Taking Iodine Supplements to Improve Your Health and Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer? Is That Crazy or What?

As I’ve cast around for ways to make my family member more resistant to cancer reoccurence I’ve run across a lot of crazy claims.

The majority of them have been looked at and discarded after careful consideration because there wasn’t any real evidence to support the claims, and I simply couldn’t figure out any way that they might be true or helpful.

However, the concept of iodine supplementation gains credibility with almost every enquiry I make.

We’ve talked about convergences between today’s theories and data and Doctor Gerson’s theories and practices in previous posts – and in one of those posts we briefly touched on the convergences of iodine supplementation.

What we haven’t really talked about is the fact that the most successful cancer healers of old – the ‘Quacks’, if you want to see them that way – incorporated similar types and quantities of iodine into their remedies.

That’s interesting.

For, although the conventional medicine folk would like you to believe that there was absolutely nothing to those healers’ claims of success treating cancers, I would like to put forth this thought for your consideration.

Do you REALLY think that people are that stupid? Do you REALLY think that people would keep going to these guys – even when they were being publically accused of being ‘Quacks’ and charlatans if nobody ever got ‘cured’ or helped in any way?

I don’t.

It is my opinion that people – even desperate people – are actually quite intelligent when it comes to figuring out where to go to try to save their lives. Especially those who have decided to forsake traditional treatments or those who have been through those treatments and then cast to the side to die. Money is always tight. It does not get frittered away someplace where believable and verifiable objective evidence of cures does not exist. The treatment might not work and they might die anyway, but I’m pretty sure they see what they’re trying as a viable option or they wouldn’t be there.

So, I pay attention to what was used in these so called ‘cures’ – from a Pharmacist’s point of view – and look for convergences.

I count this convergence as significant.

Significant enough that we’ve had many discussions about it amongst ourselves in the Pharmacy – and several of us, including the most hard core non-believers, have started ourselves and our loved ones on iodine supplements.

I will remind you, these are Pharmacists who have done this. Cold, hard, non-believing, conservative Pharmacists. We know I’m crazy, but I assure you they are not.

The conversations have been prolonged and intense enough that family members became aware of them before we Pharmacists had even made up OUR minds.

In fact, I remember waking up one day to find the family member who has been having to deal with cancer sitting on the side of the bed with a piece of paper in her hand. She handed it to me and told me that she’d asked her doctor what she/he thought about this iodine and thyroid supplementation ‘stuff’ – fully expecting to have a good laugh about it. In reply to the question the physician had handed her a copy of a document that talked about the use of iodine supplementation to cure fibrocystic breast disease, and the use of iodine supplementation and dessicated thyroid to treat what is now being called Type 2 Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease.

I read that darned piece of paper – which was written by a doc for docs – multiple times.

Ultimately I found myself deciding that I’d better figure out the potential mechanisms behind these claims – and pretty darned quickly, because my family member was now hounding me for answers.

The best information I’ve found on this topic is at the website of a company that manufactures an iodine supplement called Iodoral™. That company’s name is Optimox, and their website is www.optimox.com. You can find their iodine supplementation papers at this website address – http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/opt_Research_I.shtml . These papers were written by several physicians who have dedicated vast amounts of time to researching the history of iodine’s use in general, and its use to treat diseases in particular. They use iodine every day in their practices, as far as I can tell.

Another extremely valuable resource is the book ‘Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic’ by Doctor Mark Starr. His website is http://www.21centurymed.com/.

Doctor Jerry Tennant – the founder of the Tennant Institute for Integrative Medicine – also has interesting things to say about iodine supplementation at his website (http://www.tennantinstitute.com/TIIM_MAC/Iodine.html), in his book ‘Healing is Voltage: The Handbook (Vol. 1)’, and in his ‘How To Stay Well Pamphlet’. You can buy the book on Amazon.com and you can get the pamphlet for free at http://www.tennantinstitute.com/TIIM_MAC/Patient_Forms.html.

If you’d like to hear Dr Tennant and Dr Starr explaining their thoughts on a wide range of health topics listen to the series of youtube video posts starting with this one – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtLFZUAlV0 .

