Mega Dosing Iodine = Bad, Destroys Thyroid Tissue Permanently

[TreasureVibe]

A person may feel more energetic when first starting an iodine supplement, but lab tests will reveal that their “new energy” is coming from the destruction of thyroid tissue which dumps thyroid hormone into the circulation, and reports will show an elevated TSH, elevated thyroid antibodies, and in some cases, low levels of active thyroid hormones. This is why I don’t generally recommend iodine supplements to people with Hashimoto’s. I don’t believe that the short-term artificial boost in energy is worth destroying your thyroid gland! (5)

https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/iodine-hashimotos/

Hashimoto's is simply endotoxin and bacteria in the gut, btw. This is something this source also acknowledges.

 

[burtlancast]

Mmm..

I suspect Dr Abraham might have a thing or two to say about that...

The mechanism by which iodide induces autoimmune
thyroiditis is poorly understood. Experimentally induced
autoimmune thyroiditis in laboratory animals by
acutely administered iodide required the use of antithyroid
drugs, essentially goitrogens, to produce these effects.
85-88 These goitrogens induced thyroid hyperplasia
and iodide deficiency. Antioxidants either reduced or
prevented the acute iodide-induced thyroiditis in chicks89
and mice.90 Bagchi, et al89 and Many, et al90 proposed
that the thyroid injury induced by the combined use of
iodide and goitrogens occurs through the generation of
reactive oxygen species.

The Safe and Effective Implementation of Orthoiodosupplementation In Medical Practice, Guy. E. Abraham M.D.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Mmm..

I suspect Dr Abraham might have a thing or two to say about that...


The Safe and Effective Implementation of Orthoiodosupplementation In Medical Practice, Guy. E. Abraham M.D.

You do know that Brownstein had some weird theories about the early days of humanity in regards to iodine right? He thought that all of earth's crust was rich in iodine, and that people back then had a much higher intake of iodine, and absorbed the iodine from the earth's crust through their feet.

 

[burtlancast]

You do know that Brownstein had some weird theories about the early days of humanity in regards to iodine right? He thought that all of earth's crust was rich in iodine, and that people back then had a much higher intake of iodine, and absorbed the iodine from the earth's crust through their feet.

Brownstein was actually the doctor who called Abraham after reading his work on iodine published in The Townsend Letter.

He's just a follower, not a leader: the theoretical aspects have all been researched by Abraham.

Here's a published 1969 British study on 2404 chronic pulmonary obstructive patients treated in an Hospital setting with grams doses (up to 30 gr/day of potassium iodide) because of severe asthma disease refractory to all conventional treatments. These gigantic daily potassium iodide treatments went on for months, even years!

Although very rare cases of myxoedema and hyperthyroidy were reported, not a single case of Hashimoto was seen.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Brownstein was actually the doctor who called Abraham after reading his work on iodine published in The Townsend Letter.

He's just a follower, not a leader: the theoretical aspects have all been researched by Abraham.

Here's a published 1969 British study on 2404 chronic pulmonary obstructive patients treated in an Hospital setting with grams doses (up to 30 gr/day of potassium iodide) of KI because of severe and asthma disease refractory to all conventional treatments. These gigantic potassium iodide treatments went on for months, even years!

Although very rare cases of myxoedema and hyperthyroidy were reported, not a single case of Hashimoto was seen.

It's Abraham then who wrote his reasoning down on how people are supposedly all deficient in iodine, on the idea that back in ancient times people walked with bare feet on the earth's crust which was rich in iodine. That's the whole reasoning behind the theory, lol.

Up to 30 gr/day of potassium iodide for months/years, indicates a pharmaceutical effect, not one of refueling a deficiency. I wonder what the follow-up was on those patients... Did their thyroids still work afterwards?

 

[burtlancast]

Up to 30 gr/day of potassium iodide for months/years, indicates a pharmaceutical effect, not one of refueling a deficiency.

It's the same potassium iodide substance taken during nuclear emergencies, refueling any iodine deficiency in the thyroid to achieve saturation, thus preventing any ulterior uptake of nuclear isotopes of iodine by the thyroid gland.

 

[TreasureVibe]

It's the same potassium iodide substance taken during nuclear emergencies, refueling any iodine deficiency in the thyroid to achieve saturation, thus preventing any ulterior uptake of nuclear isotopes of iodine by the thyroid gland.

