IODINE: The Forgotten Medicine

Before the introduction of the synthetic drugs that are used today, iodine was one of the most beneficial and universal medicines used by physicians around the world. Iodine was effective for everything: to heal wounds and disease, destroy bacteria, viruses, and pathogens, and to prevent cancer. Once one of the most commonly used medicines in the world, iodine was “forgotten” in favor of new pharmaceutical drugs.

 

Now we are seeing the consequences of forgetting this essential mineral—skyrocketing rates of cancer, an epidemic of thyroid dysfunction, and great difficulties with detoxification. Fortunately, not everyone has forgotten what this amazing mineral can do, and integrative medical practitioners are ushering in an era where iodine is making a comeback. It is a highly effective treatment with virtually no side effects – unlike modern drugs.

 

There is a growing consensus among scientists in America that we would have better thyroid function, a lower incidence of cancer and fibrocystic disease of the breast, and overall better health if we would consume more iodine.

People in the U.S. consume an average 240 mcg of iodine per day, which is slightly above the amount needed to prevent a deficiency syndrome (such as goiter). However, that is not the amount needed for beneficial health effects.  People in Japan consume more than 12 mg of iodine (12,000 mcg), which is 50 times more than the average American!  Life expectancy in Japan is 82.12 years, the highest of all industrialized countries, while the United States is 78.11 years.  The infant mortality rate in Japan is one of the lowest in the world, 2.79 deaths under age one per 1,000 live births, half the infant mortality rate in the United States. Finally, the number of deaths from breast cancer is almost three times higher in the U.S. than in Japan.

 

Today, one in seven American women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Thirty years ago, when iodine consumption was much higher than it is now, one in 20 women developed breast cancer.  Women in Japan, consuming high amounts of dietary iodine, have much lower rates of breast cancer and thyroid problems. When these women emigrate from Japan to the Unites States and consume a Western diet (containing a fraction of the iodine consumed in Japan), their rates of breast cancer and thyroid diseases increase dramatically.

 

Fibrocystic breast disease is marked by changes in breast tissue, and discomfort, swelling, and breast tenderness. It is a very common concern for women. Supplemental iodine has been found to improve symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease. In fact, in one study, 98% of women receiving iodine treatment were pain-free by the study’s end, and 72% had improvements in breast tissue. (Ghent WR, et al. Iodine replacement in fibrocystic disease of the breast. Can J Surg 1993;36:453-460.)

 

According to Dr. David Brownstein, M.D., author and iodine expert who has treated thousands of patients in his clinic, states, “As I started to use larger amounts of iodine (12.5-50 mg/day) to achieve whole body sufficiency, I began to see positive results in my patients. Goiters and nodules of the thyroid shrank, cysts on the ovaries became smaller and began to disappear, patients reported increased energy, and metabolism was increased as evidenced by my patients having new success in losing weight.”

 

—Terry Lemerond
www.TerryTalksNutrition.com