Iodine
Health Benefits

Benefits of Iodine for Health

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Heavy Metals
Posted by Mary Louise (Sunshine Coast, Queensland Australia) on 01/04/2010
★★★☆☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

What I tried was iodine and firstly looked up google to find out whether there was a connection between liquid iodine and the removal of heavy metals, and guess what, there is!!!

SO, after taking 3 drops of iodine in a glass of purified water with a half a teaspoon of vitamin C powder, I found that I was getting a bunch of pain in my gums where I had mercury fillings removed. What astounded me was that the dentist and I could not identify which tooth was suffering the pain. After taking an x-ray, it was found that 3 teeth in the upper right quadrant were very deep, yet nothing that indicated any serious problem that may be causing me all the pain I was feeling. What I believe was happening is that after 6 weeks of taking the iodine and Vit C powder, that residue (if this is the right word to use, someone out there maybe help me on this one), was being removed out of my gums! After 5 days of pain wavering in and out, it completely went and there is now no more pain. Does anyone have any suggestions of what else may have been happening or who may support this experience/theory? I would be interested in hearing your points of view.

EC: Hi Mary Louise,

A few follow-up questions for you:

Are you taking Lugol's iodine or another type of iodine?
What kind of Vitamin C powder is it, Ascorbic Acid?
How much vitamin C are you getting in that 1/2 teaspoon of powder?

Thanks!

Arrhythmia
Posted by Lon (Stanhope, Nj) on 01/23/2011

I respect your opinion, after reading many of your posts. Do you (or anyone else), have any info about terms regarding iodine, such as nascent, atomic or atomidine. I have chronic lymphocitic leukemia. These have been suggested by two sources on the web. What is the difference between these and Lugol's, or are they the same.


Arrhythmia
Posted by Erwin (Az) on 01/24/2018

I've been struggling with heart flutters, or irregular heartbeat every time I exercise. Are you still currently taking iodine for your arrhythmia's? If so, are you taking Lugol's Iodine? Which one? 5%, 2%. And lastly how much did you start off with. I assume with one and work your way up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Kelp
Posted by Connie (Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA) on 08/15/2009
★★★★★

How bad is glutamic acid in nori? When the glutamic acid isn't added, but is simply a part of the food, is it equally as harmful? Nori is mysteriously delicious....

EC: Excerpt from a NYTimes Dining & Wine article: "Professor Kirshenbaum responded that nori contains a high concentration of glutamic acid and inosinate, two molecules that create umami flavor. And since two ingredients rich in umami flavor used together can produce a synergistic effect, cheese and truffles, which are often good sources themselves, may not be such odd partners for nori after all." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09nori.html

More about Glutamic Acid, a flavor enhancer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid
Abstract entitled: "Health benefits and nutritional properties of nori" http://www.springerlink.com/content/h15t30048j0r0447/


Thyroid Issues
Posted by Chris (San Pedro, Ca) on 05/31/2009

iodium & iodine r the same thing, it was probably a Rx, so it might have been a brand name.......iodine does get stored & reused by ur thyroid, but illness, stress, heavy sweating & other things cause u to get low in it again.......one month is not enough time to know for sure.......

radioactive iodine destroys the thyroid......also, u can be hypo thyroid & exhibit, even in blood tests, signs of over hyper active thyroid........i think u might b screwed, the thyroid doesn't grow back......i would look into more natural thyroid supplements, like amour thyroid.......i have heard of others getting their thyroid damaged for idiot dr's........ there's a good book by: Dr. Broda Barnes, M.D.....called Hypothyroidism, the hidden illness.......u might b surprised...... the iodine supplement might help, if the radioactive stuff didn't kill the whole thing & i think i'd sue the dr who gave it to me, without telling me what it was & the consequences of taking it..........it's unfortunate that alot of people think dr's walk on water....


Where to Buy: Philippines
Posted by Bill Jencks (San Fernando, La Union, Philippines) on 04/17/2009

Many thanks for all the info on the different types of iodine, very much appreciated. I live in the Philippines now, and I've been looking for a safe source of iodine intake for a variation in alkalizing the gut(I already alkalize with lemon + sodium bicarb + water). Since much of the well-water in the Philippines isn't safe for white men to drink(but Filipinos seem drink it without problems), I also want to use iodine for killing the bacteria etc in the well-water as well as well as deal successfully with all the fungus and yeasts that continually assault our own bodies every day.

