What's the big deal about iodine?

The most electron-rich element required by the animal kingdom

“Supplementing with high dose iodine may be the safest, simplest, most effective, and least expensive way to solve the healthcare crisis crippling our nation.”

- Dr. Guy Abraham, M.D.

(Endocrinologist, Author, Dedicated researcher of the benefits of iodine supplementation)

This “medicine” has been around for well over a century

“When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of potassium iodide was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and it did something good”

- Nobel Laureate Albert Szent Gyorgyi M.D.

(Discovered vitamin C in 1928)

. . . Remembered by medical students with the following phrase (where K and I refers to potassium iodide):

“If ye don't know where, what, and why, prescribe ye then K and I”

Iodine is possibly the best solution to prevent cancer of the breast, uterus, ovaries, endometrium, prostate and other organs having high iodine presence.    However,  people who supplement also report needing less thyroid medication, weight loss, and improved energy, mood and mental clarity.

Stadel B, Dietary iodine and risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer, The Lancet, 1976

Iodine Health Benefits

Iodine deficiency is common, due to several dietary and environmental factors in our changing world

However, the major culprit is our current high-level exposure to iodine's halide antagonists chlorine, fluorine and bromine.

Iodine deficiency - Common and affects more than just thyroid

Halogen Invasion

Iodine at work in the body

Government RDAs for iodine are sufficient to ensure thyroid function, but do not recognize the body's many important extrathyroidal need

Iodine is present and essential in EVERY organ and tissue of the human body,  not just the thyroid gland.   The thyroid is an organ unique to vertebrates, that combines iodine with the amino acid tyrosine to make the important thyroid hormones  (T3 and T4), critical for cellular metabolism rate and protein synthesis and growth. Unfortunately, more recent attention has focused only on iodine's benefit for thyroid disorders, but its historical use as a panacea against other ailments has been neglected (using higher iodine supplementation levels than are needed to deal with just thyroid problems).

Iodine is useful in the following roles:

Iodine Health Functions

Different tissues concentrate different forms of iodine

Drs. Abraham and Brown have experienced better results from iodine supplementation by using a combination of both iodine and iodide

My clinical experience has proven, beyond a doubt, that a combination of IODINE/IODIDE (E.g. Lugol's or Iodoral) is much more effective than an iodide only supplement (E.g. SSKI and most other liquid iodide formulations)".

- David Brownstein, MD

From his book, "Iodine, Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It"

Different forms of iodine

Iodine and pregnancy

Iodine is the only compound of significance during early pregnancy which can pass rapidly through all tissues of the fetus without the aid of any blood vessel or lymphatic transport.    It could be that not only does iodine control natural cell death (apoptosis) in the fetus but may also influence stem cell development.