How much iodine is too much?

[Islander]

By Amy Norton
NEW YORK | Tue Jan 17, 2012

(Reuters Health) - Iodine deficiency is a major health problem worldwide, but a new study points to the potential downsides of too much iodine.

Iodine is a mineral found in iodized salt, seafood, eggs, dairy and some breads. It is used by the thyroid gland to help regulate metabolism and development, especially in babies and children.

Iodine deficiency during fetal and early-childhood development is a leading cause of brain impairments in much of the world. So most research has been directed at the effects of inadequate iodine.

Less is known about how much iodine is too much. So for the new study, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Chinese researchers randomly assigned healthy adults to take various doses of iodine supplements for four weeks. They found that at relatively higher doses -- 400 micrograms a day and up -- study participants began developing what's called subclinical hypothyroidism.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/17/us-iodine-howmuch-idUSTRE80G1OZ20120117?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth1100

[Pattypans]

Has anybody heard of headache being caused by taking a drop of iodine (Nascent iodine is what I used) for a few days in a row? I think I need the iodine, but then it was the only thing I could think of that might have been causing the headache (a long headache, though not a severe one) so I discontinued it. Will try again and see what happens. Does anyone here have any experience or info about headaches and iodine?

[mellowsong]

Yes, I believe it could be causing your headache. I'm sorry but Iodine supplementation is something I don't think anyone should do without KNOWING there is a deficiency. The skin absorption test is NOT accurate either. A person with unidentified thyroiditis of any kind can get in real trouble with Iodine. If you know you have Hashi's or another type of thyroiditis, you should never take Iodine.

[Islander]

So...I don't use iodized salt (only sea salt) but I do add seaweed to soups and salads. Am I ok with that?

[mellowsong]

So...I don't use iodized salt (only sea salt) but I do add seaweed to soups and salads. Am I ok with that? Yes, the small amounts in foods like that are fine. I'm talking about supplementation with things like Lugol's or nascent iodine.

[Maurya]

The skin absorption test is NOT accurate either.

Melllowsong, what sort of test for iodine status would you recommend?

[StephenX]

I respectfully disagree with mellowsong. I have used Lugol's solution for many years and it has done me well. I agree it should not be used on a constant basis. With all the I-131 (radioactive) floating around, I feel it is crucial to get enough iodine so the body doesn't absorb I-131 which goes straight to the thyroid and breast tissue. I put a drop of Lugol's on my skin and observe how fast the stain disappears. First time I did it, it was gone in fifteen minutes. When it gets to the point where it takes several hours I stop using Lugol's for a couple of months and then repeat the process. This way I give my body the chance to absorb what it needs and quit when it tells me I have enough. I've noticed when I had eaten a lot of seaweed that my body tells me I do not need nearly as much. I use Himalayan sea salt. I eat nori and dulce and kelp and as mellowsong says, this is probably enough. But every two months or so I like to give my body the chance to tell me if I need any iodine.

[Reesacat]

I am finding with herbs, supplements, food, etc. it is good to take a break and let your body rest and then see if you need it and how much. Our bodies have rhythms and changing needs that rigid protocols miss.

[Good-day]

Fairly consistent I have read for Lugol's Solution, the starting dose would be 12.50 mg, and some take ATP Cofactors with this. Also that Ashwagandha can help hypothyroidism, but need to do some more research on dosage etc. Anyone have info on this?

[Reesacat]

Do you mean Ashwagandha or Lugols for dosage information?

[Good-day]

Ashwagandha. Dose says 1-2 but it's not thyroid specific.

[Reesacat]

I found a couple of links about Ashwaganda. I have not used it as it is more in Ayurvedic medicine..so I don't have an answer about thyroid.
Here is Dr. Chopra:
http://www.chopra.com/ashwagandha

And another with dosages:
http://www.holistic-herbalist.com/ashwagandha-side-effects.html

[Aaltrude]

StephenX - I avoid Himalayan salt as it is mined close to an area that has a very high background radiation count. I don't know if the salt is affected but I prefer to play safe. My salt of choice is Redmond's Real Salt but Celtic Sea Salt is another option.

[StephenX]

StephenX - I avoid Himalayan salt as it is mined close to an area that has a very high background radiation count. I don't know if the salt is affected but I prefer to play safe. My salt of choice is Redmond's Real Salt but Celtic Sea Salt is another option.