I can't buy Lugol's in the Philippines, but I can buy the 2% iodine tincture and the Povidone(Oral wash) iodine. Many thanks for the thorough descriptions of how to use these different forms of iodine orally.

Just one question which might interest Ted.

Have you ever looked at the anti-cancer properties of Graviola(Brazilian Paw-Paw or Sousop - Annona muricata)? This plant has quite a history. About 10 or more years ago this plant was researched by a large pharma company. What they found was that the plant extract killed just cancer cells outright in large numbers - up to 12 different forms of cancer - because it destroyed the cancer cells anaerobic ATP pump(energy source) and caused apoptosis - but left normal human cells alone. For seven years this pharma company tried to synthesise the main two cancer-killing chemicals - unsuccessfully. This pharma company kept graviola's cancer-curing properties a secret and told no one, but one of their biochemists left the company and informed a natural health institute in the US. Purdue University picked it up and are running with it now. It appears, much as Ted has inferred, that the anti-cancer attributes(and other properties) of graviola are due to synergistic chemical combinations and actions of this plant. Apparently this plant also kills bacteria, fungi, worms, parasites, viruses - but care has to be taken replacing the good bacteria in the gut if you take this herb. Normally taken as a tea just made from the leaves and stems of the graviola. I only mention this plant because there is a graviola tree growing about 30 feet away from my house in the Philippines. Worth a look.

http://www.cancerplants.com/medicinal_plants/annona_muricata.html

This site is packed with such useful information and its all relatively simple and cheap. Many thanks to Ted for all his minute detailed descriptions and to all other contributors as well.


Where to Buy: Worldwide
Posted by Stella (Racine, Wisconsin) on 02/07/2009
★★★★★

Lugol's purchase: If you are searching high and low for actual Lugol's iodine. Call you nearest Aquatics Store. I found it

Removing Iodine Stains
Posted by Crystal (Hot Springs, AR) on 01/31/2009
★★★★★

To remove iodine stain make a paste of vitamin c (ascorbate acid) power and water and it will remove the stain on anything.

Where to Buy: USA
Posted by Calaska (Lenoir City, Tn) on 06/26/2016

When I first started taking iodine..nascent iodine is much better than Lugols or painting with iodine...do some research on this..I started out 2 drops a day in small amount of water in the morning.. I felt little difference, so I bumped my dose up to 6 drops a day and noticed a big energy increase..but also hurt literally everywhere and was exhausted in evening! It finally subsided and I realized after research that I was detoxing and dumping harmful bromine. So don't stop, just cut back dose if this happens, then increase SLOWLY.

I take 5 drops in a.m. on empty stomach and again in early afternoon and feel fantastic and lost 4 pounds so far. You are right about feeling fidgity and increased heartrate and throat fullness at first. It's the thyroid gland displacing bromine and uptaking iodine..all good..just go slow if discomfort is too much. Iodine is something 80% of us are deficient in. It's like waking up and living when you get levels up!


Bruises, Bumps, Scrapes
Posted by Anne (Lithgow, Australia) on 08/10/2008
★★★★★

We had a product called FORNEX in Australia when I was a kid (now48). Mum used it on bumps and scrapes and we never had a bruise let alone a mark where the bump was. This clear iodine solution was put onto a cotton wool ball and dabbed on bump. I am now trying to find another product of clear iodine solution for my daughter to use on her son who i just starting to walk.


Iodine Interactions
Posted by Fred (Atlanta, Georgia) on 01/23/2008
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

Sinus Infection Remedies - Danger!!! A MSDS sheet for Betadine stated the following: "Reactivity - A mixture of equal parts of a 10% povidone iodine solution (Betadine) and hydrogen peroxide 3% exploded about 100 minutes after mixing." Folks, this is the normal Betadine and hydrogen peroxide that you buy in the store! I was actually considering putting a few drops of these in some salt water and using it in an atomizing spray bottle (these are normally called "non-drip."). Not any more! On the other hand, after all of their warninings, I like the few drops of Betadine in a spray bottle of salt water, it works great! Betadine is one of the few things that kills viruses, it is stable in storage and and has a residual effect. To be on the safe side I will be keeping an eye out for possible iodine toxicity.

