Low Iodine Levels In Vast Majority Of Population?

[dookie]

Reading more on the internet, it appears that iodine is a very ambiguous supplement, but there is a clear trend: People say increased energy in the beginning, problems appearing later. First few doses appear to cause extreme amounts of energy. But isn't excess energy = excitation/estrogen/serotonin/glutamate? Here are some stories of the initial euphoria and energy of iodine supplementation, being followed by issues:
Fluoroquinolone Toxicity of the Thyroid | How Cipro destroyed my Thyroid Hormone and Iodine metabolism
Iodine is magical miracle - most underrated supplement! - Supplements

I'm not sure about the anti-estrogen properties of iodine. It is very concerning that people such as @Saphire experienced immediate water retention from the iodine. This really proves that if you are already estrogen prone, then iodine may be a bad idea. There are some people saying it caused some "anti-estrogenic effects", but exactly, what were those anti-estrogenic effects? I read people claiming their skin got a "better tone", and they specifically say more "tan" looking - but isn't tan looking skin exactly an effect of higher estrogen? I found beer causes my skin to become a shade darker, as if I went tanning

For those who claim anti-estrogenic effects of iodine, can you be more specific as to what it causes that makes you think it is anti-estrogenic? For example, does it shrink "gyno breasts" or does it lead to disappearance of puffiness from your lips or face?

@CaseyL
@MyUsernameHere
@ChrisWhewell
@Sheila

What do you think about iodine @haidut , you seem to read a lot of studies - would you classify it as an anti-estrogen?

 

[ddjd]

Reading more on the internet, it appears that iodine is a very ambiguous supplement, but there is a clear trend: People say increased energy in the beginning, problems appearing later. First few doses appear to cause extreme amounts of energy. But isn't excess energy = excitation/estrogen/serotonin/glutamate? Here are some stories of the initial euphoria and energy of iodine supplementation, being followed by issues:
Fluoroquinolone Toxicity of the Thyroid | How Cipro destroyed my Thyroid Hormone and Iodine metabolism
Iodine is magical miracle - most underrated supplement! - Supplements

I'm not sure about the anti-estrogen properties of iodine. It is very concerning that people such as @Saphire experienced immediate water retention from the iodine. This really proves that if you are already estrogen prone, then iodine may be a bad idea. There are some people saying it caused some "anti-estrogenic effects", but exactly, what were those anti-estrogenic effects? I read people claiming their skin got a "better tone", and they specifically say more "tan" looking - but isn't tan looking skin exactly an effect of higher estrogen? I found beer causes my skin to become a shade darker, as if I went tanning

For those who claim anti-estrogenic effects of iodine, can you be more specific as to what it causes that makes you think it is anti-estrogenic? For example, does it shrink "gyno breasts" or does it lead to disappearance of puffiness from your lips or face?

@CaseyL
@MyUsernameHere
@ChrisWhewell
@Sheila

What do you think about iodine @haidut , you seem to read a lot of studies - would you classify it as an anti-estrogen?

i get the complete opposite effect to euphoria, lugols makes me really tired and helps me sleep. it undoubetdly reduces estrogen, my waist shrinks in size, inflamed eyes go white, dandruff stops, frequent urination stops. clearly everyone reacts differently though

 

[dookie]

i get the complete opposite effect to euphoria, lugols makes me really tired and helps me sleep. it undoubetdly reduces estrogen, my waist shrinks in size, inflamed eyes go white, dandruff stops, frequent urination stops. clearly everyone reacts differently though

The effects you mention aren't very specific for estrogen. And in fact, estrogen can cause "better sleep" (you fall asleep easier), as evidenced by the women who say hormonal contraceptives helped with their insomnia. Lean waist can actually also be a high estrogen symptom - estrogen makes your waist lean, but increases the size of breasts, ****, thighs.

More specific would be to pay attention to water retention/edema in the breasts. Is iodine increasing or decreasing the size of your breast tissue mass? Is iodine increasing or decreasing the diameter of your nipples? Is it darkening or lightening your skin? What happens to the appearance, size and color of moles on your skin?

 

[ddjd]

The effects you mention aren't very specific for estrogen. And in fact, estrogen can cause "better sleep" (you fall asleep easier), as evidenced by the women who say hormonal contraceptives helped with their insomnia. Lean waist can actually also be a high estrogen symptom - estrogen makes your waist lean, but increases the size of breasts, ****, thighs.