Dang, and I really like the stuff. I have 25 pounds of it in our emergency food supplies. I make sole solution with it and take a little every morning. Guess I'll dig out the old Geiger counter and give it a scan

[Aaltrude]

I'll be interested to hear the result.

[Good-day]

Reesacat, thanks for the links - learned more. I also know that I can safely increase the dose.

Stephen X your info will keep me from overdosing, thanks for helping!

[Reesacat]

You are welcome, Good-day. Feel better soon!
StephenX, I would also be interested in your Geiger counter results.

[Maurya]

Here is another interesting point of view concerning salt intake:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/798/My_Take_On_Salt_and_Your_Health.aspx

[Reesacat]

Here is another interesting point of view concerning salt intake:

http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/798/My_Take_On_Salt_and_Your_Health.aspx
Excellent article! Mr. Poliquin very correctly states that salt intake needs to be tailored to the needs of the individual.

[Stoneharbor]

I respectfully disagree with mellowsong. I have used Lugol's solution for many years.... But every two months or so I like to give my body the chance to tell me if I need any iodine.

I have to step onto Stephen's end of the balance beam here. The original post is a quote from a Reuters article. They are talking about 400 mcg being an upper limit.

Japan has some fairly extensive experience with iodine intake, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan has an upper safe limit of 3 mg/day (3000 mcg). http://www.thyroidresearchjournal.com/content/4/1/14

I have never taken Lugols, but a little over 3 years ago I realized I had some hormonal imbalance and placed the blame on continual intake of soy milk, which I immediately stopped. Part of my chosen "cure", which worked, was to take Iodoral, an Iodine/Iodide blend in pill form (like Lugols) that amounted to 12.5 mg/day. I did that for 6 months. I never had any adverse reaction to it.

Then when Fukushima hit us last year on March 11, 2011, I was of course out of supplemental iodine and it wasn't obtainable right away, so I went out and bought a few pounds of kelp and started eating it in quantities probably greater than the average Japanese citizen ingests! Having a little time to think and digest what was happening worldwide regarding radiation, I decided to get my first hair analysis in May. I made sure I did not submit any hair that had grown recently and that might be affected by iodine I was getting from the kelp.

My hair analysis showed that, even though I had not had any significant iodine supplementation in the last 2 years, and could not have shown any results from the kelp, still my iodine level was at the 90th percentile, and measured 6.9 ug/g which is well above the "reference range" of .25 - 1.8 ug/g.

At least for myself, as for Stephen, there has been no risk on getting a large quantity of iodine. What is strange in the literature though is that many sources claim that if you have a hypothyroid condition, you may "suffer" from supplementing with iodine intake greater than 400 mcg/day! Possibly there is some "acclimation" that must occur? How can it be that if you don't have hypothyroidism and don't need iodine, you can ingest 3000 mcg/day safely, day after day, as the Japanese do, but if you actually need it to get over a thyroid condition, you must limit yourself to 400 mcg/day? Can you then gradually increase it? All I know is I took 12,500 mcg/day for 6 months and didn't have anything but better health.

Do you also have to make sure you have enough of the other elements needed to make T3 from T4? See the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70cdbnuQkDE&feature=related Gosh, not just iodine, but other elements that are also very important to life, like iron, chromium, zinc, and selenium are needed to give you proper thyroid function. BTW, my hair analysis showed I was slightly low on these other important minerals except for iron. I've been supplementing with them more since then too.

I sure hope we can get to the bottom of this. Other things mentioned in the video that are necessary to get the functional T3 that your body needs are progesterone, cortisol, and glutathione. Your body makes the last of these on its own, and vitamin D3 provides some of the necessary components, as does Acetylcysteine, SAMe, and Alpha Lipoic Acid. Or you can just supplement with glutathione.

My suspicion, that I'm looking on the internet for confirmation of, is that the problem with iodine causing adverse reactions in those already suffering from hypothyroidism, is caused by insufficiency of one or more of the other elements necessary to make T3. So when more than 400mcg of iodine is ingested per day, you allow your thyroid to convert T4 to Reverse T3, and it blocks the receptors or whatever use T3, and thus you are further debilitated. The solution then would to make sure your body has enough of all the other elements plus progesterone, cortisol, and glutathione, then start increasing the iodine. Just a stab in the dark.

[Reesacat]

Excellent video, Stoneharbor. You are correct — with thyroid, hormones, iodine and everything else you can't just tweak one thing and fix yourself. Everything works in balance with everything else, and it starts with diet, clean water, and being able to absorb and utilize the nutrients in food.

