Iodine Detox – One Way To Detox Environmental Toxins

There has been a lot of interest in the mineral iodine recently due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. People are snapping up potassium iodide and other iodine supplements to protect against radioactive Iodine -131. But many of them probably don’t know that they may have an iodine detox.

Iodine is increasingly being used by doctors and other health practitioners to detox mercury, lead, other heavy metals, bromine and fluoride.

Iodine & Thyroid Hormone

Iodine in the form of iodide is essential for the manufacture of the important thyroid hormone, thyroxine, which is vital for metabolism. It governs the speed of all your body’s activities and without it you could not function.

At one time iodine was considered to be the universal nutrient and in the early 19th Century doctors used it as a cure for just about everything. When scientists discovered that iodine was essential for thyroid function iodised salt was introduced in America and Europe to reduce goitre which was prevalent in some areas where it was lacking in the soil.  Iodine was also added to bread.

The use of iodine by doctors fell out of fashion in 1948 when 2 scientists published a paper that suggested that high doses of iodine in rats could cause hypothyroid. Although it was never proven that it could be applied to humans doctors developed a fear of using iodine.

New iodine research

Thanks to more recent research of others like Dr Guy Abraham, Dr David Brownstein, Dr Jorge Flechas, Dr Donald Miller and Dr David Derry there is renewed interest in it. These doctors are using iodine to treat fibrocystic breast disease, breast cancer,  fibromyalgia, and thyroid problems.

Where does iodine come from?

Iodine is found in sea water and the soil. The highest sources of iodine are in wild fish and seaweed. The Japanese are noted for their high levels of iodine and lack of thyroid problems as they eat a lot of fish and seaweed and food that is grown in soil rich in iodine.

If you eat food grown in soil where iodine is deficient or eat refined food where the iodine has been removed it is easy to become deficient in this essential mineral. As people have become more aware of the dangers of too much salt in the diet the use of iodized salt has reduced.

Environmental toxins increase need for iodine

Another reason that iodine levels in people have fallen is because environmental toxins such as bromide, fluoride and chlorine can prevent it’s absorption and binding to cells. They displace iodine and increase the need for it.

Bromine, Chloride & Fluoride

Bromide is found in flame retardants used on many fabrics, carpets, new cars, pesticides, drugs and is used a lot in baked products and processed foods. For some reason about 40 years ago the food industry decided to remove iodine from baked goods and replace the iodine with bromine

Chlorine is found in water as well as toxic compounds like PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls). Fluoride is frequently added to toothpaste, water and is found in some drugs such as Prozac and SSRI’s. All can be very toxic but are added to our food and water.

Iodine detox

When you take iodine you could get detoxification reactions as it begins to aid the detox of mercury, bromide and fluoride. Dr Brownstein recommends taking Vitamin C and magnesium supplements to lessen detox symptoms.

According to Brownstein low-salt diets will  worsen the toxicity of bromide. He recommends taking Celtic Sea Salt or Redmond’s Salt to help with the detox of this toxin from the kidneys.

Dr Abraham has stated that different tissues need different types of iodine. Lugol’s iodine, Iodoral and Iodizyme combines the two forms. Lugol’s Iodine was used by the late Dr Max Gerson as part of his detoxification therapy for cancer and other serious diseases.

How much iodine do we need?

The RDA for iodine is 150  micrograms (µg ) although many health professionals believe that this is 100 times too low. Dr Donald Miller says consuming an average of 240 micrograms (µg) of iodine a day, most Americans have an insufficient amount of iodine stored in their bodies.  It is half the amount consumed 30 years ago.

The  Japanese consume more than 12,000 µg (13.8 milligrams) a day and are considered to be one of the healthiest nations in the world. Dr David Derry states “An adequate dose of iodine can be defined as more than 4 mg per day.”

According to Miller a person needs to take 50 mg of iodine a day for 3 months, or 12.5 mg a day for 1 year, and continue that dose, in order to achieve whole body sufficiency of iodine.

At these doses you could experience increased energy, a sense of well-being, and lifting of brain fog. You will feel warmer in cold climates, need less sleep, have regular bowel movements, improved skin complexion, better hormone balance, a strengthened immune system, and a reduced risk of cancer.

Iodine detox therapy helps the body eliminate fluoride, bromine, lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and mercury. If you take iodine it’s best to start on a low dose (half a Iodoral tablet) and work up to a higher dose.