Ray Peat On Iodine

[NathanK]

There are a few testimonies on the web on iodine's helpful effects on sleep quality, notably from life-long sufferers of delayed sleep phase syndrome who miraculously return to a normal sleep cycle.

Iodine detoxifies bromine by a factor of 20 in a matter of hours; and bromine is known to disturb both sleep and daytime activities.

Interesting. Worth looking into. Any other links you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[burtlancast]

Interesting. Worth looking into. Any other links you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks

I already posted this testimonial of 2 cases of delayed sleep phase syndrome from 2011 in the same family who resolved it by ingesting Boron to detoxify fluoride from the brain.

Posted by Stacey (Colorado Springs Area, Co, Usa) on 12/01/2011
5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to share my experience with the Borax protocol for removing fluoride from the body. My theory was that my daughter's "non-24 hour sleep-wake syndrome" (very rare circadian rhythm sleep disorder) was caused by unintentional cumulative chronic fluoride intake (water), so we tried Borax to see if it would remove the fluoride and fix the problem. We gave her a tiny fraction of the recommended adult dosage because she is still quite young. Within about two months of gradually stepping up her dose (still not very much! ) she started sleeping at the same time every day (the non-24 hour disorder caused her to operate on a 25-hour internal clock and she went to bed an hour later and woke up an hour later each day). Now she has reverted back to the less severe "delayed sleep phase syndrome" going to bed very late, around 3am each day for the past month at least (which is how she slept before the shifting phase began). I could hardly believe it was working so I waited many weeks before getting too excited about what I was seeing. Nothing else we tried had made the cycle even budge. I believe she will eventually move to a more normal bedtime, which she has never yet been able to have in her first 3.5 years of life. When this happens, I will post updates!

My husband had the delayed sleep phase for most of his adult life and used the same protocol alongside my daughter. He now reports wanting to go to bed much earlier, rarely able to even stay up past midnight. He is reporting sleeping more deeply now as well. He has not even reached his full dose yet, as he does experience mild headaches when he increases his dose so he is going very slowly. I feel that his success with the Borax protocol is further proof that my daughter didn't just grow out of it.

I believe our fluoridated water also caused three of our pets to become ill with kidney failure type of symptoms and all died from this within just over a year's time frame (quite a coincidence). Now I wonder what else the fluoride has been doing to us, but at least we are doing something to reverse it. I urge everyone to look up the many, MANY sources of the fluoride scourge that esp. Americans are being assaulted with from all sides. Then, figure out how to avoid it (most water filters do not remove it). But esp. if you have some crazy sleep patterns, or you have been diagnosed with insomnia but feel you may have been misdiagnosed, please check into the fluoride toxicity issue. I hope this post helps someone!!!

I surmised the solution was through pineal fluoride displacement because one of my acquaintances used iodine to supplement after a pregnancy and told me she was surprised when it resolved her 12 year long delayed sleep phase disorder.

And she really did try EVERYTHING to resolve it, without success up to then.

 

[Makrosky]

@Mauritio @burtlancast

I have always been a bit skeptical about that pineal gland decalcification with iodine but who knows...

As mauritio says, the effects are inmediate and on the very first dose. There's no time for detozifying or uncalcifying things so quickly I guess???

But regarding your question, mauritio... I think iodine does much more things than activating the thyroid and detoxing halides. That's why you see differences with thyroid hormones.

My totally broscience metaphoric description is that it somehow repolarizes cell membranes, or improves intercellular communication, or some kind of systemic effect like that. It reminds me a bit of sone of the procaine effects. It generates a really good systemic effect of wellbeing, more powerful than NDT and T3 in my experience.

On the other side, I think iodine can more easily create a stress reaction than NDT.

 

[Makrosky]

I already posted this testimonial of 2 cases of delayed sleep phase syndrome from 2011 in the same family who resolved it by ingesting Boron to detoxify fluoride from the brain.



I surmised the solution was through pineal fluoride displacement because one of my acquaintances used iodine to supplement after a pregnancy and told me she was surprised when it resolved her 12 year long delayed sleep phase disorder.

And she really did try EVERYTHING to resolve it, without success up to then.

There is also that other famous case of that canadian woman who was having brain fog for years, feeling sleepy and tired all day, multiple other ailments and finally got breast cancer. Iodine cured her. To the point that she was so excited that wrote a book about it.

 

[burtlancast]

There is also that other famous case of that canadian woman who was having very bad narcolepsia episodes (IIRC) basically she was sleepy all day and iodine is the only thing that cured her. To the point that she was so excited that wrote a book about it.

Link !!!!!

 

[Makrosky]

Link !!!!!

Lynne Farrow - Author and Health Investigator

 

[Makrosky]

Lynne Farrow - Author and Health Investigator

Now that I see her website it was not narcolepsia, she says in some place that she was very tired and sleeping a lot. Hers is an interesting case of iodine success anyway. It was like a miracle for her that's why she wrote a book, opened up a website for it, etc.