Dr. Tennet does a great job of explaining why fluoride messes up your thyroid in the video.

[Islander]

It has still left me confused as to how much iodine is permissable. Although Stoneharbor treated himself successfully, what's right for Stoneharbor may not be right for me. I just pulled my hair analysis from 3 years ago and it shows me at just barely the 50th percentile for iodine. I did take potassium iodide right after Fukushima, which was 225 mcg. Think I took a second one a week later, but the word out there was not to overdo it, so I quit at that point, figuring I had filled my iodine tank and protected my thyroid.

I think it's time for another hair analysis....

[Aaltrude]

I have had hair tests done eight years ago and three years ago. My iodine levels more than doubled in that time and that has been the result purely of painting Lugol's iodine on my skin. I use five or six drops each time and reapply once the colour has disappeared. These results suggest it is an effective means of increasing your iodine levels.

[Reesacat]

Been thinking about this most of the day — a hair analysis probably would be the best way to see what you need. I think it would also answer how you would be absorbing and utilizing minerals.

[StephenX]

I'm curious about hair analyses. I've never had it done. My hair is 18 inches long. If I have a test done on the end hair, will it not be from three years ago when I started growing my hair out again?

[Islander]

Yes. There are instructions on where and how much to cut and yes, it must be recent. They give you a clever paper scale to weigh it on!

[StephenX]

I googled "hair analysis" and found this site. This guy does not think much of the process http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/hair.html

[Aaltrude]

I googled "hair analysis" and found this site. This guy does not think much of the process http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/hair.html

Maybe not but look at the name of the website. This is someone who is going to be opposed to anything that is not mainstream.
To me it stands to reason that your hair is going to reflect your nutritional status at the time it emerges from your scalp and an analysis is going to give you a reasonable idea.

[Julieanne]

I'm not sure where the analysis is actually done - I have sent to a lab in Melbourne in the past. But they don't test for iodine, just practically every other mineral. I believe the separate iodine test is very expensive, but don't know why. Any ideas?

I also read on another forum that the skin test is not reliable. Odd, as it certainly varies from person to person.

[mellowsong]

I googled "hair analysis" and found this site. This guy does not think much of the process http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/hair.html

StephenX; MAINSTREAM medicine uses hair analysis for drug use. It is totally accepted. In fact, it is far more effective in detecting illicit drug use than urinalysis. If drugs deposit in hair it makes complete sense that minerals and toxins would be there also. There is plenty of research backing up hair analysis. I no longer have all the sites because they were on my old, dead computer.

As to the quackmaster of quackwatch; note he cites info from 1974??? Don't you think science has progressed a bit since then? He says hair is taken from back of neck; excuse me but it is sampled from all over the head. He says affected by shampoos etc; instructions are to use no products for a few days. He says that it should never be used as sole diagnostic agent: Well, he forgot he quoted Doctor's Data in the opening paragraph, didn't he? "Hair element analysis is a valuable and inexpensive screen for physiological excess, deficiency or maldistribution of elements. It should not be considered a stand-alone diagnostic test for essential element function, and should be used in conjunction with patient symptoms and other laboratory tests." [1] Stephen Barrett is a fraud and paid monkey with a vendetta. Never ever ever use quackwatch to determine the authenticity of anything, alternative or conventional, but especially alternative.

This page is from PubMed and lists various studies using hair analysis. Even the titles are an interesting read: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=hair%20mineral%20analysis

[Islander]

Oh I wish I had the doc describing how Stephen Barrett was taken to court and LOST. I may find it yet...I know where it came from. Speaking of quacks.... He is such a douchbag. Stephen, anything you read on Barrett's site, you can safely assume the opposite. I can hardly wait until he finds HH — it will be a badge of honor to be assaulted by Quackwatch!

My hair analysis was extremely valuable to both my doc and me. Three years on, I plan to do it again (last one was in the month of April, thought I'd wait a bit). I think they are of most use when, like vitamin D tests, they are done periodically to see whether any actions you took have made a difference.

[StephenX]

Hey guys, no arguments from me. I've read some stuff on Quackwatch before; and for the most part the guy spouts the AMA party line. I don't agree with the site a majority of the time. I saw that most of the stuff he talks about are from the 70's and 80's. I just threw it out there to let you all know what the allopaths think about hair analysis. Please don't kill the messenger. I'm on our side. Hoka hey!

[Reesacat]

StephenX, it was a good question and we do need to know what different sources say and if the source is reliable or not.