To really briefly summarize my findings it seems that most people – especially women – should be taking 6.25mg-12.5mg of iodine per day. There are two ways to do this. The first is the use of Lugol’s Iodine Solution. There are two strengths – a 2% and a 5%. Both contain iodine and potassium iodide. The 2% solution contains 2.5mg of iodine per drop, and the 5% contains 6.25mg/drop. So, one drop of 5% Lugol’s in a couple of ounces of water will give you the minimum that the people who believe in iodine supplementation say you should be taking. The other method is the use of iodine supplement tablets like the Iodoral™ tablet marketed by Optimox.

I use the 2% Lugol’s solution made by the J. Crow Company ( http://www.jcrows.com/ ). One of the other pharmacists uses the 5% Lugol’s and the Optimox tablets. Another uses only the Optimox tablets. The tradeoffs are that it’s a pain in the you-know-what to have to dilute the Lugol’s every time, and it tastes like iodine while the tablets are a little more costly, contain 12.5mg of iodine per tablet, and don’t taste like iodine.

Women are claimed to need much more iodine than men because the second and third biggest consumers of iodine are a woman’s breasts and ovaries. This is why goiters are reported to be 6 times more common in women than in men. Both men and women need iodine throughout the body – not  just for the thyroid gland. The amount of iodine in table salt is nowhere near what your total body needs – at least that’s the claim of these Docs – and it appears that salt actually fights against the absorption of the iodine.

OK. I believe.

The bottom line is that I’ve witnessed and experienced verifiable objective evidence that iodine supplementation works. That’s why I’m writing about it here.

BUT – Don’t try it without asking your physician if  it’s OK. There are conditions that might be made worse by iodine. Once you get your Doc’s OK take a look at some of the articles at the Optimox site, and buy and read a copy of Dr Starr’s book. Doctor Tennant’s book is also a good one to get and take a look at – especially if you’re looking for alternative health strategies. Take a look at Dr Tennant’s pamphlet – it’s free. Then, once you understand what is claimed and what to watch out for, start your doses low and go slow when you’re adjusting your doses.

Again, I’m Crazy – so always get your physician’s approval before you try what I’m writing about on this blog. I believe in what I’m writing, but the human body is an extremely complex machine, and only someone who has the training to put hands on you and assess your physical condition is qualified to give the OK to new medications and/or regimens.

Remember – Pharmacists Pharmacist – Doctors Doctor.

15 thoughts on “Taking Iodine Supplements to Improve Your Health and Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer? Is That Crazy or What?

  1. Iodine is amazing. Met Dr. Starr and Dr. Tennant but live too far away for convenient visits. Took iodine tablets periodically then ran out and hadn’t gone in for a doctor’s visit. Started having hot flashes. It took a year for me to make the connection. I started taking iodine and the hot flashes disappeared the next day. This is a very little explored subject. Iodine sure beats hormone therapy!

  2. Fantastic article!! Just a couple of comments — Dr Starr talks about using Armour thyroid, but it was reformulated a couple of years ago and no longer works like it used to, for me and many others. What I use now is NatureThroid, which works like Armour used to, along with 25 mg of Iodoral.

    I too had been advising people to check with their doc re: iodine supplementation, until I got an email from an upset client saying his doctor became agitated at the mention of the topic and shouted that no one should ever ingest iodine in any form including dietary sources! Another wrote to me that his doctor became furious at being told the patient took Iodoral and got better, instead of following the doc’s instructions!

    Many if not most mainstream docs are totally ignorant about iodine. Now I suggest that people read all the stuff you mentioned plus Brownstein (www.drbrownstein.com), to educate themselves, see how they feel, and proceed cautiously.

    As regards choosing an iodine supplement, I like Dr Abraham’s suggestion: Ask the supplier to provide scientific studies on their product. As far as I know, only Iodoral and Lugol’s have that available.

    Dr Tennant’s book, Healing is Voltage, is one of the most brilliant health books I’ve read. It gave me some new concepts and changed my approach. It’s not easy to blow my mind after 40 years of study, but he’s done it.