 

[LeeLemonoil]

Evolutionary roots of iodine and thyroid hormones in cell-cell signaling.
Crockford SJ. Integr Comp Biol. 2009.

Abstract
In vertebrates, thyroid hormones (THs, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine) are critical cell signaling molecules. THs regulate and coordinate physiology within and between cells, tissues, and whole organisms, in addition to controlling embryonic growth and development, via dose-dependent regulatory effects on essential genes. While invertebrates and plants do not have thyroid glands, many utilize THs for development, while others store iodine as TH derivatives or TH precursor molecules (iodotyrosines)-or produce similar hormones that act in analogous ways. Such common developmental roles for iodotyrosines across kingdoms suggest that a common endocrine signaling mechanism may account for coordinated evolutionary change in all multi-cellular organisms. Here, I expand my earlier hypothesis for the role of THs in vertebrate evolution by proposing a critical evolutionary role for iodine, the essential ingredient in all iodotyrosines and THs. Iodine is known to be crucial for life in many unicellular organisms (including evolutionarily ancient cyanobacteria), in part, because it acts as a powerful antioxidant. I propose that during the last 3-4 billion years, the ease with which various iodine species become volatile, react with simple organic compounds, and catalyze biochemical reactions explains why iodine became an essential constituent of life and the Earth's atmosphere-and a potential marker for the origins of life. From an initial role as membrane antioxidant and biochemical catalyst, spontaneous coupling of iodine with tyrosine appears to have created a versatile, highly reactive and mobile molecule, which over time became integrated into the machinery of energy production, gene function, and DNA replication in mitochondria. Iodotyrosines later coupled together to form THs, the ubiquitous cell-signaling molecules used by all vertebrates. Thus, due to their evolutionary history, THs, and their derivative and precursors molecules not only became essential for communicating within and between cells, tissues and organs, and for coordinating development and whole-body physiology in vertebrates, but they can also be shared between organisms from different kingdoms.

PMID
21669854 []

 

[burtlancast]

Lynne Farrow - Author and Health Investigator

Thanks.
I've just searched her book for the word "narcoleps" and got nothing.
Did she mention it in her interviews?

 

[Makrosky]

Thanks.
I've just searched her book for the word "narcoleps" and got nothing.
Did she mention it in her interviews?

Burt... bear with my poor memory. I read about her maybe 6 or 7 years ago while reading TONS of other info on iodine, so maybe I'm confused. Somehow what my mind remembered about her was that she was falling sleep all day so that's why she first took iodine. I didn't even remember that she cured the breast cancer.

 

[Makrosky]

Evolutionary roots of iodine and thyroid hormones in cell-cell signaling.
Crockford SJ. Integr Comp Biol. 2009.

Abstract
In vertebrates, thyroid hormones (THs, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine) are critical cell signaling molecules. THs regulate and coordinate physiology within and between cells, tissues, and whole organisms, in addition to controlling embryonic growth and development, via dose-dependent regulatory effects on essential genes. While invertebrates and plants do not have thyroid glands, many utilize THs for development, while others store iodine as TH derivatives or TH precursor molecules (iodotyrosines)-or produce similar hormones that act in analogous ways. Such common developmental roles for iodotyrosines across kingdoms suggest that a common endocrine signaling mechanism may account for coordinated evolutionary change in all multi-cellular organisms. Here, I expand my earlier hypothesis for the role of THs in vertebrate evolution by proposing a critical evolutionary role for iodine, the essential ingredient in all iodotyrosines and THs. Iodine is known to be crucial for life in many unicellular organisms (including evolutionarily ancient cyanobacteria), in part, because it acts as a powerful antioxidant. I propose that during the last 3-4 billion years, the ease with which various iodine species become volatile, react with simple organic compounds, and catalyze biochemical reactions explains why iodine became an essential constituent of life and the Earth's atmosphere-and a potential marker for the origins of life. From an initial role as membrane antioxidant and biochemical catalyst, spontaneous coupling of iodine with tyrosine appears to have created a versatile, highly reactive and mobile molecule, which over time became integrated into the machinery of energy production, gene function, and DNA replication in mitochondria. Iodotyrosines later coupled together to form THs, the ubiquitous cell-signaling molecules used by all vertebrates. Thus, due to their evolutionary history, THs, and their derivative and precursors molecules not only became essential for communicating within and between cells, tissues and organs, and for coordinating development and whole-body physiology in vertebrates, but they can also be shared between organisms from different kingdoms.