Another website states "REMEMBER: Betadine and tincture of iodine are not the same thing. Tincture of iodine is NOT safe to use. Tincture of Iodine is poisonous! Never use tincture of iodine when piercing skin. It dangerously inflames mucus membranes and if put on a wound or piercing it can result in a toxic level of iodine absorption." Therefore, I think I'll stick with the Betadine. http://www.phlebotomypages.com/iodine.htm


Iodine Interactions
Posted by Donna (Aspen, CO) on 10/17/2007
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

I took one tablet of Iodoral (iodine supplement) a day for a year, my blood calcium and alkaline phosphatase levels rose to above normal. A year later my blood test results were even higher, so the doctor gave me a PTH (parathyroid--which sits right next to the thyroid) blood test, and it was very high. As the only thing that I had changed in my life was taking Iodoral, I quit taking it, and 3 months later all my tests were back to normal. The parathyroid's job is to take calcium out of your bones and give it to the brain, but too much in your blood can mean heart attacks, strokes, and osteoporosis. There really aren't any symptoms of an over active parathyroid until it's very bad...feeling cold all the time, brain fog, are two. If you've been supplementing with Iodoral or iodine I suggest you get your blood calcium level tested, then alkaline phosphatase, then PTH (which is expensive, so save that for last).


Where to Buy: USA
Posted by Jackie (Grand Rapids, Minnesota) on 07/15/2007
★★★★★

thanks for mentioning the jcrows.com site to purchase lugols soln. i just ordered a small bottle. There will be government regulations starting next month relating to iodine products,posted on their website, because they are used to produce methamphetamine, but we will still be able to buy it in small amounts for health purposes. i am so sensitive to cold. My hands and feet are always cold. I feel really chilled when it's 60 degrees outside when other people aren't bothered. I love this site. In a short time, i've started oil pulling, altho i might try an alternative remedy because i have metal fillings, acv, and molasses. i'm feelng and looking better. i forgot to mention i'm taking MSM and have noticed my carpal tunnel pain almost gone. thanks again


Nail Fungus
Posted by Laurie (East Meadow, New York) on 04/25/2007
★★★★★

decolorized iodine has cured a fungus I Had under my nails. It works wonders, but it is very hard to find


Pregnancy
Posted by Sherry (NA, Pennsylvania) on 03/17/2007
★★★★★

Iodine and Pregnancy: Hey all, I listen to a show on gcnlive.com called the Power Hour 8am to 11am EST, they have extremely good health shows.. And I have heard two in the past year and a half on Iodine.. This past friday was one, and the doctor on there said that iodine is extremely good for pregnant woman and babies.. He said it will increase their intelligence up to two years old.. My son is 11 and I give him 12.5 mg of Iadorol and I take 50mg a day..He said your body will get rid of what it doesn't use. Also painting it on the skin will only absorb 7% he said.. He said the japanese are the healthiest people in the world and one reason is they get 13.something .5 or .8 a day.. also potassium is very important and magnesium. But he said that the iodine has been proven to make a baby be born more intelligent. And we are extremely deficient in iodine in the States.. You can get the potassium from Black Strap Molasses.. I tried the ACV for weight loss and started gaining so I changed to 1/2 c. ACV 1 TBSP. Black Strap Molasses and 1 TBSP. Cayenne (store bought) Pepper and I weighed 149 when I woke up which is normal then when I ate gained my usual 2lbs.. but then as soon as I started drinking the ACV concoction (it was my second day) I went back to 149. Was really exciting.. Plus it gives me energy.. So I mix it in a one quart jar of water and throughout the day keep pouring it in a 4 oz. glass with a straw and sip it whenever I feel low on energy or just want some.. and I just keep mixing it up when I run out.. I am excited to see if I lose weight tomorrow morning.. Just thought I would pass these along.. Wish I would've known about iodine when I was pregnant with my son.. He has comprehension problems and that may be one cause. (you can get Iosol or Lugol's and it's in liquid form iodine the Iadorol is pill form and easier to take..) I hope this helps !!! Sherry :) P.S. Disclaimer I don't give medical advice this is just for your informational purposes.. As the power hour also disclaims..:)


Thyroid Issues
Posted by Hisjewel (America, New York) on 04/03/2017

Hi Bill or Someone in the know,

I have thyroid and iodine questions. What are Anti thyroid antibodies? and is it okay to take iodine if you are hypothyroid? can you take iodine if you are hyperthyroid? What does thyroid antibodies have to do with taking iodine.