So in other words, the thyroid tissue doesn't get destroyed with such high doses? Even with Hashimoto's present? It's interesting to say the least, because iodine is anti-estrogenic and antimicrobial. But I don't know if I would want to risk my thyroid for it lol.

Thyroid expert Ray Peat advices against it so...

 

[burtlancast]

Thyroid expert Ray Peat advices against it so...

Thyroid expert Ray Peat's claims about iodine-induced thyroid disease are shown contrary to scientific fact in Japanese thyroid disease statistics, where people are known to ingest 15mg/day of iodine from seaweed.

But don't email him about those annoying Japanese statistics, you're probably certain to get a brush-off.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Thyroid expert Ray Peat claims about iodine-induced thyroid disease are shown contrary to scientific fact in Japanese thyroid disease statistics, where people are known to ingest 15mg/day of iodine from seaweed.

But don't email him about those annoying Japanese statistics, you're probably certain to get a brush-off.

There's alot of thyroid disease in Japan though! Where do you think Hashimoto was from?

This paper shows an average intake of 1-3mg/day in Japan: Assessment of Japanese iodine intake based on seaweed consumption in Japan: A literature-based analysis

And this paper shows that it's not so black and white:

‘Endemic coast goiter’ and iodine nutrition The misconception that most Japanese consume too much iodine may have its roots in several early studies in the coastal area of Hokkaido. In 1933, Jesse F McClendon of the University of Minnesota reported that Japan was the only non-goitrous country in the world, with one case of goiter per million people (3). The northern island of Hokkaido was an apparent exception, where cases of endemic goiter could be traced back to 1899 (4). But when later surveys, conducted between 1948 and 1952, reported goiter throughout Japan (with goiter rates in children ranging from 0.9% to 20.6% across 11 of 46 prefectures), they went largely unnoticed by the international scientific community.

Did excessive iodine intake contribute to thyroid dysfunction? Since 1978 there have been several case reports linking thyroid dysfunction with dietary iodine. They included cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis induced by ingesting large amounts of seaweed, reversible hypothyroidism after restriction of iodine-rich foods, hypothyroidism in anorexic patients consuming 50–100 g of Kombu daily, and transient hypothyroidism or persistent hyperthyrotropinemia in infants due to a high maternal intake of iodine-rich foods during pregnancy. In 1992 a survey in 1,061 adults from five coastal areas of Hokkaido measured serum TSH and urinary iodine concentrations (UICs) (6). The mean urinary iodine measured by an iodide-selective electrode was 3,300 μg/L (27.1 μmol/L) in 4,138 healthy adults in Sapporo. In addition, kelpinduced goiter had disappeared, but high UI concentrations correlated with non-autoimmune hypothyroidism. On balance, the authors concluded that, in addition to chronic thyroiditis, excessive iodine was a possible cause of hypothyroidism in this iodinesufficient area. Interestingly, subsequent UI studies in adults reported concentrations in the range of 213–241 μg/L, and the reason for the extremely high urinary iodine in the Sapporo study is not clear.

http://www.ign.org/newsletter/idd_aug15_japan.pdf

Again, Abraham's reasoning on the high RDA is not scientific.

How Much Iodine Do The Japanese Really Get?
To the point: I, in an earlier news letter about Iodine, put forth the theory that the Japanese acquire 12 to 18mg of iodine a day from generational seaweed eating. This was based on my, then current, readings of unorthodox information on the subject. At least, like a good scientist, I did take these, and higher amounts (up to 18 drops at 6mg of iodine per drop), for quite some time, to at least test the waters before I encouraged anyone to dive in. I experienced no negative side effects. Nonetheless, this theory has now been shot down. A friend of mine, who is a naturopath, provided me with some information on the subject from a lecture series that she attended.
This lecturer (Alan Gaby, MD), pointed out that the claim of such high iodine intake amongst the Japanese was based on a misinterpretation of a 1967 paper (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1967;27:638-47) analyzing seaweed consumption in Japan. The Japanese consume on average almost 5 grams of seaweed daily, but when the researchers tried to determine the amount of iodine this provided, they made the mistake of basing their numbers on dry weight of seaweed, not the cooked, wet, amount that was consumed. This lead to the idea that they consumed huge amounts of iodine when in fact a 2008 study showed average iodine intake to be around 1.2mg per day, down from an average of 1.7mg per day in 1986. (Thyroid 2008:18:667)

The conclusions of Dr. Gaby are that 3 – 6mg is a therapeutic dose, that may be useful for treating fibrocystic breast disease, and higher doses may be advised for short periods for the purposes of destroying intestinal pathogens. While hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is very common in the West, due in part to inefficient thyroid testing, actually treating it with iodine seems to only work if the individual is deficient in iodine. Otherwise it may make it worse.
-

The iodine information becomes more clouded by statistics that indicate that the Japanese in coastal areas who consume high levels of iodine (via seaweed) have higher rates of thyroid disease than North Americans, yet populations who have low iodine intakes( from 100 – 200mcg daily) have higher rates of thyroid problems too.
Source: Nutristart

 

[burtlancast]

Again, if you read Abraham's papers, you will discover the references where the Japanese health department itself gives the 15mg iodine/day ingestion amounts by Japanese people.

