Iodine is an essential mineral which is currently recommended at very small dosages (the current recommended daily allowance, or RDA, is only 150 micrograms), and many of us are aware that we get it in Iodized Salt, and so consider that we are getting plenty.
But is this the case?
A vital mineral, it is involved in the formation of thyroid hormones, which are key to the proper function of countless bodily processes. A deficiency of iodine has been correlated with goiter (a state of hyper-growth of the thyroid gland) and with mental retardation, if the deficiency occurs early in life.
Iodine is found in every cell of the body, but is concentrated in the glands in particular, and is key to endocrine (hormone system) function.
But iodine is also necessary to healthy breast tissue, and the breast tissue of women requires large amounts of iodine daily. Prostate tissue is also dependent on iodine for its proper function.
Dr. Guy Abraham, one of the world's leading researchers on iodine, has determined that the body needs about 13 mg. of iodine daily, nearly 100 times the RDA of 150 micrograms. This is also the approximate amount consumed in the Japanese diet, which contains a lot of seaweed. The Japanese have remarkably lower levels of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers as well as fibrocystic breast disease and prostate cancer - compared to the United States.
If you eat approximately 10 grams of iodized salt per day, the estimated consumption of the average person, you are getting only 770 micrograms of iodine, or less than one milligram and still far below what current research indicates is necessary for optimum health.
The breast tissue alone may use as much as 5 mg. per day, and the thyroid gland as much as 6 mg. daily. Clearly, by these standards, the RDA is far too low.
Iodine is often deficient in soils that are not located close to the coasts, where iodine is more abundant. Historically, goiter has been a problem in inland areas where iodine in soil was not plentiful. The addition of iodine to salt did help to reduce goiter, but that is only bringing the body from a state of extreme deficiency to one approaching slightly closer to normalcy, where the body is still struggling to produce sufficient thyroid hormone, let alone to have enough iodine remaining for other tissues where it is needed.
David Brownstein, M.D., in his book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It, gives numerous anecdotes from his practice concerning iodine deficiency and supplementation and, in particular, its use in helping patients recover from thyroid disease, fibrocystic breast disease, and generalized fatigue.
Brownstein also points out that other halides (a type of element which includes Fluoride, Chloride, Bromide and Iodide) all compete for absorption at the same receptor sites on cells in the body. The abundance of chlorine and fluoride in the water supply, and the use of Bromine as a dough conditioner in the baking industry, has exacerbated the tendency to Iodine deficiency.
A supplemental form of iodine, first researched in the 1800s by Jean Lugol, a French physician, combines Iodine with Potassium Iodide, and was used to treat a variety of infections at a dosage of two drops per day, which supplies 12.5mg. of iodine, approximately the amount considered to now be necessary for iodine sufficiency. Lugol's Iodine solution can be purchased in liquid form from some pharmacies, or supplement providers online.
Iodine solutions are used to handle a broad range of infections and conditions, including various fibrocystic or scarring conditions. A description of conditions that can be handled with potassium iodide solutions used internally or topically can be found at http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/iodide.shtml
A tablet formulation of Lugol's Iodine solution is available under the name Iodoral. Dosages of up to 50 mg. are recommended by Dr. Brownstein for some people to achieve sufficiency. Methods for testing for iodine deficiency, and determining correct dosage, are described in Dr. Brownstein's book. Iodoral can be purchased online, Amazon now carries it and includes a coupon for an iodine test with the purchase.
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Medicine itself can be looked at as an integrated whole that is composed of opposites - Yin and Yang - whether Eastern vs. Western, conventional vs. alternative, medicines and herbs vs. energetic medicine... all comprising a unified whole: MEDICINE.
