing medical

opinion that more than 2 mg a day of iodine is toxic is wrong. He traces the

source of this major blunder to a scientific experiment on rats that was

published in 1948 by Drs. Wolff and Chaikoff, which erroneously concluded that

iodine inhibits the thyroid gland at doses of about 20 times the recommended

daily allowance (RDA) for iodine. This conclusion was later generalized to

humans and can be found in medical textbooks, including endocrinology and

nutrition textbooks.

The commonly accepted medical opinion is that iodine’s only role in the

body is to help make thyroid hormones. Although this is an extremely important

function, Abraham demonstrates that the role of iodine in the body goes far

beyond its function of making thyroid hormones. Other possible functions

include: helping to regulate moods, preventing cancer (especially in breasts,

ovaries, uterus, prostate and thyroid gland), preventing and treating

fibrocystic breasts in women, helping to regulate blood pressure, helping to

regulate blood sugar and prevent and treat diabetes, and helping to prevent

abnormal cardiac rhythms. For example, Japanese women, who have one of the

lowest breast cancer rates in the world, ingest more than 13 mg of iodine daily

from seaweed without suffering any adverse consequences. He further demonstrates

that iodine tends to be antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antifungal

and that it enhances immune function. Furthermore, he suggests that suboptimal

iodine intake may contribute to various thyroid abnormalities commonly seen

today, including hypothyroidism (underactive), hyperthyroidism (overactive) and

autoimmune inflammation of the thyroid (Hashimoto’s Disease).

Therapeutic Uses of Iodine Prior to World War II and Different Forms of

Iodine

Dr. Abraham started this Iodine Project around 1998 when he became

aware of the many benefits of treating patients with iodine using doses far

beyond the 2 mg a day, which most physicians consider to be potentially toxic.

He noted that starting in the 1820s, the French physician Lugol used these

higher doses to treat a wide variety of conditions. Dr. Lugol combined elemental

iodine (5 %) and potassium iodide (10%) with 85 % water. Since iodine kills

infectious agents, Dr. Lugol successfully treated many infectious conditions

with this solution, which became known as Lugol’s solution, and which is still

available today by prescription. Prior to World War II, many American and

European physicians used Lugol’s solution to treat thyroid conditions, using

doses higher than 2 mg daily without apparent significant adverse effects.

Dr. Abraham notes that research has shown that the thyroid

gland prefers to utilize the iodide form of iodine, while other organs, such as

the breast and ovaries, prefer the elemental form of iodine. Both of these forms

are present in Lugol’s solution and in the preparations discussed below. After

World War II, the use of Lugol’s solution came to a grinding halt due to the

publication of the Wolff-Chaikoff paper mentioned above and for other reasons

discussed in Abraham’s papers. Dr. Abraham then suggests that the disease

known as “Iodophobia†developed, which he describes as the irrational fear

of prescribing iodine in dosages that had previously been used successfully by

physicians for decades. He points out in his preface to Dr.

Brownstein’s book Iodine: Why You Need It; Why You Can’t Live Without It:

“Of all the elements known so far to be essential for human health,

iodine is the most misunderstood and the most feared. Yet, iodine is the safest

of all the essential trace elements, being the only one that can be administered

safely for long periods of time to large numbers of patients in daily amounts as

high as 100,000 times the RDA. However, this safety record only applies to

inorganic, nonradioactive forms of iodine. Some organic iodine containing drugs

are extremely toxic and prescribed by physicians. The severe side effects of

these drugs are blamed on inorganic iodine although studies have clearly

demonstrated that it is the whole molecule that is toxic, not the iodine

released from it.â€

Determining if a Person is Iodine Sufficient and Treatment Dosages

In his excellent short book on iodine, Dr. Brownstein

summarizes his own clinical experience with hundreds of patients for whom he has

prescribed iodine with excellent results and minimal side effects. To determine

whether a patient is iodine sufficient, he uses the iodine-loading test

described by Dr. Abraham and now in use at the Schachter Center. This was the

test that Abraham used to determine if a person had an optimal amount of iodine

in his/her body. Other research had shown that iodine is readily absorbed when

ingested orally and readily excreted in the urine. The assumption was that if a

person ingests a given amount of iodine and is iodine sufficient, most of the

iodine should be found in the urine over a 24-hour period. On the other hand, if

the person does not have an optimal amount of iodine in his body, when he

ingests the iodine, his body will tend to hold onto it and a smaller amount will

be found in the urine during the 24-hour collection period.

To do this test, a patient first empties his bladder and then

ingests 50 mg of iodine/iodide (to be discussed further below). The patient then

collects his urine for the next 24 hours and a sample of it along with a note

that includes the total volume collected is sent to an appropriate laboratory.

If the person excretes 90% or 45 mg of the iodine, he is considered iodine

sufficient. If less is excreted, the patient is not optimally sufficient or is

iodine insufficient and a therapeutic dosage of iodine may be administered for a

period of time, after which the test is repeated. Dr. Brownstein has found in

using this test, that more than 90% of his patients are iodine insufficient.

Once a person is iodine sufficient, the maintenance dose for an adult to

maintain sufficiency is about 12.5 mg of iodine/iodide daily. The treatment dose

when a person is iodine insufficient is generally between 12.5 mg and 50 mg

daily. Preliminary research indicates that if a person is iodine insufficient,

it takes about 3 months to become iodine sufficient while ingesting a dosage of

50 mg of iodine and a year to become iodine sufficient while ingesting a dosage

of 12.5 mg of iodine daily. However, the patient needs to be monitored closely

with awareness of possible side effects and detoxification reactions

Another way of testing for iodine sufficiency is by painting

an area of skin with tincture of iodine. It should take between 18 to 24 hours

or more for the body to absorb the red or orange iodine stain if the person is

iodine sufficient. If the iodine patch absorbs more quickly, the likelihood is

the person being tested is not iodine sufficient. This method is probably not as

accurate or quantitative as the iodine-loading test with the subsequent

collection of the 24-hour urine.

The dosage of about 12.5 mg of iodine daily can be obtained

with 2 drops of Lugol’s solution or as an identical over-the-counter solution.

This same dosage is also available over-the-counter in tablet or capsule. Each

capsule or tablet or 2 drops of the Lugol’s solution contains 5 mg of the

reduced elemental form of iodINE (preferred by the breast, ovary and prostate)

and 7.5 mg in the iodIDE form (preferred by the thyroid gland). Numerous

testimonials indicate that many patients improve many symptoms with optimal

supplementation of this supplement.

This dose of iodine may have other benefits as well. Dr.

Abraham has shown in his work that iodine promotes the excretion of toxic

minerals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium as well as the toxic halogens

fluoride and bromide. In the May 2005 edition of Nutrition and Healing,

V. , MD notes that his laboratory has also shown that iodine helps remove

toxic elements, including bromide and fluoride, from the body. With this

mobilization of toxic elements, patients may develop temporary side effects,

such as fatigue and irritability, which can be reduced by lowering the dosage of

iodine and making sure that other aspects of nutrition and nutritional

supplementation are in place. A physician knowledgeable about iodine who can

order appropriate tests when necessary should monitor this procedure.

At the Schachter Center, we investigate virtually all

patients for possible iodine insufficiency, as we believe that iodine

insufficiency can cause or contribute to many symptoms and illnesses. The use of

iodine offers tremendous potential in helping patients with depression and many

other symptoms, especially those associated with the thyroid gland. One patient

who I’ve been following for episodes of depression for a few years had

developed significant hair loss for several months, which was unresponsive to

thyroid hormone supplementation, biotin, extra protein and other measures that I

usually recommend for hair loss. On a dosage of 37.5 mg of iodine for 6 weeks,

this condition completely cleared and also helped to stabilize her mood.