I successfully use a few drops of 5% Lugol's Iodine in water several days a week. I also rub it on my throat if I feel a sore throat coming on and it chases the soreness away. I have been doing these for at least two years now and have had no known problems.

I do not want to overdo a good thing so I was checking Spirulina's iodine content, and one site said iodine should not be taken if you have anti-thyroid antibodies.

The plan is to get well and stay well without making myself sick.

Thank you in advance,

HisJewel


General Feedback
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 12/06/2006 391 posts

The most direct method of testing almost any deficiency is usually done via the urine as it detects early signs of the deficiency. By the time it shows up in the thyroid it is often too late.

This is also true of sugar: high blood sugar is too late, you have been diabetic too long. In fact I can even predict kidney stones a year before it happens: cloudy urine. Or I can predict 6 months in advanced that you will have a blood clot, leading to heart attack or a paralysis if the clot goes into the brain. Prepare a blood and view them with a cheap microscope.

If the red blood sticks to each other you have good chances of having a stroke, a blood clot, which can lead to a heart attack. I am finding a way to determine the "stickiness" of urine without such invasive technique. The budget don't require millions to find out, it only requres a couple of hundred dollars where most of the money is actually spent on the microscope!

But the use of scientific iodine detection is just really beating around the bush. You only need to know the optimum iodine intake free from political and medical monopoly bottleneck. If we just looked back where such bottleneck did not exist by going back long ago, here is an excerpt: http://optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-12/IOD_12.htm

"As far back as 100 years ago, U.S. physicians used Lugol solution extensively in their practice for many medical conditions (1). In 1932, physician B.N. Cohn (7) wrote: "…the widespread use of compound solution of iodine, U.S.P., (For the reader’s information, that is Lugol solution) is the result of a paper by Plummer and Boothby, published in that year (1923). Since then compound solution of iodine has been used by nearly every clinician ..."

Lugol solution was called then Liquor Iodi Compositus, (that is Latin for compound solution of iodine). Marine in 1923 (8) used a daily average of 9 mg iodide in the prevention of goiter in adolescent girls, an amount 60 times the current RDA for iodine. In Marine’s study, the prevalence of goiter decreased 100 fold compared to a control group following 2 ½ years of supplementation....

"First is the notion that the optimal daily iodine intake for humans is around 13.8 mg per day, which is about 90 times the RDA and more than 13 times the "safe upper limit" of 1 mg per day established by the World Health Organization."

We lie ourselves that this is the age of political correctness, it just an euphemism for supporting further medical deadlock on the health care system.

So when in doubt paint! And if you get do get hyper, or you get acne then just give the body a rest period you will know. Most of the bad symptoms officially listed are not that bad, they just ignore the obvious symptoms! The body must process the iodine to properly absorb them so one day apply, two day rest or you can apply alternate days is also a possibility.

Whatever happens, the optimum intake of iodine you can easily is something we are far off and away.

In case you worry about iodine poisoning. The antidote for iodine overdose is easy: chocolate or cocoa. It is high in bromine and it displaces iodine when the need comes. For some reason or another Russian scientist found that giving iodine and bromine will prevent and overdose and allows the body to better utilized them and did a study on school children.

One cruel joke is that bread are currently using the bromine process where the entire iodine process of bread making is removed. So what we have here is a runaway iodine deficiency to those that eat wheat, white flour and bread. Perhaps, to be safe anyway, they are best avoided because of these food is often acid forming.

Other authoritative websites don't tell you the antidote for iodine poisoning amazingly enough. However, the information can be easily found from any standard medical research journals if you really look them up either the local library or the internet. If you want medical profession to come clean, they will when everyone knows about it and hence, you need to know more than your doctors.

So the issue of whether the color stays on the skin is irrelevant if the purpose for you is to get a cure. I can tell you people after applying iodine can stay on their skin for days and I live in the tropics where weather throughout the year exceeds 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Even if it was proven to be true or not, you still are sick. So don't get side-track on the issue, it is something that these professions loved to do and it means spending even more money without a cure in sight.

General Feedback
Posted by Dan (Largo, FL) on 09/16/2006
★★★★★

For a really insightful viewpoint on iodine, check out this lecture by Dr. David Brownstein (http://www.internetwks.com/clips/bsBCancer.rm) about iodine and its deficiency relationship to Breast Cancer. Note he also suspects an unproven relationship between an iodine deficiency and Prostate Cancer.