    Thank you for your meticulous exposure of these ideas.

  3. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

  4. To Mrs Nancy Adams,

    I would very much like to communicate with you, but I don’t wish to do so on your blog. I do have your address (Coos Bay) and was thinking of sending you my letter in the mail. Seeing that that would take some time, is it possible for me to send you an email that will not appear on the interne. It is
    about wanting my daughter to take iodorol. PLEASE could you p
    reply as soon as possible. Thank you , Marion Winnett

  5. Ihave read parts of Tennant’s book and I can tell you as a physician, some of what I have read is not just plain wrong, it’s totally off the wall!!

  6. I really appre iate your listing Dr. Revici’s book. He seems to hhave a lot of important information-which I don’t understand since I lace a chemistry and medical background. I have a question that comes from Dr. Bownstein’s book on Iodine:. If one halogen can replace another is it possible to take enough zinc that it would displace mercury that might be accumulated in a person-especially if they have lots of fillings in their teeth? I am very curious about the possiblity.

    Thanks for coaching us.

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  10. M Ryan that may be so. But when I started experiencing hot flashes feeling like I was having outta body experiences with out of control anxiety. And have been on every type of anti anxiety depression medicine and biodentical hormones to get relief . None of it worked until iodine supplementation and I do not plan to tell my dr because some Dr simply are just closed minded . I look younger feel younger the anxiety is gone so you tell me. Our thyroids get polluted everyday from our toxic environment which makes for a thyroid that may not be operating to an optimal degree. So I agree that we do need small amounts of iodine to keep our thyroids free from chemicals.

  11. copied:

    The Myth of Iodine Deficiency: An Interview with Dr. Ray Peat

    Is iodine supplementation safe and, if not, is there a safe amount of supplemental iodine?

    Dr. Peat: “A dosage of 150 mcg (micrograms, not milligrams, e.g., ug not mg) is a safe amount of iodine. There are excellent references describing the effect of a moderate iodine excess (even below a milligram per day) on the thyroid. An iodine deficiency can cause hypothyroidism (rare now), but so can an excess. Iodine deficiency is an unusual cause of hypothyroidism, except in a few places, like the mountains of Mexico and China, and the Andes.

    “Most goiters now are from estrogen-like effects, but they used to be from iodine deficiency. Chronic excess iodine tends to cause thyroiditis, regardless of the gland’s size. The amounts used by Abraham and Flechas are much larger than this — very toxic doses, enough to cause severe thyroid problems.”

    Is the Iodine Test Kit (from Dr. Abraham) valid and does it reveal thyroid deficiency?

    “Guy Abraham and some of his followers claim that an iodine deficiency can be shown by the quick disappearance of a spot of iodine painted on the skin. The skin test of iodine deficiency is completely unscientific. Iodine is converted to colorless iodide by reductants, including vitamin C, glutathione, and thiosulphate. “G. Abraham’s Iodine Test Kit contains iodine overdose pills. The test is completely irrational. It implies that the body should be saturated with iodine.”

    Is there a rational way to determine iodine deficiency or excess?

    “It’s easy to recognize a chronic iodine deficiency, because it causes the thyroid gland to enlarge. Goiters can be caused in various ways, for example by being exposed to various goitrogens, including excess iodine, or by excessive estrogen and deficient progesterone, as well as by an iodine deficiency. “However, a chronic excess of iodine is harder to recognize, because it can produce a variety of degenerative changes. Measurement of the average daily iodine intake or excretion in the urine would be needed to confirm an excess. High iodine intake can suppress TSH, and since high TSH is pro-inflammatory, the iodine can have some protective anti-inflammatory actions, but in the long run, the thyroid suppression becomes a problem.”

    YOUR TAKE, CRAZY? I was hoping you’d look this up then email the author for her long list of scientific referenced which agree with Dr Peat. I don’t read a lot of people bragging about Peat’s method’s working. He failed to help me heal a case which he seemed confident about. I am not sure if my poor pet suffered needlessly because of him, but I think so. I would have put her down a lot sooner had he not made it seem curing her would be a piece of cake. (RIP my little friend)

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