More specific would be to pay attention to water retention/edema in the breasts. Is iodine increasing or decreasing the size of your breast tissue mass? Is iodine increasing or decreasing the diameter of your nipples? Is it darkening or lightening your skin? What happens to the appearance, size and color of moles on your skin?

Have you even tried it yourself yet

 

[ddjd]

The effects you mention aren't very specific for estrogen. And in fact, estrogen can cause "better sleep" (you fall asleep easier), as evidenced by the women who say hormonal contraceptives helped with their insomnia. Lean waist can actually also be a high estrogen symptom - estrogen makes your waist lean, but increases the size of breasts, ****, thighs.

More specific would be to pay attention to water retention/edema in the breasts. Is iodine increasing or decreasing the size of your breast tissue mass? Is iodine increasing or decreasing the diameter of your nipples? Is it darkening or lightening your skin? What happens to the appearance, size and color of moles on your skin?

But it doesn't make you tired, like really tired. That's reducing stress hormones. Estrogen causes hyper excitation. Peats words

 

[CaseyL]

@dookie The proposed physiological mechanisms that I've encountered are the following:

(1) Iodine modulates how sensitive cells are to estrogen-stimulus, down-regulating reactivity especially in tissues such as the breasts and ovaries. Two relevant studies: Iodine alters gene expression in the MCF7 breast cancer cell line: evidence for an anti-estrogen effect of iodine. - PubMed - NCBI & Antineoplastic effect of iodine in mammary cancer: participation of 6-iodolactone (6-IL) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) Also relevant are the clinical data of Brownstein, Abraham, Flechas, which can be found in their respective papers and books.

(2) Iodine shifts the balance of estrogen away from estradiol(E2) and estrone (E1) and towards estriol(E3). Estradiol, the most potent estrogen, is reduced the most by conversion to estriol, presumably the weakest and least problematic of the three. Estriol is elevated during pregnancy, playing an important role in placental metabolism.

(3) Flechas claims that iodine associating with various hormone receptors is crucial for their proper functioning, and that one common source of this iodine comes from the cleavage-conversion of T4 to T3. I haven't looked into this much so I have no idea how plausible it is. Iodine does seem to associate with a wide variety of proteins, lipids, and so forth. Whether this is completely arbitrary or physiologically meaningful I'm not qualified to say, but I would bet on it being meaningful.

(4) Iodine rapidly associates with unsaturated fatty acids. The more unsaturated the fatty acid, the more iodine it will attract. Once the double bonds of the fatty acids have been iodinated their capacity to cause oxidative damage is diminished. This entails, moreover, that consuming large quantities of PUFA would tend to soak up and deplete the body of iodine. This is probably one reason so many people benefit from taking iodine in our PUFA-laden culture. It would also explain, in conjunction with bromide and fluoride accumulation, why people benefit from massive doses of iodine that would never have been necessary in pre-industrial times.

(5) Perhaps the most interesting, from a Peat perspective, is the synergy of progesterone and iodine. Medroxy-progesterone acetate increased the uptake of iodine and enhanced its anti-breast tumor effects in this study: Suppressive effect of iodine on DMBA-induced breast tumor growth in the rat. - PubMed - NCBI MPA isn't the same as bioidentical progesterone, but it does have many of the same effects. I recall Brownstein mentioning a doctor in Japan who combined progesterone and iodine with success for breast cancer patients, but I couldn't find anything on Google and don't have his book to hand at the moment.

There is also the clinical and anecdotal realities of so many people experiencing dramatic improvements or complete remissions from estrogen-dominant conditions like fibrocystic breasts, polycystic ovarian syndrome, breast cancer, uterine fibroids, etc. I don't know how effective iodine would be at dealing with gynecomastia in a man, but it could conceivably help. As I recall painting the breasts with Lugol's iodine helped many women, so perhaps that in combination with progesterone could be helpful. There are also interesting anecdotes floating around the internet of men painting their testicles with iodine and experiencing fairly dramatic androgenic effects. Be aware that Lugol's can be quite unpleasant to the skin, especially at concentrations above 2%. I also have no idea if this is safe long-term. Results would surely vary individual to individual. Such things can always be dangerous, so if you end up trying any of them do your research, start small, and remain vigilant.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

Word of warning.

I've used iodine for many months in doses up to 100 mg. No negative effects.
I've used red light for many months, no negative effects.

