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80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
iodine: a panacea?, July 26, 2009
P.S. I'm putting this at the top because it seems so important: if you suspect an immune or autoimmune condition, first read "Why Do I STILL Have Thyroid Symptoms" before supplementing with iodine. I'd also recommend reading one of the books on Vitamin D. And now for my original review:
Well written and interesting, this book explains how iodine plays a crucial role in many aspects of health and why iodized salt does not supply our needs. Due to deterioration of soils/foods as well as poorer modern diets and environments (particularly the deliberate pollution of drinking water with fluorine, fluoride and chlorine, which are all toxic), severe iodine deficiency is epidemic in many English-speaking countries.
It's not just good for thyroid problems: some acclaim iodine for helping to heal breast cancer and cysts; for skin problems like acne, eczema, moles and skin tags; for fatigue symptoms; for fungus infections; for detoxification; and much more. It seems to have an amazingly wide application, since it can kill all single celled organisms and is the most effective known antiseptic. The author of this book, Dr Brownstein, confirms "Iodine has many positive therapeutic actions. It is a potent anti-infective agent. No virus, bacteria or parasite has been shown to be resistant to iodine therapy." He also repeatedly hails its proven anti-cancer effects.
Iodine comes mainly as two sorts which are (or used to be) available at pharmacies:
- Tincture of Iodine, a solution of elemental iodine in ethanol: often found in emergency survival kits, used both to disinfect wounds and to sanitize surface water for drinking (warnings: elemental iodine is a deadly - and very unpleasant - poison even in very small amounts if taken internally, it is highly irritating to mucous membranes, and it corrodes metals) and
- Lugol's, a solution of elemental iodine and potassium iodide in distilled water (the iodide makes iodine soluble in water). One of the best things about Lugol's is that it's cheap and there is no microbial resistance to it. A good maintenance dose is said to be from 12mg/day for someone of average weight. Dr Brownstein recommends Iodoral, the tablet form, rather than Lugol's as drops in a drink, but personally I prefer to put Lugol's on my skin - it works just as well, maybe better. (Some say you only absorb 12% of what you paint on the skin ~ the rest goes up in the air...it's a halogen.)
The skin takes in a lot more than most of us know: I don't put anything on it that cannot be eaten or drunk (of course that means avoiding most commercial skin-care products). Perhaps daringly, I am experimenting - on a short term basis only - with about 150 mg divided into three "installments" (morning, lunchtime and mid-afternoon) as some say iodine has an active life of about 4 hours and others that taking it too late in the day can affect sleep. J.C. Jarvis, M.D. who wrote highly of Lugol's in the 1950s commented "If it should happen that your body becomes saturated with iodine, you will find that there is an increase of moisture in the nose. If this occurs, omit the iodine until the nose is normal."
The book is shorter than it seems, as the typeface is quite large (which is good) but also doublespaced and I believe there must be much more information available that could be helpful: for instance, it does not say, but should, that:
- - iodine does not have a long shelf-life, needing careful storage to remain active (Lugol's has an optimal shelf-life of approximately one year)
- - Lugol's is now made in different strengths - differing from the original formulation which has a total iodine concentration of 10% from 10g of potassium iodide and 5g of elemental iodine per 100ml - or 6.5mg of iodine per drop; nowadays the solution can be anything from 2% (2% iodine, 4% potassium iodide and 94% distilled water), 3%, 5% to 7% (even though 10% is the original strength) so you need to check before buying (and "1/2 strength" should mean 5% but you still need to doublecheck these days)
- - avoid taking anti-oxidant supplements (vitamins A, C, E, selenium, glutathione, etc.) for the duration of any "higher-than-normal" usage of Lugol's
- - follow high usage of iodine products with probiotics to replenish vital intestinal flora
Oddly, since 2007 I understand a prescription is required in the US for amounts over 1oz/30ml and what is now available as Lugol's is heavily diluted: regular Lugol's solution has 10% of total iodine while the highest concentration permitted by the FDA is 2.2%. Even worse, it's recompounded with sodium, which doesn't let it get into the cells. Therefore Iodoral tablets might be better as they still have the same iodine content as 2 drops of (original) Lugol's solution - 13 mg per standard tablet - and even 50 mg tablets are available.
Finally, never take Lugol's if you're allergic to iodine. In case you worry about iodine poisoning (some people seem to be very sensitive to iodine although excess iodine is excreted via urine), the antidote for iodine overdose is easy: either high-dose vitamin C (at least 4g - that's 4000mg) or chocolate/cocoa which is high in bromine and displaces iodine when needs be. A cruel joke is that commercial breadmaking currently uses the toxic bromine process instead of the traditional iodine process, creating a runaway iodine deficiency.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The majority is not always right., November 19, 2009
When I was studying nutrition in college, I was taught that iodine is important only for the thyroid, and that the amount of potassium iodide in table salt was enough. Medical school teaches doctors the same things. Most doctors will tell you that more than a milligram of iodine a day can cause hypothyroidism. They are simply wrong, the victims of a strange misinterpretation of research data from an experiment on rodents.
In this book, David Brownstein, M.D. summarizes his work with Dr. Guy Abraham, bringing to light old and new information and truth about iodine, an extremely important mineral - the most misunderstood mineral. Proper use of iodine may cure most thyroid problems, and beyond that, may be a preventative and cure for every disorder of breast tissue, reversing precancerous changes. The same may be true in other tissues which concentrate iodine, such as overies and the prostate.
This book is little in size, but big in content. It opened worlds for me as a clinician.
Dolev Gilmore, author: Nutrition and Your Child's Soul: Don Quixote's Heart-Cry
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very informative!, December 22, 2009
What he says makes a lot of sense to me. My naturopath prescribed me Iodoral for candida overgrowth which is what led me to read this book. If what Dr. Brownstein says is true, iodine deficiency needs to be brought into the spotlight with a more serious attitude to address some very curable disorders that Americans are facing these days.
I would say this is a must read for anybody facing health issues.
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by David Brownstein