You can too find official world thyroid cancer and thyroid inflammation statistics: they all show Japanese to be the least affected in the world, which is something, considering 2 atomic bombs were dropped 60 years ago.

You can add to these statistics experimental studies where women took mg doses of iodine to successfully control their inflammatory breast disease: idem for men with BPH. No ill effects on their thyroid were observed.

Then add my 1969 article, as well as numerous clinical references by Abraham dating back to last 2 centuries, and it becomes clear Peat has done a gigantic and cruel disservice to his fans by parroting the official medical monopolistic line of iodine causing thyroid disease.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Japanese iodine intake from edible seaweeds is amongst the highest in the world. Predicting the type and amount of seaweed the Japanese consume is difficult due to day-to-day meal variation and dietary differences between generations and regions. In addition, iodine content varies considerably between seaweed species, with cooking and/or processing having an influence on iodine content. Due to all these factors, researchers frequently overestimate, or underestimate, Japanese iodine intake from seaweeds, which results in misleading and potentially dangerous diet and supplementation recommendations for people aiming to achieve the same health benefits seen by the Japanese. By combining information from dietary records, food surveys, urine iodine analysis (both spot and 24-hour samples) and seaweed iodine content, we estimate that the Japanese iodine intake--largely from seaweeds--averages 1,000-3,000 μg/day (1-3 mg/day).
​

Assessment of Japanese iodine intake based on seaweed consumption in Japan: A literature-based analysis

Although habitual seaweed consumption in Japan would suggest that iodine intake in Japanese is exceptionally high, intake data from diet records are limited. In the present study, we developed a composition database of iodine and estimated the habitual intake of iodine among Japanese adults. Missing values for iodine content in the existing composition table were imputed based on established criteria. 16 d diet records (4 d over four seasons) from adults (120 women aged 30–69 years and 120 men aged 30–76 years) living in Japan were collected, and iodine intake was estimated. Habitual intake was estimated with the Best-power method. Totally, 995 food items were imputed. The distribution of iodine intake in 24 h was highly skewed, and approximately 55 % of 24 h values were < 300 μg/d. The median iodine intake in 24 h was 229 μg/d for women and 273 μg/d for men. All subjects consumed iodine-rich foods (kelp or soup stock) on one or more days of the sixteen survey days. The mean (median) habitual iodine intake was 1414 (857) μg/d for women and 1572 (1031) μg/d for men. Older participants had higher intake than younger participants. The major contributors to iodine intake were kelp (60 %) and soup stock (30 %). Habitual iodine intake among Japanese was sufficient or higher than the tolerable upper intake level, particularly in older generations. The association between high iodine intake as that observed in the present study and thyroid disease requires further study.​

Estimation of habitual iodine intake in Japanese adults using 16 d diet records over four seasons with a newly developed food composition database for iodine | British Journal of Nutrition | Cambridge Core

Health departments are not a primary source.

 

[TreasureVibe]

It depends on which source you go by. If you go by the Abraham/Japanese health department source, then Abraham is right. If you go by the sources that Hugh Johnson just posted, then Abraham is wrong, atleast when giving Japan as an example to base his theory on.

Iodine is attractive, its purpley color is enchanting and esthetically pleasing, and its direct health benefits makes it look like some magical health potion. But, it's not called a trace mineral for nothing: You only need it in tiny traces. Atleast, that was until Abraham came and presented his work. Now the debate rages on...

What about those that say that high doses of iodine can cause hypothyroidism?

 

[burtlancast]

What about the thyroid cancer/Hashimoto of Albert Szent-Giorgy, who ingested 1 gr/day of potassium iodide all his life, lol?

