Iodine : The Most Misunderstood Mineral

Before I start, let me preface this post with a little story. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (supposedly) when I was in high school and shortly after I was put on Synthroid, which is a synthetic man-made thyroid hormone called thyroxine. Of course at the time, I didn't have the awareness that I do now so I didn't question anything.

When I was in Europe in 2014 I decided to ween myself off of Synthroid slowly without anyone's consent. I literally felt no different. And this is a medication that people are "supposed" to be on for life. What?

Fast forward to a few months ago when I was living in Washington, and my mom brought up a good idea that I should get my thyroid levels tested because it's free. I didn't have any desire to at first because even if my levels were off there was no way I was going back on the medication, but I'm glad I did, because that is what brought me to the understanding I have today. My tests came back and my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was abnormally elevated. Knowing that information I dove headfirst into reading up on the thyroid gland itself. What does it do? How does it work? What is a TSH test? For one, I found out that the TSH test, which is the main test that is done to diagnose thyroid problems, is not very accurate at all. Someone could have an elevated TSH but that doesn't necessarily mean they have a thyroid problem. Also, sometimes people actually do have thyroid problems but the TSH test doesn't confirm it. The main problem with basing the status of the thyroid gland with a TSH test is that it does not give you the full picture of what is happening. It doesn't get to the root of the problem, and oh am I not surprised I'm saying that at all. Why can't Western medicine come to the blatantly obvious realization that the body, mind, and spirit are one? How can you treat someone so close-mindedly? Does it make any sense that when treating a person for anything you wouldn't seek to get a better idea of what is really going on by getting a clear picture of the person's lifestyle, past, habits, relationships, diet, etc? But sadly that's not how the system in the West is setup.

Iodine : The Most Misunderstood Mineral

In my research of the thyroid gland I kept coming across iodine. At the time I had the knowledge that I'm sure most of the general population has about iodine. Iodized salt and the orange goo that hospitals use as a disinfectant. Wow is it so much more than that. Not only is iodine absolutely vital for proper thyroid functioning, but every cell and organ in the body needs iodine. On top of that, iodine cannot be made by the body, so it has to come from an external source. Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of mental retardation worldwide. 

I was fascinated by just doing basic research on iodine and I knew that this was potentially life altering information so I ended up buying three different books on amazon and continued researching online. The internet is such a powerful tool. My method for researching goes like this. I hear or read about something, and I do some basic searches on google to give me a basic understanding. Depending on what it is I'll buy a few books, read published research articles/studies, look through several different awesome message boards/forums where real people talk about their experiences. And then comes the most important part, trying it out for myself. I believe this is the best way I can gain a well rounded knowledge of anything, because I'm looking at several different sources (not buying into the one sided mainstream bull shit) including research articles/studies, how long it's been used from a historical perspective, anecdotal experiences, and then funneling all of that through the lens of my own experience. All this talk about knowledge is power in the education/school world. Knowledge is power. What a load of crap. Knowledge means nothing unless it is applied and in my opinion, shared. 

Let's talk about iodized salt. Actually, first let's talk about the recommended daily allowance for iodine. A measly 150 micrograms. One thing that I know to be absolutely true is the government/FDA's food/nutrition/vitamin/mineral recommendations are fucking terrible. Terrible. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) was put in place to prevent certain diseases. For example, iodide to prevent goiter (swelling of the thyroid), vitamin C to prevent scurvy, vitamin b-12 to prevent anemia, etc. The key take away from all of this is the recommendations do not take into account what is needed for the body to be in an optimal state. We're talking bare minimums here. When you see 100% RDA on your multivitamins or cereal or yogurt all that means is you're getting just enough, just barely enough to prevent certain things like scurvy and anemia. A very interesting note about iodine is on average the Japanese consume about 13.8 milligrams per day. Milligrams. That would be 13,8000 micrograms (compared to the RDA of 150 micrograms). And they have remarkably lower levels of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Obviously there are other lifestyle factors to take into account but it's an interesting find nonetheless. So how do they consume so much more than Americans? Their diet is loaded with foods like seafood and sea vegetables, which have the highest concentrations of iodine on the planet.

