Treating Hypothyroidism with Iodine - 5 Ways to Protect from Toxicity

5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Iodine Toxicity

There’s no denying the fact that iodine has become a popular treatment method for hypothyroidism today. And rightfully so, considering that most websites discussing the topic of hypothyroidism bombard you with advertisements for the latest and greatest iodine supplements that are sure to cure your hypothyroidism.

But have you ever stopped to question the safety or legitimacy behind saturating your body with unnatural amounts of iodine?

The popularity behind the use of iodine for hypothyroidism has been largely fueled by iodine’s use, centuries ago, in the treatment of goiters. This, along with other false beliefs regarding your body’s need for iodine, has led some practitioners to recommend that you saturate yourself with iodine, because of the ridiculous belief that more is always better.

Unfortunately, the only ones who win are those selling iodine supplements because the more you use, the more money they make.

Iodine toxicity is a bigger problem than most people realize. I recently discussed some of the specific dangers of iodine toxicity related directly to thyroid function in my blog post 3 Dangers of Iodine Therapy for Hypothyroidism.

How Much Iodine Are You Getting?

Of course, there is a lot of variation from person to person with respect to the amount of iodine people consume on average per day. There are certainly some people who are truly deficient in iodine although this is quite rare today.

Seeing as how the recommendation for iodine is currently 150 mcg per day, it should be easy to understand how one can effortlessly achieve the recommended amount.

Below are a list of some common foods and their iodine content which can give you a better idea of how much iodine you are getting in your diet:

Iodine Content in Foods
Food	Serving	Iodine
Meat	3 oz.	15 mcg
Shellfish	3 oz.	21 – 37 mcg
Cod	3 oz.	99 mcg
Milk	8 oz.	58 – 116 mcg
Eggs	1 large	18 – 29 mcg
Potatoes	1 medium	60 mcg
Iodized Salt	¼ tsp.	115 mcg
Seaweed	1 oz.	18,000 mcg

Getting enough iodine in your diet is oftentimes achievable in a single meal. A single serving of fish with a potato alone can provide you more than enough iodine in a single serving. This is without the inclusion of additional sources of iodine that most people are exposed to on a daily basis such as iodized salt.

How to Protect Yourself from Iodine Toxicity

Below are some simple guidelines to help you protect yourself from the negative effects of excess iodine.

1. Avoid Iodine Supplements

To give you an idea of the potency of many iodine supplements today, most people are using 12.5 mg to 100 mg of iodine daily, which equals 80 to 650 times the recommend daily allowance.

To put that into perspective, there are some studies that demonstrate the toxic effects of even a small excess of iodine, from as little as 1 mg.

If you suspect an iodine deficiency then it’s important to use proper testing to determine this prior to diagnosing yourself based solely on assumptions. Measuring your iodine intake as well as testing your urine to determine how much iodine is being excreted is one way to measure your potential for deficiency or toxicity.

Blindly taking iodine supplements puts you at a much greater risk of iodine toxicity which can further damage your thyroid and oftentimes contributes to the development of autoimmune thyroiditis.

2. Avoid Iodized Salt

During the mid to late 1800’s iodized salt was beginning to be used to reduce the prevalence of goiters in many countries. During that time, iodine deficiency was a much bigger issue. But as you can see by simply looking at the table above, referencing the iodine content found in common foods today, iodine deficiency is not as common you as might think.

Seeing as how as little as ¼ tsp. of iodized salt provides almost your entire recommended daily allowance of iodine, it should be easy to see how the use of iodized salt can have quite the dramatic effect on your daily iodine intake.

It is also well known that hypothyroid sufferers lose sodium rapidly through their urine. Because of this, their need for salt (sodium) increases which only further compounds this problem and increases your risk of iodine toxicity.

Because of this, it is advisable to get your iodine from other dietary sources and to avoid iodized salt altogether.

