Is Iodine Good or Bad? And if it is bad, then why do I feel so good when I take it? Talk about a HOT topic that is highly controversial! This one gets almost religious. First of all, iodine is in fact an essential nutrient needed for thyroid function and deficiencies will cause goiters and problems with the thyroid. The fact that people are deficient is undeniable. Many Hashi patients will take iodine supplements and feel better, but there may be a price to pay.... I asked this question to my friend Dr Datis Kharrazian, author of Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal? He said it is a paradox. The patient may be low in iodine, so when they supplement with it, thyroid activity improves. However, what they often do not feel is that simultaneously, they can stimulate the TPO antibodies. Those antibodies will then trigger immune system destruction of thyroid tissue, which will make the patient worse in the future once sufficient tissue is destroyed. Here is an extreme example of thyroid storm that caused stroke deficits after IV administration of iodine. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24847412 Obviously IV adminstration has a more profound effect than oral supplementation. So, here is a case of thyroid storm after a KELP supplement. The patient went HYPERthyroid initially, due to the damage to the thyroid cells and the dumping of thyroid hormone, and then swung HYPO once the attack stopped. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25355748 And here is another study on the OTC iodine supplement Iodoral, which trigger thyroid dysfunction in patients. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23529350 Now, if you do insist on taking iodine, I suggest you look at this study that suggests that antibody levels do not rise as much if you do small daily doses compared to large weekly doses. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10488481 I would also recommend that you get your antibody levels tested before and during supplementation to monitor reactions. The one problem with this is that antibody levels fluctuate from day to day, and you might get the blood draw on a good day. Hopefully this will give you some useful info to make an informed decision. Please search for yourself on pubmed to see what the research says. Here is the link: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=iodine+supplementation+and+hashimoto%27s What have your experiences with iodine been, and what are your thoughts, pro or con?
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:04:58 +0000
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