Potential Therapeutic Benefits of Iodine in Many Conditions

Iodine’s role in helping to prevent and treat cancer needs

much more exploration and research, but there is suggestive evidence that it

plays a role in preventing and/or treating cancer (especially involving the

thyroid gland, breasts, prostate, ovaries and uterus). Max Gerson MD, whose

successful alternative therapy involved using fresh vegetable juices and

intensive detoxification, recommended iodine containing Lugol’s solution for

all of his cancer patients.

At the Schachter Center, we are reevaluating all of our

current patients who suffer from fatigue, depression and any type of thyroid

dysfunction or disorder, including hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland),

hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland) and chronic thyroiditis

(Hashimoto’s disease). So far, we have found that most of these patients are

iodine insufficient, using the iodine loading, 24-hour urine iodine test. Adding

iodine to the program of these individuals seems to be helping many of them. All

new patients are also being checked for iodine insufficiency. For more

information on the thyroid and hypothyroidism, read the article on our website

(www.schachtercenter.com) by clicking on Literature and Articles and then the

article “Hypothyroidismâ€.

Factors that Aggravate Iodine Insufficiency

Iodine insufficiency problems are aggravated by our use of

agents that interfere with the utilization of iodine (sometimes called

goitrogens because they may cause an enlargement of the thyroid gland). These

include the halogens (class of chemicals to which iodine belongs) fluoride,

bromine and bromides, and chlorine. Fluoride, added to 50% of the U.S. water

supplies, is also present in most toothpastes, and is used in fluoride dental

treatments for children. It is also present in many processed foods and

beverages. Fluoride can interfere with iodine utilization. For more information

about fluoride, check out the article “The Dangers of Fluoride and

Fluoridation†on our website. Bromine replaced iodine in most baked goods in

the 1980’s because of the concern that iodine might be toxic. In fact, it is

the bromine that is toxic and which can also interfere with iodine utilization.

Bromine is also used to clean hot tubs and is present in many medications.

Chlorine, used to treat swimming pools and present in many of the public

drinking water supplies, also interferes with iodine levels in the body. Safer

water purification systems, like ozone and iodine, itself, exist, but are

currently not widely used.

Most people get iodine in their diet from seafood and iodized

salt. However, only about 50% of Americans use iodized salt and because of

concerns about high blood pressure, many people have reduced their salt intake.

One gram of salt contains 77 mcg of iodine. Because of the high chloride content

in table salt, some experts estimate that only about 10% of the iodine in

iodized salt is actually absorbed. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of

iodine is 150 mcg (somewhat higher for pregnant women and certain other groups).

Though 150 mcg daily may be sufficient to prevent an enlarged thyroid (goiter)

and cretinism (severe iodine deficiency in babies leading to mental retardation

and impaired development), these values are far short of the optimal values of

12,500 mcg (12.5 mg) recommended by Dr. Abraham. But, even using the lower

values, many people still do not get the RDA and tests have shown that the

average blood levels of iodine have decreased significantly over the past 30

years, in part no doubt, due to the substitution of bromide for iodide in baked

goods in the early 1980’s.

According to the last national nutritional survey (NHANES

III 1988-1994), 15% of the U.S. adult female population is iodine deficient, as

defined by the World Health Organization: levels of iodine/iodide below 50 mcg/L

in collected urine. Therefore, 1 in 7 women in the U.S. are frankly iodine

deficient. Keep in mind that these figures are much lower than those found by

using the iodine loading test and 24-hour urine collection for iodine discussed

above.

All things considered, I think that the therapeutic use of

iodine/iodide has the potential of drastically changing how medicine is

practiced today. All of Dr. Guy Abraham’s research papers relating to the

Iodine Project may be viewed and downloaded free from the Internet by accessing

the Optimox website and clicking on Iodine Research.