3. Avoid Seaweed and Other Excessive Sources of Iodine

The idea that seaweed, kelp, and other sea vegetables are rich in thyroid and therefore must be healthy for your thyroid has led many to label iodine-rich foods like seaweed as super-foods.

But the extremely high iodine content can quickly become counter-production. Many types of seaweed provide as much as 4,500 mcg of iodine per ¼ oz., which is 30 times more than the recommended daily allowance.

4. Focus on Natural Foods that Contain Healthy Amounts of Iodine

The easiest way to avoid iodine toxicity is to simply focus on eating a naturally healthy diet that contains healthy amounts of iodine.

However, the topic of a truly healthy diet is quite complex as there are many other factors aside from iodine content that are important in overcoming hypothyroidism.

These dietary factors, along with a step by step plan on how to heal your thyroid, are discussed in detail in this Hypothyroidism Revolution Program.

5. Don’t Fall for Un-Scientific Testing

Many practitioners who support using high doses of iodine for hypothyroidism also push various tests to determine your potential for iodine deficiency, most of which have been proven to be scientifically invalid.

One such unscientific test that has gained popularity is the iodine spot test. The claim is that you can tell if you are iodine deficient by painting a spot of iodine on your skin. If it disappears quickly then this is believed to be a sign of deficiency.

However, this test holds no scientific basis. Iodine can quickly be converted into colorless iodide through its interaction with many substances.

The bottom line is, avoiding iodine supplements, iodized salt, and other foods that are abnormally high in iodine is a necessary and important step in avoiding iodine toxicity and properly regulating thyroid function. Of course there is always the possibility that you could truly be iodine deficient and if you do suspect this, then do yourself a favor and get the proper testing you need to be properly diagnosed. Blindly taking an iodine supplement, or any other supplement for that matter, is an accident waiting to happen.

3 Dangers of Iodine Therapy for Treating Hypothyroidism

3 Dangers of Iodine Therapy for Hypothyroidism

Iodine therapy has become quite popular as a “potential” solution for hypothyroidism today. Much of its popularity arises from its use in treating goiters centuries ago.

But today, could it be causing more harm than good?

It is well known that the thyroid gland requires iodine to produce thyroid hormone. But few people understand the potential dangers of iodine therapy and excessive iodine consumption.

Dangers of Excessive Iodine

Today, iodine deficiency is extremely rare even though it is still being touted as a major cause of hypothyroidism. Because of the misleading idea of iodine deficiency, the market has become flooded with iodine supplements that claim to cure hypothyroidism, which in actuality pose a greater threat to your thyroid and health than you realize.

The FDA recommends 150 mcg (micrograms) of iodine daily for healthy thyroid function. This accounts for iodine in your food, as well as any additional supplementation.

As early as the 1970’s it was determined that people in the US were getting 10 times more iodine than they needed which grossly exceeds the recommended allowance.

With so much focus on iodine’s historical role in the treatment of goiters as well as the more recent discovery of its role in the production of thyroid hormone, very little, if any, attention has been placed on the dangers associated with iodine toxicity.

Because of this, most people are completely unaware that excess iodine is also a common cause of goiters, hypothyroidism, and thyroiditis today.

History of Iodine Therapy

The use of iodine therapy for goiters had actually been documented for thousands of years prior to the discovery of the thyroid gland.

One of the first documented cases of goiter treatment goes as far back as 1600 B.C. (more than 3600 years ago) by the ancient Chinese. At that time, what they only understood as a swollen neck was treated with the use of burnt sponge, which reduced the swelling.

The fact that burnt sponge was used as a treatment for goiter continually throughout history from 1600 B.C. through the 1800’s is a testament to its effectiveness. However, the mechanism by which burnt sponge acted was entirely unknown throughout this entire period.

It wasn’t until 1820 that Dr. Jean François Condet discovered that iodine was the active ingredient in the burnt sponge remedy. It was at this time that iodine therapy first became popular.

However, in 1820 as the use of supplemental iodine began, Condet also discovered the issue of iodine toxicity and attempted to warn people of the dangers.