But 2 weeks ago, I did a 'course' where I used red light every day for 10-15 minutes for 5 days (as per the Ukrainian studies), then took a 2 days break. During this time I took iodine (between 2.5 - 25 mg depending on how I felt about it). I was supposed to restart for the second week, but on Monday I started experiencing serious throat inflammation and pain. At this same time I was also taking Lysine and Carnosine, so I don't know how those may have contributed.

I have dropped everything and am taking only selenium now until the inflammation quells completely. It's a kind of burning inflammatory pain, as well as tightness and difficulty swallowing. I suppose that iodine and red light both being oxidants, overwhelmed the thyroid gland and it seems that you have to be quite careful combining these two, even though on their own they may not do anything bad.

I will say that the 5-day course of red light seems to have permanently upregulated my hormones because I don't feel as bad as I did even when I don't use the lamp now. If you're going to use red light and iodine, my advice would be, to load up on iodine when you're OFF, and then during the 5 day course do not take it at all, and make sure that you still take selenium because red light will need a lot of selenium to control oxidation as well. Vitamin C too.

 

[Philomath]

I agree. I wish Dr. Peat would do the research and write a newsletter about it.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[Curiousman]

The effects you mention aren't very specific for estrogen. And in fact, estrogen can cause "better sleep" (you fall asleep easier), as evidenced by the women who say hormonal contraceptives helped with their insomnia. Lean waist can actually also be a high estrogen symptom - estrogen makes your waist lean, but increases the size of breasts, ****, thighs.

More specific would be to pay attention to water retention/edema in the breasts. Is iodine increasing or decreasing the size of your breast tissue mass? Is iodine increasing or decreasing the diameter of your nipples? Is it darkening or lightening your skin? What happens to the appearance, size and color of moles on your skin?

I have been decreasing the breast size with use of iodine. I also note a strong anti-inflammatory effect after training with it. It takes my brain fog after an sleep deprivation.

 

[Christoph]

I'm experiencing profound improvement in my health after starting iodine supplementation and think that Wolff-Chaikoff is a big-pharma scam. According to Brownstein, Wolff-Chaikoff concluded that iodine suppresses thyroid function because rats' thyroids stopped the uptake of radioactive iodine when given high doses of non-radioactive iodine. Duh, that's the exact same reason the FDA suggests people at risk of radioactive iodine exposure (e.g., Fukushima, Chernobyl) take large-dose potassium iodide pills. When the thyroid is fully satiated with iodine, it'll stop absorbing any more, including the radioactive kind.

Ray's iodine comments scared me away from supplementation. However, having experienced insignificant health improvements after 3 years of "peating", I gave 100mg Lugol's a go. Two months later and I'm convinced the primary benefit is anti-imflammatory in nature and not directly related to thyroid function. My chronic fungal infections, chronic sinus problems, chronic coughing, atrial fibrillation/palpitations, and fissured/geographic tongue have all disappeared. I had suffered under those and more problems for more than 20 years!

I've noticed that when I ramped up the dose I temporarily experience some bad days. I attribute that to a microbe die-off followed by an LPS endotoxin flood. Iodine appears to be nature's awesome anti microbial agent.

 

[danishispsychic]

i take an iodine called " survivor sheild " - x2 or something. really- it is the only thing so far that has my body temp up at 98.6 like all the time. the only thing is that the bromide detox from that stuff is gnarly. i do like 2 days on 2 days off... just check my temps all the time. the other thing is that i eat nori or kelp flakes almost everyday with it - they are better together. it makes my hair grow as well.

 

[MyUsernameHere]

My thyroid labs from today. TSH is the same as one year ago (sadly no improvement there), but the thyroid hormones have all plummeted (TT4 was 103 a year ago). I blame it on taking selenium without iodine in the past few weeks ( I had to quit iodine for other reasons).

DO NOT TAKE SELENIUM WITHOUT IODINE OR IODINE WITHOUT SELENIUM

Here is Jaminet's article where he shows T4 levels of iodine deficient kids receiving selenium supplementation, their hormones become way worse, and this happened to me too:
Iodine and selenium Archives - Perfect Health Diet | Perfect Health Diet

I'm now taking 2.5 mg of iodine again.

 

[charlie]

I'm experiencing profound improvement in my health after starting iodine supplementation and think that Wolff-Chaikoff is a big-pharma scam. According to Brownstein, Wolff-Chaikoff concluded that iodine suppresses thyroid function because rats' thyroids stopped the uptake of radioactive iodine when given high doses of non-radioactive iodine. Duh, that's the exact same reason the FDA suggests people at risk of radioactive iodine exposure (e.g., Fukushima, Chernobyl) take large-dose potassium iodide pills. When the thyroid is fully satiated with iodine, it'll stop absorbing any more, including the radioactive kind.