He mentions that the Japanese diet includes 14mg per day of iodine on the average (coastal Japanese ingest even more.) The US RDA is 150 ugs (micro grams) per day -- about 100 times less than the Japanese eat -- and the recommended upper level for iodine is no more than 1.1 mg/day, and they estimate the average requirement to be 95 micrograms per day or about 150 times less than the Japanese consume.

The 125mg Kelp tablets that I have from Vitamin Shoppe, have 225 ugs of iodine in them. Thus, to get to the Japanese level of Iodine (14 mg/day), I would have to take 62 of these tablets a day! Dr. Brownstein also states that iodine is stored in the thyroid which requires 6 mg/day and is also stored in a women's breasts and required for proper breast development. The breasts require 5 mg/day for a 110 lb woman.

And catch this... Breast cancer researchers have to starve test animals of iodine in order to be able to induce breast cancer in any significant number of them. Hmmm...

Another 2 mg/day of iodine is required by the adrenals, hypothalamus, pituitary, and other organs. Therefore, the total required iodine for a woman is 5 6 2 = 13 mg/day. The RDA is 150 ugs per day, so a woman would have to take 86 times as much as this to achieve the 13 mg/day needed by her body, and even more if she had a larger body or bigger breasts. A man has smaller breasts and his prostate requires somewhat less iodine than a woman's breasts. However, a man's body is generally larger than 110 lbs, so this would have to be factored into the total requirements for a man.

Dr. Brownstein states, "Over the last 30 years, iodine levels have fallen over 50% in the United States. Breast cancer rates have risen dramatically. Thyroid illness from hypothyroidism, autoimmune including Grave's and Hashimoto's, as well as thyroid cancer has risen dramatically."

Since the Japanese have so much iodine in their bodies (they're ingesting 100X our 150 ug RDA of iodine), and iodine is essential for dealing with radiation exposure, it makes me wonder what might happen happen if there were a mishap involving massive radiation exposure in a country such as ours where the iodine level is so pathetically low.

And this may well be an important consideration, as cancer rates have been shown to rise after radiation has been released into the atmosphere, which apparently happened quite a bit with the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons in Iraq in 2003. Background radiation levels were measured at many times normal in England (click this link - http://www.llrc.org/aldermastrept.pdf - and check the graphs) just a few days after the fighting started in Iraq. Cancer rates in Iraq in 2001 were about 10X what they were before Desert Storm where much less DU was used than in 2003. The big problem is that the effects are global (see: http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2006/DU-Europe-Moret26feb06.htm). So, the problem for us is that the DU rounds burn up or pulverize and tend to stay in the atmosphere, allowing the "aerosol of sub micron" size to enter the slip-stream and come back to America to bite us all.

Therefore, we all need to be aware of any nutritional and purification techniques which will handle radiation.

I've just upped my iodine intake to 1.35 mg/day (6 kelp tablets of 225 ug each) and I feel warmer already (maybe this will help me burn off my excess fat even faster.)


Dewormer
Posted by Kim tindol (Godley, TX) on 02/01/2022

Does anyone know what the other remedy might be?


Fibrocystic Breast Disease
Posted by Jean (London, England) on 01/11/2006
★★★★★

I can confirm that iodine in the form of kelp is a cure for fibroystic breast disease. I have been taking it for about 10 years and it works so well that if I don't take it for a few days, say if I run out of tablets or forget to take them on holiday, my symptoms return within days. I have read that taking iodine can be dangerous if you have thyroid problems, but I don't see how the dose I take (1 tablet a day or 150mg) can be a problem. The side effects caused by conventional medicine e.g. diuretics, can be much worse, so I was determined to find a natural remedy. I think this use of iodine/kelp should be more widely known, but there seems to be a curious silence about it. Maybe it is too cheap and readily available as you suggest in your article! Keep up the good work.


Iodine Interactions
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) 391 posts
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

Sometimes kelp is often improperly processed and has high heavy metals and/or contaminants. This is a well known fact that supplements also have fillers added. In that case, your next best choice is just use iodine foot painting or eat some seaweed. I never seem to have problems with eating seaweeds often sold in supermarkets. I guess they have better manufacturing standards as the market is much larger than those that take kelp supplements.



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