History Repeats Itself – When Will We Learn From Our Mistakes?

When I was young kid in school, I once questioned my history teacher as to the importance of studying history. His answer, which suited me at the time, was that studying history was important so that we don’t make the same mistakes over again.

I suppose there is truth to this in theory but unfortunately, this is rarely the case in reality.

With Condet’s discovery in 1820, the iodine “fad” began. Iodine became readily available in supplemental form and its popularity rose dramatically. People even wore small containers of iodine around their necks so that it was conveniently available when they wanted it.

But the fad didn’t last because iodine quickly gained negative publicity from its over-use and the increased incidence of iodine toxicity.

But this wasn’t the end of the iodine fad…

In 1896 Eugen Baumann discovered that the thyroid gland was rich in iodine. Shortly after this discovery, in 1910, iodine supplementation was back on the map as a very popular treatment for thyroid disorders.

Iodine Deficiency Is Not the Cause of Goiter or Hypothyroidism Today

It wasn’t until the major advancements in science in the 1940’s that scientists began to recognize that there were other factors involved in the process of hypothyroidism that iodine supplementation did not solve.

If iodine therapy was the end-all solution then it would be safe to say that the occurrence of hypothyroidism would have drastically decreased during this time. The incidence of goiter may have decreased but this was also largely due to the development of modern industrialized farming practices and the introduction of iodine into the food supply. However, the incidence of hypothyroidism was still quite prevalent.

As industrialized farming practices were improved, the majority of food was being grown in iodine rich soil and people began to consume more than enough iodine from the foods they ate.

At this point in time, it was understood that iodine deficiency alone, was not the cause of hypothyroidism or goiters. As mentioned above, in the 1970’s it was found that people were getting as much as 10 times more iodine than they needed.

Scientists then began focusing on other causes such as anti-thyroid foods as well as other very interesting concepts. One such theory was that the common day demands on the body had increased which in turn, increased the body’s need for MORE thyroid hormone. As a side note: This is an important subject that will be covered in more detail in the future.

Problems with Iodine Therapy for Hypothyroidism

We’ve already established that the recommended daily allowance of iodine is 150 micrograms. Most of the popular iodine supplements today are recommending the use of 12.5 milligrams or more. That’s 83 times the recommended daily allowance.

Many proponents of iodine therapy recommend as much as 50 milligrams to 100 milligrams of iodine daily which is 350 to 650 times the recommend daily allowance.

This is a sure way to develop iodine toxicity, which is known to be quite dangerous to your thyroid!

Danger #1 – Excessive Iodine Causes Autoimmune Thyroiditis

There is quite a bit of research showing that excessive iodine greatly increases your risk of developing autoimmune thyroiditis. Considering the prevalence of thyroiditis today, this is a topic that deserves far more attention than it currently gets.

Below are just a few of the many studies that have demonstrated this link:

Induction of autoimmune thyroiditis in chickens by dietary iodine

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/230/4723/325.abstract

These results suggest that excessive consumption of iodine in the United States may be responsible for the increased incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis.

[Spontaneous Hashimoto-like thyroiditis in cats]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9065031

Animals with excess iodide intake, however, show an aggravation of the autoimmune inflammatory activity.

Iodine and thyroid autoimmune disease in animal models.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11396701

In general, iodine deficiency attenuates, while iodine excess accelerates autoimmune thyroiditis in autoimmune prone individuals.

Danger #2 – Excessive Iodine Can Cause Hypothyroidism

Excessive iodine was once used to treat hyperthyroidism because of iodine’s ability to suppress thyroid function. However, in hypothyroid people or people with normal thyroid function, it has the same effect and can lower thyroid function far below normal. For many, this is a temporary effect that subsides after the source of excessive iodine is removed. However, there are many cases of iodine-induced hypothyroidism that continue long term.

[Hypothyroidism related to excess iodine]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12448334

WOLFF-CHAIKOFF’S EFFECT: The thyroid gland has a capacity to reduce thyroid hormone production in the presence of excess iodine by reducing the organification of the iodine.