PMID
21669854 []

So maybe what I said is not that much broscience LOL

 

[Makrosky]

There's also this funny story... so I am traveling in southamerica and I catch some kind of fungus on my feet (they were stinking like hell). I never in my life had athletes foot or fungal nails or anything on my feet. I didn't want to go to the internet and start looking for info, I just wanted a quick standard fix. I go to the pharmacy and they give me some iodine liquid, powders and a cream. Ok. I start applying them all. I thought the iodine they gave me was povidone. I would have never imagined they could give me anyother iodine form than povidone. So I apply the iodine on my feet... one day..m two days...three days... now I realize... hey... what's going on? I am so much happier. I feel so much strong... what is this? Then I have an insight moment. I take the iodine bottle and read the label. It turns out it is Lugol 2%, not povidone.

I love Iodine.

@burtlancast which iodine brand do you use? Have you seen this? Tinctures-Iodine Lab Test Results - Forensic Food Lab

 

[burtlancast]

@burtlancast which iodine brand do you use?

The potassium iodide-iodine crystals-distilled water one.

 

[Makrosky]

The potassium iodide-iodine crystals-distilled water one.

So you prepare your own one? Which ratio of I2 to KI? And where do you get them from? Sigma aldrich or something like that?

Also, have you used SSKI? On my old iodine days I found what worked best was a very small % of I2 to KI. Something like 10% I2, 90% KI.

 

[baccheion]

My understanding from reading Nathan Hatch's book is that melatonin is actually not a beneficial hormone. Yes it helps you sleep, but it helps you sleep through the "stress" pathway (i.e., not restful sleep). What we want is high GABA - this is the "pro-metabolic", "restful" sleep indicating hormone. GABA seems difficult to get high in, which is probably why I never feel rested lol.

I'm sure it also doesn't help that I am probably still high in Bromine since I haven't been mega dosing Iodine very long yet.

What increases GABA naturally at bedtime? That is, what would the body do in an ideal state?

 

[Frankdee20]

What increases GABA naturally at bedtime? That is, what would the body do in an ideal state?

Tough to do. Increase GAD or inhibit Transaminase.

 

[Captain_Coconut]

My understanding from reading Nathan Hatch's book is that melatonin is actually not a beneficial hormone. Yes it helps you sleep, but it helps you sleep through the "stress" pathway (i.e., not restful sleep). What we want is high GABA - this is the "pro-metabolic", "restful" sleep indicating hormone. GABA seems difficult to get high in, which is probably why I never feel rested lol.

I'm sure it also doesn't help that I am probably still high in Bromine since I haven't been mega dosing Iodine very long yet.

Melatonin is a cortisol antagonist, prevents lipid peroxidation (protects from PUFA), and is an aromatase inhibitor. Urinary output of melatonin inversely correlates with BMI in adults, with a very high statistical significance. Melatonin improves daytime sleepiness, meaning it makes you more alert during the day, this takes a couple weeks to kick in if you are supplementing. Melatonin stimulates growth hormone, growth hormone increases slow wave (deep) sleep... GABA also stimulates growth hormone, seems pretty clear to me that GABA and Melatonin must play well together... Melatonin is the master regulator of the circadian rhythm, it flips the switch on for the parasympathetic nervous system, it is not going to guarantee you good sleep but it will line up your body for good sleep if your body has all the other things it needs for good sleep. Generally it can be said that Melatonin lowers stress. I think Nathan and RP are in the dark (haha) when it comes to most of what they have to say on Melatonin.

 

[baccheion]

Tough to do. Increase GAD or inhibit Transaminase.

What natural secretion/mechanism increases GABA at bedtime? If melatonin achieves its effects via stress pathways, then what's the body's preferred alternative?

These studies say melatonin increases GABA:

- Melatonin in Chronic Pain Syndromes

- Analgesic, Anxiolytic and Anaesthetic Effects of Melatonin: New Potential Uses in Pediatrics

- The Efficacy of Oral Melatonin in Improving Sleep in Cancer Patients with Insomnia: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study

- Melatonin increases in vivo GABA accumulation in rat hypothalamus, cerebellum, cerebral cortex and pineal gland. - PubMed - NCBI

- Antiinflammatory Activity of Melatonin in Central Nervous System

- Modulation by melatonin of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the carp retina

 

[NathanK]

I already posted this testimonial of 2 cases of delayed sleep phase syndrome from 2011 in the same family who resolved it by ingesting Boron to detoxify fluoride from the brain.



I surmised the solution was through pineal fluoride displacement because one of my acquaintances used iodine to supplement after a pregnancy and told me she was surprised when it resolved her 12 year long delayed sleep phase disorder.

And she really did try EVERYTHING to resolve it, without success up to then.

I'm with her. I might as well try some Borax since I have some on hand. They sure seem to like it on that forum. I think my DSPD started a couple years after I returned to the states after living in Italy where they don't fluoridate the water (or they didn't when I was there).
https://www.researchgate.net/public...ep_perception_A_hypothesis-driven_pilot_study
https://www.researchgate.net/public...c_sleep_measures_in_primary_insomnia_patients

 

[Frankdee20]

GABA functionality in the Basal Ganglia