 

[burtlancast]

"Some 80 years ago, D. Marine reported the results of
his landmark study on the effect of I supplementation
in the prevention and treatment of iodine-deficiency
goiter. Based on extensive studies of goiter in farm
animals, he estimated the amount of I that would be
required for human subjects. He chose a population of
adolescent school girls from the fifth to twelfth grade
between the ages of 10 and 18 years residing in Akron,
Ohio, a city with a 56% incidence of goiter.3 His
choice was based on the observation that the incidence
of goiter was highest at puberty, and six times more
common in girls than in boys.4 He studied two groups
of pupils devoid of goiter (thyroid enlargement by palpation)
at the beginning of the project. The control
group consisted of 2,305 pupils who did not receive I
supplementation; and 2,190 pupils received a total of 4
gm of sodium iodide per year for a period of two and a
half years. The amount of I was spread out in two
doses of 2 gm each during the spring and during the
fall. This 2 gm dose was administered in daily amounts
of 0.2 gm of sodium iodide over 10 days. At 4,000 mg
of sodium iodide per 365 days, the daily amount is 12
mg, equivalent to 9 mg I. After two and a half years of
observation, 495 pupils in the control group developed
thyroid enlargement (22%). Only five cases of goiter
occurred in the I-supplementation group (0.2%). Iodism
was observed in 0.5% of the pupils receiving I
supplementation. In an area of Switzerland with an
extremely high incidence of goiter (82-95%), Klinger,
as reported by Marine,3 administered 10-15 mg of iodine
weekly to 760 pupils of the same age group. The
daily I intake in this group was 1.4-2 mg. The initial
examination revealed 90% of them had enlarged thyroid.
After 15 months of this program, only 28.3% of
them still had an enlarged gland. None experienced
iodism. In response to these studies, the Swiss Goiter
Commission advised the use of I supplementation in all
cantons. Iodized fat in tablet form containing 3 to 5 mg
I per tablet was used for I supplementation."

http://www.optimox.com/pdfs/IOD01.pdf

 

[TreasureVibe]

Well I took high doses of nascent iodine, about 1.5mg a day, and I had sweats, and weird confusion states with sweating and feeling things flow through my body, pain in calf (perhaps abnormal blood clot, clot-dissolving enzymes made it go away), and felt weakish in those days, pulse in wrist felt weird, bloated, weakish at times. I always felt my thyroid having stingy pains at times too, and the feeling as if a goiter was developing even though I was taking iodine. Also my strength was lower, I couldn't clench a fist as strong as without the iodine. Really weird.

So yeah. Those are my experiences with it. I have a history of autoimmune disease though, juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis.

 

[burtlancast]

"According to the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, the
average daily intake of seaweed is 4.6 gm. At an average
of 0.3% I content (range = 0.08-0.45%), that is an
estimated daily I intake of 13.8 mg."

 

[TreasureVibe]

Well what should those with a history of autoimmune disease do? I get all kinds of bad symptoms, using it, sadly. Do you take it burtlancast, or have you taken it before? And if so, did you have benefits from it?

I recall reading that in Denmark alot of women had Hashimoto's, and when they used iodine in the salt, alot of women developed thyroid disease.

 

[burtlancast]

"A recent study of 2,956 men and 1,182
women residing in the non-coastal city of Sapporo, Japan,
8 revealed a urine concentration of I in spot urine
samples, with a mean value of 3.4 mg/L, corresponding
to an estimated daily intake averaging 5.3 mg.5 This
relatively low I intake by Japanese standard, is more
than 30 times the recommended daily amount of I in
North America and Europe."

 

[TreasureVibe]

"A recent study of 2,956 men and 1,182
women residing in the non-coastal city of Sapporo, Japan,
8 revealed a urine concentration of I in spot urine
samples, with a mean value of 3.4 mg/L, corresponding
to an estimated daily intake averaging 5.3 mg.5 This
relatively low I intake by Japanese standard, is more
than 30 times the recommended daily amount of I in
North America and Europe."

Just going by demographical statistics says nothing about the effects of iodine in individual cases. It could work for alot, but for those with dormant Hashimoto's/gut issue, it can be detrimental.

You can add to these statistics experimental studies where women took mg doses of iodine to successfully control their inflammatory breast disease: idem for men with BPH. No ill effects on their thyroid were observed.

For how long after treatment was quit?

 

[burtlancast]

pts= patients

Just by going with the Ghent study, where 1368 people took 3-6 mg iodine for 10 months without any side-effects should send a clear message to the iodine-damages-the-thyroid people and make them pause, then ask themselves "Maybe i've just been taken for a ride with this iodine scare stuff".