Danger #3 – Excessive Iodine Can Cause Goiters

While many people are led to believe that iodine is the only way to treat hypothyroidism and goiters, most are unaware that excessive iodine can actually have the opposite effect and cause hypothyroidism as well as the formation of goiters.

There are a couple of common ways this occurs…

1. Excessive iodine can cause thyroid cells to divide and grow in number. This causes an overall enlargement of the gland itself. But, when this occurs your cells lose the ability to make thyroid hormone.
2. Excessive iodine can cause Iodide Myxedema. This is where there’s an accumulation of connective tissue as well as an increase in edema around the neck and thyroid. This is most commonly seen in those who suffer from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.Iodide Myxedema is also common in areas of Japan where seaweed soup is commonly consumed which can contain 80 to 200 mg of iodide.

As you can see, there are some very serious dangers associated with the use of iodine therapy for hypothyroidism. The bottom line is that today, we are posed with a far greater risk of developing iodine toxicity than we are of an iodine deficiency. And instead of falling for the latest and greatest “fad” thyroid supplement, it’s important to understand what you are putting in your body and the potential negative effects it can have on your thyroid and your health.

Caffeine , Cancer and Hypothyroidism Treatment

Caffeine and Cancer – The Truth You Can’t Deny

When I was young and naive, I use to despise coffee. Not because I believed that it had any sort of negative effects, but because of the idea of using something that I falsely believed to be nothing more than a stimulant, never sat well with me.

That was also the time when I truly believed that I was in perfect health. During this same time, my cholesterol and blood pressure started to rise and along with the emergence of a number of small and relatively subtle hypothyroidism symptoms that I chose to dismiss and ignore.

I continued to ignore coffee until I began to really study the effects of diet and the foods we eat on our human physiology. I actually started to understand how coffee affected my own physiology and that it was NOT just some sort of stimulant. It was much, much more than that. That’s when I started using it therapeutically with myself and my clients with quite amazing results.

The sheer fact that coffee alone has been shown to decrease mortality rates and increase longevity should be more than enough to convince most skeptics that there’s much more to coffee than meets the eye.

Aside from the mere fact that coffee will help you live longer, there have been a number of other recent studies on coffee showing the truly wide range of health benefits it has to offer. One such recent study was on caffeine and it’s affects on skin cancer.

Caffeine’s Effects on The Most Common Cancer

The most common cancer found today is a form of skin cancer called basal-cell carcinoma, affecting as many as 30% of people in their lifetime.

A recent study was published on the effects of caffeine on skin cancer where 112,897 people were followed over a 20 year period. Over this period of time, 22,786 people were diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma.

Increased Caffeine Intake Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Basal Cell Carcinoma of the Skin

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/72/13/3282

Our findings argue that caffeine intake in men and women is inversely associated with risk of BCC.

Caffeine intake was analyzed throughout this study with respect to diet including tea, cola, and chocolate which are also sources of dietary caffeine aside from coffee. While these other sources of caffeine did help protect against this cancer, coffee proved to provide the most significant protection, likely because of the higher caffeine content as well as the additional nutrients that coffee provides.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for all of the decaf drinkers out there, but decaf coffee did not provide the same protective benefits.

The results of this study were also backed by the results of mice studies which have demonstrated the same effects on skin cancer.

Coffee is More Than Just a Food

If you believe that skin cancer is the only form of cancer that coffee helps to protect you against, then you would be greatly mistaken. There are many other very common forms of cancer that coffee and caffeine help to protect against including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer, just to name a few.

It’s time that we stop looking at coffee as just some food and start seeing it for its true potential as an important nutrient that can help restore dysfunction and maintain the healthy function of the human body.

But it’s also important to use it correctly which most people do not. Today, most people rely on coffee just to get them through the day while ignoring the importance of their diet to their health. Coffee should be looked at and used as a supplement, and therefore play a role in supplementing an already health diet.