Ray's iodine comments scared me away from supplementation. However, having experienced insignificant health improvements after 3 years of "peating", I gave 100mg Lugol's a go. Two months later and I'm convinced the primary benefit is anti-imflammatory in nature and not directly related to thyroid function. My chronic fungal infections, chronic sinus problems, chronic coughing, atrial fibrillation/palpitations, and fissured/geographic tongue have all disappeared. I had suffered under those and more problems for more than 20 years!

I've noticed that when I ramped up the dose I temporarily experience some bad days. I attribute that to a microbe die-off followed by an LPS endotoxin flood. Iodine appears to be nature's awesome anti microbial agent.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Are you taking selenium with it?

 

[Christoph]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Are you taking selenium with it?

I started taking 200 mcg selenomethionine 10 days before Lugol's. The selenium was immediately helpful for my asthma and palpitations. I started Lugol's somewhat cautiously at 1 drop of 2% solution, which is 2.5 mg. As I ramped up Lugol's to my current 100 mg, I upped the selenomethionine to 400 mcg. I tend to dose high due to my size 6' 4" ~192 cm.

When I'm certain that I've plateaued (1 to 6 months from now), I'll reduce Lugol's back to 25 mg (4 drops of 5% solution) and selenomethionine to 200 mcg. That'll be my maintenance supplement.

 

[Ell]

Plenty of info here, for those with an appetite for it:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070908193524/http:/panaminstitute.com/de-iodine.htm

 

[Curiousman]

A Speculative Account of the Effects of Iodine Supplementation at Different Doses

 

[tara]

I used to put seaweed in soupls regularly, but haven't been doing that for years now. Would the seaweed in the occasional feed of sushi, or the occasional few mussels or other shellfish, provide significant dietary iodine?

How happy is anyone about the safety of such seaweed round sushi since the Fukushima leaks?

I attribute that to a microbe die-off followed by an LPS endotoxin flood. Iodine appears to be nature's awesome anti microbial agent.

I think it was widely used for this purpose for a long time. Slap iodine on wounds to prevent infection.

 

[Steven Bussinger]

This is a thread on the Bulletproof forum that I contributed to quite heavily years ago: http://forum.bulletproofexec.com/index.php?/topic/17176-iodine-and-selenium/page-2

I'd like to know by what mechanism iodine causes hypothyroidism (defined as high TSH). Why does TSH get cranked up? It's important to remember that TSH does not come from the thyroid. It comes from the pituitary. The term "hypothyroidism" is misleading, and its use should be terminated immediately. It obscures the real nature of what's being discussed. If we're concerned with TSH levels, we should be looking upstream (pituitary and PVN of the hypothalamus) as well as downstream (thyroid and thyroid hormones). These are all part of the TSH feedback loop, so whatever action iodine is making to increase TSH, it's happening here.

And look at this: As a homeostatically integrated parameter, TSH becomes neither normatively fixed nor a precise marker of euthyroidism.

Thyroglobulin is what takes up iodine in order to organify it and create thyroid hormones. Increasing iodine intake leads to increased iodination of thyroglobulin and is associated development of auto-immune thyroiditis.

I wonder if increasing the available thyroglobulin (Tg) would prevent this. If Tg gets loaded up with too much iodine, that's how the problem starts. But if you were able to spread the iodine across more Tg, then there might not be a problem. This could explain why prior iodine deficiency makes one especially susceptible to thyroiditis. If you have low iodine intake, your body has downregulated Tg -- but when you increase iodine, your body is not equipped to deal with it.

 

[Ell]

iodin cannot cause hypothyroidism, it is necessary for proper thyroid function. the hypo comes from elsewhere and only those with other deficiencies or toxins load will experience hypo. extended lack of iodine causes the symporters to atrophy, so when first supplementing iodine tsh will go up. unfortunately the mis-educated endocrinologists mis-interpret this and are quick to call it hypo-t and put people on synthroid. Drs. Abraham, Flechas, Brownstein and others have discussed the symporter atrophy. Curios minds will seek and find the truth

 

[Steven Bussinger]

Atrophied symporter is similar to the Thyroglobulin overloading I posited above. Where do Abraham et al., discuss symporter atrophy?

I think the takeaway here is that iodine supplementation should gradually increase over a year or more in order to give the body time to adapt to increasing amounts of iodine.