How to Supplement Iodine for health benefits - Side Effects
Side Effects of
Iodine Supplementation
Body warms up. I odine speeds
up metabolism, which can produce extra heat.
Iodism. Dose-related; symptoms are unpleasant brassy taste,
increased salivation, head cold, sneezing, and headache originating in the
frontal sinuses. Dr. Guy Abraham and Dr. Jorge Flechas maintain that there has
been
no iodism observed at the 12.5mg/day
dosage. Symptoms disappear spontaneously within a few days after
stopping iodine supplementation.
Bromine detoxification. If
bromine is eliminated quickly there will be symptoms such as
cloudy, sediment-filled urine, body odor, rashes and extreme fatigue .1/2 tsp. of sea salt /day in water is recommended, as the bromine will follow
the sodium out of the body, relieving symptoms more quickly. Also taking about
5g Vitamin C / day aids detoxification.
(but don't take within 2 hours of
taking iodine , or effects of iodine will be
neutralized )
Iodine Induced Hyperthyroidism (IHH) occurs predominately in
iodine -deficient
persons during the early period of
iodine
supplementation. The use
of iodine in a previously iodine-deficient
population may result in a TRANSIENT INCREASE in thyroid hormones...Studies have
shown that the increase in thyroid hormones, which could lead to hyperthyroid
symptoms (palpitations, nervousness), will gradually decrease. The possible
reason is identified in the 8th edition of Werner and
Ingbar's
The Thyroid, published in 2000: ". . . iodine
deficiency increases
thyrocyte
proliferation and mutation rates. Possible consequences are the development of
hyperfunctioning
autonomous nodules in the thyroid ... and hyperthyroidism after iodine
supplementation. Therefore, IIH is an IDD (Iodine
Deficiency Disorder )."
Iodine -induced goiter (IIG) /
hypothyroidism. When
animals or humans that are iodine deficient
are given large doses of iodine, there is a
TRANSIENT DECREASE in thyroid hormone production (approx. 26-40 hrs.) until the
body reestablishes it's equilibrium with iodine. After that, thyroid levels
adjust to normal and signs of hypothyroid do not develop.
Significant decrease in serum T4 with the
absence of significant changes in the mean values for TSH, FT3 and
FT4(following supplementation at 12.5
mg/day),could be due to
either:
(1) a decreased secretion of T4 by the thyroid gland
Or(2) lower levels of
thyroxine -binding
globulin (TBG). The synthesis of TBG occurs in the liver and this
synthesis is stimulated by estrogens
(Robbins et al, 1978)
In the female rat, iodine/iodide
deficiency increases the sensitivity of mammary tissue to
estrogens . (Eskin et al,
1967) Iodine/iodide
supplementation to these female rats in amounts
equivalent, based on body weight, to amounts of
iodine/iodide required in women with
fibrocystic breasts for subjective and
objective improvement of fibrocystic
breasts , (Ghent
et al, 1993) had an attenuating
effect on estrogen stimulation of the mammary tissue in
those female rats, decreasing their response to estrogens .
Therefore, the decreased T4 levels following iodine
supplementation could be due to a similar mechanism on
hepatic synthesis of TBG, by decreasing the
sensitivit y
of hepatic receptors to estrogens, resulting in decreased
synthesis and release of TBG by the liver and decreased T4
levels.
Iodine Allergy. Includes a rash, fatigue,
congestion, headache and a fever. One person reported online that he was
"violently allergic to iodine taken
internally (rashes, swelling and, finally, hemorrhaging) but, so far,
after using it on the skin for upwards
of two years, no reactions whatsoever have appeared ". Dr
Brownstein reports that an allergy to in organic
iodine/iodide (Lugol's or Iodoral) is rare.
Dr. Brownstein's book - Iodine: Why
You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without it .Dr. Jorge Flechas reports that < ½% of the population is
iodine sensitive.
Iodine
and
Vitamin D Connection
There seems to be a connection between bringing
sufficient iodine to a
bromine-plugged thyroid, and the vitamin
D metabolism of the body. The
calcitonin/parathyroid
hormone/Vitamin D /calcium
balance in the body changes as people on iodine-loading programs
often register as vitamin D deficient when they did not previously.
When people are given calcitonin as part of an osteoporosis program
one of the side effects mentioned is a "flushing sensation of the
skin".
Dr. Brice Vickery relates, "I have had two
iodine- loading , high bromine
patients who during the lowering of their bromine levels registered
as iodine deficient and mentioned
"a sunburn flushed feeling on the skin of their faces, arms and
back" This flushing disappeared with
vitamin D3 supplementation at 2000 IU daily for a limited
period of time".
Thyroid cancer is NOT a likely side-effect
of iodine supplementation
Dr. David Brownstein states, "There have been some reports
in the literature that iodine supplementation
can be associated with an increased incidence of thyroid papillary cancer. If
iodine usage were the cause of thyroid cancer, then falling
iodine levels would be expected to lead to
lowered thyroid cancer levels. However, this has not been the case.
During the last several decades, when iodine levels have DECLINED, the incidence
of thyroid cancer has markedly INCREASED" . (Dr. Brownstein's book -
Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without it).
References Eskin B., Bartuska D., Dunn M., Jacob G., Dratman M. (1967) Mammary Gland
Dysplasia in Iodine Deficiency, JAMA, 200:115-119.
Ghent, W., Eskin,
B., Low, D., Hill, L.(1993) Iodine Replacement in Fibrocystic Disease of the
Breast, Can. J. Surg., 36:453-460.
Robbins J et al (1978) Thyroxine transport
proteins of plasma: molecular properties and biosynthesis, Recent
Prog Horm Res.