Dont Take Iodine!

Medical Iodophobia
Medical iodophobia is the unwarranted
fear of using and recommending
inorganic, non-radioactive iodine/iodide
within the range known from the
collective experience of three generations
of clinicians to be the safest and most
effective amounts for treating symptoms
and signs of iodine/iodide deficiency
(12.5-50mg/day).
Dr. G. Abraham, 2004

Edgar Cayce
There are only four elements in the body:
water, salt, soda and iodine.

If we have adequate amounts of these four

elements in balance, the body is fully capable of
creating all other elements in the universe.

Thyroid Nodules and Iodine

Both benign and malignant thyroid
nodules have significantly less iodine than
normal thyroid tissue
Benign thyroid nodules contain 56% of the iodine content as
compared to normal thyroid tissue
Malignant thyroid nodules contain 3% of the iodine content
as compared to normal thyroid tissue

Analyst. March 1995, Vol. 12

Periodic Table

Periodic Table

History of Iodine
Discovered in 1811
First used by Dr. William Prout (1816) in
London
for a patient with goiter

J. Royal Soc. Of Med.

History of Iodine
In 1820, Coindet (Geneva) reported efficacy
in treating goiter
Recommended iodine preoperatively to diminish
goiter size and vascularity
He encountered stiff opposition with opponents
claiming iodine was poisonous
Coindet would not leave his house for fear of being
stoned in the street!

J. Royal Soc. Of Med.

History of Iodine
Birth of western medicine
Boussingault (1824) observed that goiter did
not occur at many silver mining sites
The use of iodine for treating goiter was the
first time that a single item (iodine) was used
to treat a specific illness (goiter)

RDA for Iodine

Life Stage

RDA

Adult Male

150g/d

Adult Female

150g/d

Pregnancy

220g/d

Lactation

290g/d

 1971-2000 NHANES
showed iodine levels
declined 50% in the
United States

Urinary iodine levels g/dl

National Health and Nutrition

Survey

1970

2000

CDC

National Health and Nutrition

Survey
1971-2000 NHANES showed iodine levels
declined 50% in the United States
During this time, increased incidence of:
Thyroid illnesses (hypo, autoimmune,
cancer)
Cancers of the breast, prostate,
endometrium and ovaries

All of the above conditions can be caused

by iodine deficiency.

National Health and Nutrition

Survey
(2)

The proportion of the U.S. population

with moderate to severe iodine deficiency
(<50ug/L in urine) has increased over
300% in the last 40 years

NHANES I (1970):
NHANES 3 (1990):
NHANES 4 (2005):
NHANES 5 (2006):

2.6%
11.7%
9.8%
8.8%
NHANES CDC

Thyroid 2011. Vol. 21. N. 4. 201

Severe Iodine Deficiency in

U.S. From 1970-2006
14.00%
% Population Severely Iodine Deficient
12.00%
10.00%

8.00%
6.00%
4.00%
2.00%
0.00%

1970

1990

2005

2006

2011???

NHANES CDC
Thyroid 2011. Vol. 21. Number 4, 2011

More than
70% of women
with access to
dietary iodine
may remain at
risk for
unrecognized
iodine
deficiency
during
pregnancy.

FP News.
11.13.08

Pregnancy and Iodine

16.8% of U.S. women of childbearing age
had urinary iodine concentrations
<50g/L (2005)
11.5% of pregnant U.S. women had
urinary iodine concentrations <50g/L
(2008)
35.8% had urinary iodine concentrations
This is a recipe for disaster for our country!!!
<100ug/L
5.2% had urinary iodine concentrations
<20ug/L

Thyroid 15:692-9. 2005

Thyroid. Vol. 21. N. 4, 2011.

The Importance of Ensuring

Optimal Prenatal Iodine Intake
(1)

Three groups of children

Group 1: Supplemented with KI (200ug/day) at 4-6
weeks gestational age.
Group 2: Supplemented with KI (200ug/day)at 1214 weeks gestational age
Group 3: No iodine supplementation during
gestation. Supplemented with 200ug/day after
delivery
All groups supplemented with KI until end of lactation.

All children given a neurocognitive evaluation at 18 months

of age
Thyroid.Vol. 19. N. 5. 2009. 511-519

The Importance of Ensuring

Optimal Prenatal Iodine Intake

Percentile of FT4 at term

(2)

Thyroid.Vol. 19. N. 5. 2009. 511-519

The Importance of Ensuring

Optimal Prenatal Iodine Intake

Percentile of FT4 at term

(2)

Thyroid.Vol. 19. N. 5. 2009. 511-519

The Importance of Ensuring

Optimal Prenatal Iodine Intake

Percentile of FT4 at term

(2)

Thyroid.Vol. 19. N. 5. 2009. 511-519

Mean IQ

I
Q

Delayed neurobehavioral performance was observed in 36% of children in

group 3 and 25% of children in group 2 and none in group 1. A delay in
6-10 weeks in iodine supplementation of hypothyroxinemic mothers at the
beginning of gestation increases the risk of neurodevelopmental delay in
the progeny.
Thyroid.Vol. 19. N. 5. 2009. 511-519

Iodine and IQ
Meta-analysis of 18 studies
Children and adolescents
Found iodine deficiency associated with a
13.5 point lower IQ score in children and
adolescents

In Stanbury, JB (ed). The Damaged Brain of Iodine Deficiency. N.Y. 1994pp. 195-2000

Iodine and Immunity

Iodine:
Has been shown to increase the movement of
granulocytes into areas of inflammation
Improves the phagocytosis of bacteria by
granuloyctes
Improves ability of granulocytes to kill bacteria

Iodine has a major physiologic role in the inflammatory

process

Med Hyppothesis. 1988;25:125-9

Iodine and Immunity

Iodine has been used in various infectious
illnesses including:

Leprosy
Sporotrichosis
Syphilis
Mycosis
Tubercular granulomatious

The positive effect of iodine is not related to a direct effect on

the microorganism.