Back to iodized salt. One important distinction about iodized salt is it's lacking in iodine. The two are very different and iodine nourishes different parts of the body much more effectively than iodide alone.  And no, iodized salt is not giving you even close to enough. Not only does the amount of iodide diminish drastically with time (let's be real how long have you had that table salt on your counter?) but table salt is a highly refined and bleached product so what you're left with is a salt that is sodium chloride (just one teeny tiny part of salt) and a bunch of anti-caking ingredients and toxic preservatives like aluminum. It drives me up a wall when people still buy into the idea that salt is bad. SALT IS NOT BAD! And while I'm at it NEITHER IS FAT OR CHOLESTEROL. Salt is only bad when it is consumed as sodium chloride (table salt/morton's salt) because it is completely stripped of all the other minerals that balance it out. Real unrefined salt does not elevate blood pressure. Just as real fat does not make you fat. These two ideas have been totally debunked. Of course fat is bad when you're consuming manipulated fat like margarine (yuck) and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Anyways, back to the matter at hand, iodine/iodide must be supplemented every day unless you eat seafood and sea vegetables all day. 

The pioneers of iodine research, Dr. Abraham, Dr. Flechas, and David Brownstein, have used what is called an iodine loading test on over 30,000 patients and over 95% percent of those people were deficient. 95 fu**ing percent! An iodine loading test measures the amount of iodine in your urine in a 24 hour time period after ingesting a 50 milligram tablet of iodine/iodide. The idea, which has proven to be the most effective way of determining iodine levels in the body, is that when you are sufficiently saturated your body will excrete over 90% of the ingested iodine.

How did we get so deficient in the first place? Well, let's take a look at some chemistry first. Iodine is part of a class of elements known as halogens. The halogens are bromine, chlorine, fluorine, iodine, and astatine. Some of those might sound familiar. The monumental problem here is all the halogens are toxic except iodine. What happens is when any of the toxic halogens such as bromine, chlorine, fluorine, and astatine enter the blood stream they compete with iodine for receptor sites all over the body, especially in the thyroid gland. That's just one of the negative aspects of the toxic halogens. And as it is today, we all have way too much of the bad guys circulating around and not enough of the valiant good guys like mister iodine. Where do the bad guys come from? The one we all probably get the most of is bromine. All commercial flours since the early 1960's used iodine as a dough conditioner, and for some strange reason there was a misplaced erroneous concern of getting too much iodine, so all iodine was replaced with the toxic flame retardant known as bromine (to be used as a cheap bread conditioner). Yes, bromine is used as a flame retardant in electronics, couches, mattresses and much more. It's also used as a pesticide, antibacterial agent in pools and hot tubs, preservative in sodas & medications, and a fumigant for pests. Next time you munch on that piece of bread just remember that. Mmmm yummy flame retardant. The freaky thing is it doesn't even need to be labeled. The only way you can be sure is if the flour or bread or whatever else the globally massive wheat business creates is free of bromine, is if you see "non-bromated flour" or talk to the wheat producer directly. If that's not freaky enough, we also have fluoride, which for the past fifty years the American Dental Association has advocated as a preventative measure against dental caries, even adding it to tap water! The fluoridation of the water supply has been based on terrible science and why on earth would something toxic be added to the water supply when there are no studies that show ingesting fluoride has any benefits at all. Hence why many countries around the world have banned the fluoridation of the water supply, and also banned adding bromine to all flours. What is America waiting for?

The historical use of iodine goes way back over 15,000 years ago. Back then, it was used in the form of all different kinds of seaweeds. Just 150 years ago supplemental iodine in the form of Lugol's solution (iodide/iodine formulation) was considered a "universal medicine." How did this knowledge disappear? One reason iodine has been thrown out the window is because of a research duo in 1948. Their opinion was contradicted by all the previous years when iodine was used liberally for everything from syphilis to breast cancer. Somehow iodine's historic benefits were suddenly snatched from the medical text books (for med school not to teach about iodine is just wrong) and largely banned from human research. Another reason is because when antibiotics such as penicillin came into use after World War 2, iodine was considered "old fashioned," a cardinal sin in the medical community.

"It is important for women to detoxify toxic halogens before becoming pregnant. Similarly, it is important for women of child-bearing age to correct iodine deficiency before pregnancy." 

 A pregnant woman who has optimal iodine levels can increase their child's IQ by 20-30 points. 

I read quotes like this from David Brownstein who's treated thousands and thousands of patients using the iodine protocol and holistic treatment plans and it's so profound to me. I'm so grateful that I'm learning about all of this now. The body cannot thrive without sufficient iodine, and neither can the growing baby. Iodine plays such a crucial role in brain development that if you are not sufficiently saturated as a pregnant mother your baby has a much greater chance of having health problems like ADHD, depression, dwarfism, autism, and mental retardation.

