Replied by Bill (San Fernando, Philippines) on 02/01/2012
Hi Sue... Taking Lugol's Iodine every day will certainly benefit the thyroid. Current research by The Iodine Project(IP) would seem to prove this to be true.
There is a defintie procedure that is advised for problems suxch as Hypothyroidism, Fibrocystic Breast Disease, Uterine Fibroids, Uterine Cancer, Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer (the Lugol's Iodine dosage is much higher for cancers) by Dr Abraham from the IP to get the stores of iodine back up to normal levels in the body(not just the thyroid). This procdure is defined as a daily protocol here
50 mg Lugol's Iodine or Iodoral minimum taken orally with water (you may start with 12. 5 mg).
Vitamin C - 3, 000 mg per day (more may be necessary to detox bromide)
300-600 mg magnesium oxide (Iodine Investigation Project participants prefer magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate.
200 mcg Selenium. The selenomethionine version is preferred by many
500 mg niacin (B3) twice a day (NOT niacinamide). Start lower to avoid flush.
100 mg Vitamin B2(Riboflavin) three times a day..
A comprehensive vitamin and nutrition program.
(Feb 2008) Dr. Guy Abraham cautions that "excess calcium supplementation (2, 000-3, 000 md/day) has been the most common cause of poor response to iodine supplementation. " Vitamin Research News Vol. 22. Number 2.
Dr Brownstein states that using higher dosages of Lugol's Iodine(LI) helps to achieve a cure more quickly than lower doses. If you take a daily dose of 5% LI consisting of 2 drops a day then a person with fibrocysitic breast disease will heal in one year. If a dosage of 50 mgs of per day is taken, then this problem will heal in about three months. So taking higher dosages of Lugol's Iodine orally does speed up the healing process. Please also note that excess calcium in the diet tends to block iodine absorption and uptake in the body, including the thyroid. So best to cut right down on all dairy products in the diet while you are on this protocol. Also note that taking niacin may cause a sudden "flusing and blushing" effect for about 20 mins. This effect is completely normal and should lessen as your stores of B3 become normal again.
Also you should understand that a drop of 2% Lugol's Iodine contains a much lower amount of iodine than a drop of 5% Lugol's Iodine solution. To achieve a 50 mgs dose of 5% Lugol's Iodine would require 8 drops in water a day. To achieve the same 50 mgs daily dose of iodine with 2% Lugol's Iodine would require 2. 5 times more drops or 20 drops a day. To understand this -- See this link.
I am not hypothyroid but I suffered from low thyroid -- brain fog, low energy etc -- when I had candida. Taking Lugol's Iodine changed all that and I still take it every day because Iodine is so heavily lacking in all western diets today. Lugol's Iodine has many more benefits on the body as well.
References
Standard Lugol's Iodine Protocol(The Iodine Project)
Optimox Iodine Research(The Iodine Project)
Mark Sircus's IMVA Website