Minerva Med. 198677:805-9

Iodine and Immunity

Type 3 Deiodinase
Catalyzes inactivation of T4 into rT3
Releases an atom of I
Expressed in granulocytes and
monocarboxylate transporter-8
Found at sites of inflammation

Endocrin. 2005;146:5128-34
J. Biol. Chem. 2003;278:40:128-35

Why Iodine?
Iodine deficiency is a worldwide problem
Mental impairment, reduced intellectual
ability, ADD, autism
Goiter
Infertility
Increased risk of breast, prostate,
endometrial, ovarian and other cancers

Newborn Thyroid Gland

Only holds a 24 hour reserve of iodine
Fresh sources must be supplied in diet

Biochimie 1999, 81, 563-570

J. Pediat. Endocrin. Metabl. 2003, 16,521-28

Breast Milk Iodine

47% of women sampled may be
providing insufficient iodine to meet
infants requirements

J. Clin. Endocr. And Metab. 92: 1673-77

Breast Milk and Iodine

13 breast feeding women
Milk

12/13 (92%) had inadequate iodine in

breast milk
9/13 (69%) samples high in perchlorate
we weredismayed to note that while little of the maternal
iodine (21%) finds its way to milk, the bulk of the perchlorate
intake ends up in milk.
Env. Sci. and Tech. Vol. 42. No. 21. 2008

Milk and Iodine

Between 1965 and 1980, U.S. milk iodine
content increased by 300-500%
Changes in cattle feeds

1986, amount of organic iodine

ethylenediamine dihydroiodine (EDDI) in
cattle limited to 10mg/cow/day

J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 176:1119-1121

Iodine Content of U.S. Dairy

Whole Milk
1978: 602g/L
1990: 155g/L
Recent Measurements: <100g/L

Environm. Sci. Techn. 2003, 37, 4979-4981

Environ. Sci. Techn. 2005, 39, 2011-17
J. Dairy Sci. 1990. 73, 3421-3427

Rapeseed and iodine

When rapeseed fed to cows resulted in an
increased thiocyanite level
Milk iodine reduced by 17%

Similar results have been shown in pigs

Br. J. of Nutr. 85:659-70. 2001

Nat. Inst. of Animal Science. Foulum, Denmark. 199

Why Iodine?

1.9 billion individuals world-wide estimated to have inadquate

iodine nutrition
WHO claims iodine deficiency is the worlds greatest single cause
of preventable mental retardation
WHO estimates that there are 300,000,000 school-aged children
worldwide who are iodine deficient (36% of school aged children)
Over half of the population of Europe live in areas of iodine
deficiency
1/3 of the worlds population live in an iodine deficient area
129 countries
Decreased childhood survival rate in iodine deficient areas
Neonatal mortality declines over 50% when iodine deficiency is rectified

72% of worlds population is affected by iodine

deficiency

Lancet. 2003;362:1859-60
WHO
J. Clin. Endocrinand Metabl. 2007;92:437-442
Anderson, M. 2007 Iodine deficiency in
Europe: a continuing public health problem.

Why Iodine?
100 consecutive healthy pregnant
Bostonians
50% found to be below the RDA 220 g/day
9% below 50 g/day
WHO recognizes as severe iodine deficiency

Thyroid 2004;14:327-8

Iodine and Autism

As similar to the U.S., a pattern of iodine
decline in a population and a
concomitant increase in autism has been
seen in other countries
England, New Zealand, Australia, Italy

BMJ. 2004;328:227
Arch. Des. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2004. Sep;89(5):F436-9
Med. J. Aust. 2003;178(4):159-162
Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 2003;12. Suppl. S15
BMJ Letters. 10.13.04. http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/328/7433/226-c

Iodine and ADD

16 women from iodine-deficient area of
Italy compared to 7 women from higher
iodine area
Pregnancy

Women from iodine deficient area had:

Reduced T4, decrease of FT4 with elevated
TSH in 50% of pregnant women

Clin. Endocr. 1995 APrl.;42(4):409

Iodine and ADD

It is hypothesized that the imbalance of
maternal thyroid hormone homeostasis during
pregnancy as a consequence of endemic iodine
deficiency may be responsible for the impaired
psychoneurological development observed in
children from that area. Appropriate iodine
and/or thyroxine prophylaxis to women in that
region may prevent the neurobehavioral,
cognitive and motor compromise of that
population.

Clin. Endocr. 1995 APrl.;42(4):409

Iodine and ADD

16 Women living in a iodine-deficient
area versus 11 women living in an iodinesufficient area
10 years follow-up
ADHD diagnosed in 11/16 in iodinedeficient area versus 0/11 in iodinesufficient area
IQ lower in iodine-deficient area-- 88
versus IQ of 99 in iodine-sufficient area

J. Clin. Endocr. 12/04

CRETI
N

Iodine
Sufficient

Iodine
Sufficient

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This concludes this presentation of the American Nutrition Association