Iodine. How and why you started taking it (surgery, research)
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I also supplement with iodine,selenium, a little zinc, vit D3, K2, Vit B complex, B12, probiotic, butter and skate fish oil. Organic/gmo free. Gluten free. Raw dairy. Grass fed/finished beef. Free range poultry. Filtered water/air. Rebound.
hellothere, someone started a thread over in supplements about iodine and I'd be interested to know about how and why you started taking it. I've gotten very interested in it since I got my breast cancer dx and wish I'd known sooner. A lot sooner.
Dr. David Brownstein has a good book on the need for Iodine. In fact he says that one can't live without it. The good news is that you only need a drop or two per day.He makes the point that almost all Americans are short on Iodine and that we should supplement.
Funny but I just cut and pasted this right out of your article:
Quote:
To make adequate amounts of iodine available for proper fetal and infant development, several national and international groups recommend that pregnant and breastfeeding women and infants take iodine supplements. In the United States and Canada, the American Thyroid Association recommends that pregnant and breastfeeding women take prenatal vitamin/mineral supplements containing iodine (150 mcg/day). However, only about half the prenatal multivitamins sold in the United States contain iodine.
Dr. Brownstein says that over 97% of Americans are deficient in iodine and it's easy to see why when so many people have cut back on salt and more people are buying non-iodized salt these days. Also, the article is a little behind when it claims that grains and bread products are fortified with iodine. That hasn't been true since 1960 when they switched from iodine to bromine as the dough conditioner of choice. Also, there are bromides in everything these days since it's in flame retardants so all your furniture, mattresses, and carpeting is full of the stuff. Bromide will displace iodine in your system so the RDA of 150 mcg is no longer sufficient and that's only ever been enough to stop a goiter. The Japanese consume about 100x more than we do and have much less problems with all cancers but esp breast, thyroid, prostate, and ovarian cancers. Oh yeah and they're living with a lot more nuclear fallout than we are.
The newest research is finding that iodine can actually help treat these cancers plus the conditions leading up to them, like fibrocystic breasts and fibroid tumors. I wouldn't be quite so passionate about this if I hadn't just found out I have BC myself and I'm really really pissed that I didn't know this before--it might be a micronutrient but we really need it and we're not getting it in our diets for the most part so now I'm on a very high dose and today I went to the oncologist, who was amazed that things weren't nearly as bad as he thought. I swear that I can see and feel a diff but that may just be wishful thinking and I'll know more when I get my surgery in 3 wks. So I guess I'm saying that your comment failed to convince me of anything and I'll stay on the I till the doc tells me to quit.
Oh, and one more thing. The reason iodine deficiency is so related to breast cancer rates, which have skyrocketed in recent years, is b/c the breasts use a lot of it and breast milk is full of it. I'd say that if a nutrient is in breast milk it must be pretty important for human development and esp of the brain and hormones and it's good to keep in mind that insulin is a hormone as well. What other illness has skyrocketed in the past years? Is it due to a deficiency or did we all just turn into a bunch of pigs overnight?
I take a kelp supplement daily, which I have done for a very long time. Kelp contains iodine. I also eat a lot of seafood, so I know that I don't need to supplement. If one doesn't eat foods from the sea, there is a good chance they are deficient.
"...certain groups of people are more likely than others to have trouble getting enough iodine:
People who do not use iodized salt...People who get marginal amounts of iodine and who also eat foods containing goitrogens, substances that interfere with the way the body uses iodine,present in some plant foods including soy, and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts..."
So if you're a health-conscious person who doesn't add salt to their food, eats soy products and little or no dairy or meat, and eats the vegetables that are the absolutely most nutritious ones, you probably need iodine supplementation.
Dxd with multinodular goiter in 06. In 2010 had a re-check with two inconclusive FNAs. Saw four/five specialists and all said to do surgery, just to see. I declined. I felt surgery should be the LAST resort. So I took matters in my own hands.
I went on several sites, Dr. B, curezone, etc and began the Iodine protocol. Was taking a considerably high amount of Iodoral. Began to detox bromide/fluoride. Felt awful for a couple of weeks but continued with the salt water - helped with palpitations.
Did my numbers recently and my thyroid is GREAT Numbers are perfect. Goiter is smaller than what it once was. I take 25 - 50 mg of Iodoral along with other supplements daily.
I 'love' things like iodine. I consider them very 'foundational'. Previously I did a 'course' of Iodoral, that was very convenient. (And I read David Brownstein's book.) Recently I wanted to start again, so I ordered some Lugol's 5% (through Amazon, Risingsun Health). I like it because of the option of applying topically. I had a little mouth/gum issue, and it cleared it right up. Then I was baking and burned my hand a bit.... again, wha-la! I like it because it 'kills shi.. stuff'! Awesome!
"...certain groups of people are more likely than others to have trouble getting enough iodine:
People who do not use iodized salt...People who get marginal amounts of iodine and who also eat foods containing goitrogens, substances that interfere with the way the body uses iodine,present in some plant foods including soy, and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts..."
So if you're a health-conscious person who doesn't add salt to their food, eats soy products and little or no dairy or meat, and eats the vegetables that are the absolutely most nutritious ones, you probably need iodine supplementation.
Or if you're the kind of person who has upholstered furniture, carpeting, mattresses, a car, eats bread and pastry products from the grocery store, or drinks tap water. Or maybe you drink Mtn Dew. That is, anything with bromide in it, which is pretty much everything. Bromide and fluoride compete for the same receptors and iodine supplementation help detox that. Until 1960 our bread and flour were supplemented with iodine, something your body needs, but then they started to use bromide and that is an endocrine disruptor. This is why Dr. B recommends supplementation.
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Numbers are perfect. Goiter is smaller than what it once was. I take 25 - 50 mg of Iodoral along with other supplements daily. 