Being the scientist and the patient, I ordered an iodine loading test for myself and the results were surprising. In 24 hours I excreted 19.2 milligrams out of 50 milligrams which puts me at a measly 38% saturation (above 90% is the optimal level). What? How? My diet has been impeccably clean for the majority of the past four years! But that proof has given me clarity because now I know why my thyroid was messed up in the first place. After thinking about all the bromine laced wheat I consumed growing up (french toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner, that's a lot of bromine over the years!), all the fluoride in my system from tap water, toothpaste, medications, soaking up all the chlorine from showers and baths and pools, it's clear as day to me. My thyroid wasn't deficient in Synthroid, it was deficient in iodine. But then I think deeper. Why has sushi always been my favorite food? Is it just because it tastes amazing, or is there something else going on? Well lets think, what is sushi made of? Raw fish and nori (seaweed). Among the highest sources of iodine on the planet. All those random cravings I had, was it just because I missed the tantalizing taste of sushi? Or was that my body trying to tell me that I'm more than moderately deficient in iodine?

Learning about iodine and the brain it makes me wonder if the depression I've experienced, the brain fog, the sometimes strange emotional states, if it was caused in part due to not having enough iodine in my diet. I think so, and I'm so excited to see what level of health I can achieve through optimizing my iodine levels. You can see now that the recommendation of 150 micrograms will do virtually nothing to give you the life changing benefits that iodine has the potential to give. The optimal maintenance dose is around what the Japanese consume. Anywhere from 13.8 to 25 milligrams. But that's only if you are already saturated enough, and the majority of people aren't. So, for a therapeutic dose it's wise to work up to 50 milligrams (and stay at that dose for at least six months to a year, then take the iodine loading test again) and even more if you are battling cancer or a serious condition, but hey I'm no holistic practitioner (yet). Oh, did I mention that an iodine deficient state predisposes you to basically every cancer known to man?

Is it any wonder that thyroid and breast disease have skyrocketed since 1970? When just years before iodine was taken out of the food system and replaced with its toxic cousin bromine. Also, lower iodine levels means IQ levels dropping and obesity rates rising.

This has been an ongoing research project that was fueled by my desire to learn more about my own health condition and question the norms that society and the medical community have put in place. I think I've come to a solid understanding of iodine as it is, and it's truly an invaluable (and cheap) resource today in the toxic world we live in. For anyone wondering I'm now at 36 milligrams of iodine a day, slowly increasing up to 50 milligrams a day and I already feel the cobwebs in my brain clearing up, day by day. Iodine helps build all the hormones, all the feel good neurotransmitters, it concentrates in the thyroid so that when the blood circulates through the gland it will help clean the blood, it increases metabolism helping you naturally lose weight, it clears the mind. it's vitally important if you are thinking about having a kid (for men too), pregnant or nursing, and it strengthens every cell in the body and keeps the massive amounts of toxic halogens in modern day life out of the body. If that ain't reason enough to look into this I don't know what is.

If you are interested in doing the 24 hour loading test here's the link. $70 well spent.

Two incredible books on iodine can be found here and here.

Lugol's solution is the liquid form that I personally take. About $20 which will last months and months and enhance your life in every way.

Or if you prefer a tablet form this is the same exact formulation.

Also, it's very important when supplementing with iodine to follow the iodine protocol which includes other nutrients and unrefined salt and plenty of clean water (good place to start is to take your body weight in pounds, divide that by two, and drink that much per day in ounces) that help iodine enter the cells more effectively and help the detoxification pathways in the body. One company has put all the companion nutrients in one formula (minus the salt) which makes it easy. Personally, especially my first several days of taking iodine, I experienced some detox reactions such as feeling achy all over and fatigued, but that's a good sign. Taking the companion nutrients and around one and a half teaspoons of pure unrefined salt throughout the day did the trick.

If you are currently on Synthroid or experiencing any thyroid problems, it's pretty much guaranteed you are iodine deficient. Also, it would definitely be smart to look into more natural ways of dealing with thyroid issues like taking a product made from desiccated porcine thyroid glands because it contains all the thyroid hormones like T1, T2, T3, and T4, unlike Synthroid which is just T4. 

Iodine is a pure medicine used safely for thousands and thousands of years.