More Information On IODINE

Here are some useful links and comments to add to your research on supplementing with iodine.

MY own view is to TEST iodine levels FIRST and then proceed with caution. That being said it appears that the 150mcg (micrograms) dose age is inadequate for best health results. I have been taking 2X to 3X that now for about 4 months and have a Joslin Clinic appt coming up this week. My last iodine test indicated mine was (42) our of a normal reading of 40-92 meaning I was in the LOW normal range. I am going to see if I can have it tested again and report the results here.

http://www.naturalnews.com/031876_iodine_supplements.html

(NaturalNews) Chances are you have been hearing conflicting messages: "Stock up on iodine"; "Don't worry about it; you won't need it"; "It's dangerous and can cause further problems"; "It will protect you from radioactive fallout." It leaves you wondering what to believe.

And there is reason for such confusion and even distrust. Nuclear mishaps over the last few decades have shown government's response to such measures being questionable at best. One might say the walking the line between preventing public chaos and a national health incidence has become too thin.

Iodine is probably one of the most misunderstood nutrients of our time; although as the realization of its importance for whole body health grows, the volume of understanding is becoming much greater. When people think of iodine, they think of the thyroid gland because it accounts for approximately 60% of thyroid hormone production. This has led the CDC to create its daily recommendation of iodine to be just 150 mcg (micrograms) for the average adult for general thyroid health, which does not take into account the need in other areas of the body.

Iodine plays a major role in the health and wellness of the entire body. Aside from preventing thyroid goiters and nodules, iodine has proven to be critical for other iodine dependent tissues such as the breasts, prostate, reproductive organs, digestive tract and essentially all tissues of the body exposed to microbes and pathogens. This is partially due to iodine's antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic and antiviral effects. This has led to practitioners making recommendations of daily iodine considerably higher than the current 150 mcg daily.

Many of the recommendations of how much iodine one should take have been distilled from studying cultures that eat iodine rich foods such as sea vegetables including dulse and kelp. It has been found that cultures such as the Japanese, where these foods are a regular staple to their diet, have lower incidences of breast and prostate cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease.

The Japanese culture consumes at conservative estimates ten times more iodine than the United States averaging in between 1 1/2 mg to 6 mg daily, with some estimates going as high as 13 mg daily. So does this mean that we should be taking daily dosages in these higher amounts?

This recent nuclear scare should serve as a wake-up call. The iodine you consume in foods and supplements gets released from the body in 24 to 48 hours, which means daily consumption or supplementation of iodine is critical for maintaining iodine dependent health.

In recent days we have seen the need for iodine sway from general whole body health to protection from nuclear radiation. In this case iodine is used as a blocker; where from taking a mega dose of potassium iodide, the thyroid gland becomes saturated leaving no room for radioactive iodine to take hold. This is not a dose that someone should randomly consume if there is no real threat of radioactive exposure.

Taking too much iodine can have its consequences and may not be free of side-effects. Too much iodine can send someone in the state of hyperthyroidism or even a thyroid storm leading to headaches, nausea, a racing heart, and a very high fever, so it is important to take such extreme doses only under situations where there is a clear need.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031876_iodine_supplements.html#ixzz29KmZLplb

http://www.naturalnews.com/023107_iodine_body_thyroid.html

EXCERPT:

(NaturalNews) Naturally occurring iodine is a rare trace element that was discovered in the 1800's by a French chemist. It was found to be effective in the treatment of goiter (swelling of the thyroid gland), and in 1924 the United States initiated its use as an additive to common table salt to address the high incidence of iodine deficiency. As a result, the once-common condition of goiter in the U.S. was virtually eliminated.

It is highly accepted that iodized salt is sufficient to meet the body's requirements. Although this assertion has been taught in medical schools for several decades, many studies counter that claim. Furthermore, researchers have found that the iodine in salt has poor bioavailability, meaning that the body does not fully absorb the dosage.

Recommended Daily Allowance

The U.S. RDA of iodine is 150 micrograms (mcg) for adults, while 220 mcg and 290 mcg are recommended for pregnant and lactating women, respectively. These quantities were established to effectively prevent goiter but do not provide for the body's other needs for optimal thyroid, endocrine or immune system function, nor are they sufficient dosages for the prevention of cancer.

Iodized salt hasn't eliminated iodine deficiency disorders in the U.S. Recent studies by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicate low levels in more than 50% of the population (accounting for all demographic categories including ethnicity, region, economic status, race, and population density).

Adequate iodine levels are crucial for all aspects of health and well-being; in fact, in generations past, physicians routinely used iodine in medical practice. The typical dose was 1 gram of potassium iodide (KI), containing 770 mg of iodine, which far exceeds the current U.S. RDA of 150 mcg.
Dr. Albert S. Gyorgi (1893–1986), the physician who discovered vitamin C, wrote: "When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of KI was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good. We students used to sum up the situation in this little rhyme:

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/023107_iodine_body_thyroid.html#ixzz29KnEqJvQ