I read a lot of posts on iodine and how it is important for the body and especially for brain and thyroid function to regulate metabolism. I wanted to consolidate what i learn about iodine in the following post.
Q. Iodine life cycle?
A. Iodine is available in abundance in the ocean.
So the simple answer is ocean to clouds, clouds to rain, rain to water to soil, plants absorb this.
If you eat sea food, all the more better.
Iodine is the most potent and broadest spectrum antimicrobial agent known to modern science and considered the “gold standard” of disinfecting agents. It is widely understood by the science community and offers more than 180 years of research and proofs in the literature. It is also a simple contact oxidizer with no known microbial acquired resistance.
Iodine is considered nature’s disinfectant, because it is naturally occurring in the ocean and stored in the form of an iodate and then converted to molecular Iodine (also known as Free Iodine, I2 or just Iodine) by plants and microscopic animals. It then vaporizes into the clouds and back through raindrops to the earth allowing the products of this Iodine oxidation process to then cycle back into the ocean, making the occurrence a natural “Iodine Cycle”.
Attaching a picture downloaded from http://biolargo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cycle.gif.
Reference taken from: http://biolargo.com/about-2/faq/
Iodine (as iodide) is widely but unevenly distributed in the earth’s environment. In many regions, leaching from glaciations, flooding, and erosion have depleted surface soils of iodide, and most iodide is found in the oceans. The concentration of iodide in sea water is approximately 50 µg per liter. Iodide ions in seawater are oxidized to elemental iodine, which volatilizes into the atmosphere and is returned to the soil by rain, completing the cycle. However, iodine cycling in many regions is slow and incomplete, leaving soils and drinking water iodine depleted. Crops grown in these soils will be low in iodine, and humans and animals consuming food grown in these soils become iodine deficient. In plant foods grown in deficient soils, iodine concentration may be as low as 10 ppb dry weight, compared to 1 ppm in plants from iodine-sufficient soils. Iodine deficiency in populations residing in low-iodine areas will persist until iodine enters the food chain through addition of iodine to foods (e.g. iodization of salt) or dietary diversification introduces foods produced outside the iodine-deficient area.
Reference take from: http://www.ign.org/p142000344.html
Q. How do you know if a person is iodine deficinet?
A. Iodine patch test is the quickest way but not a definitive way. But some tincture iodine at the local pharmacy and apply it on your inner arm on a 3X3 inch patch and see if all of it is absorbed in 12 hours or not. If it is absorbed in less than 12 hours, possible for iodine deficiency. Get more tests done.
Q. Are there iodine supplements?
A. Nascent form of iodine is the best form to take. Also i heard about kelp tablets, never read or tried them.
Links: http://hypothyroidmom.com/is-your-thyroid-doctor-using-the-old-tsh-lab-standards/
How to be Diagnosed
Many doctors order “standard” thyroid tests (TSH- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), but, unfortunately, they are not performing the most important and accurate tests. It is crucial to know what tests should be performed to determine if the thyroid is actually functioning well or if it is in a hyper (excessive or above normal) or hypo (below or less that normal) state.
When dealing with a dysfunctional thyroid there is not one full-proof test. Instead it is a combination of tests that paint the full picture. These tests are:
Vital Signs- Pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight.
Important Blood Tests-
- TSH
- Free T4
- Free T3
- Reverse T3
- Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibody
- Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (TPO)
- Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)
- Leptin
- Ferritin
- Cortisol
- Other diagnostic testing – Thyroflex (reflex test), BMR Test (Basal Metabolic Rate), and Urine Iodine Test
Wedmd article about Iodine
IODINE
Other Names:
Atomic number 53Overview Information
Iodine is a chemical element. The body needs iodine but cannot make it. The needed iodine must come from the diet. As a rule, there is very little iodine in food, unless it has been added during processing, which is now the case with salt. Most of the world’s iodine is found in the ocean, where it is concentrated by sea life, especially seaweed.
The thyroid gland needs iodine to make hormones. If the thyroid doesn’t have enough iodine to do its job, feedback systems in the body cause the thyroid to work harder. This can cause an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), which becomes evident as a swollen neck.
Other consequences of not having enough iodine (iodine deficiency) are also serious. Iodine deficiency and the resulting low levels of thyroid hormone can cause women to stop ovulating, leading to infertility. Iodine deficiency can also lead to an autoimmune disease of the thyroid and may increase the risk of getting thyroid cancer. Some researchers think that iodine deficiency might also increase the risk of other cancers such as prostate, breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer.
Iodine deficiency during pregnancy is serious for both the mother and the baby. It can lead to high blood pressure during pregnancy for the mother, and mental retardation for the baby. Iodine plays an important role in development of the central nervous system. In extreme cases, iodine deficiency can lead to cretinism, a disorder that involves severely stunted physical and mental growth.
Iodine deficiency is a common world health problem. The most recognized form of deficiency is goiter. Additionally, across the globe iodine deficiency is thought to be the most common preventable cause of mental retardation. Early in the twentieth century, iodine deficiency was common in the US and Canada, but the addition of iodine to salt has improved public health. The addition of iodine to salt is required in Canada. In the US, iodized salt is not required, but it is widely available. Researchers estimate that iodized salt is used regularly by about half the US population.
Iodine is used to prevent iodine deficiency and its consequences, including goiter. It is also used for treating a skin disease caused by a fungus (cutaneous sporotrichosis); treating fibrocystic breast disease; preventing breast cancer, eye disease, diabetes, and heart disease and stroke; and as an expectorant.
Iodine is also used to for radiation emergencies, to protect the thyroid gland against radioactive iodides. Potassium iodide tablets for use in a radiation emergency are available as FDA-approved products (ThyroShield, Iosat) and on the Internet as food supplements. Potassium iodide should only be used in a radiation emergency, not in advance of an emergency to prevent sickness.
Iodine is applied to the skin to kill germs, prevent soreness inside the mouth (mucositis) caused by chemotherapy, and treat diabetic ulcers.
Iodine is also used for water purification.
How does it work?
Iodine reduces thyroid hormone and can kill fungus, bacteria, and other microorganisms such as amoebas. A specific kind of iodine called potassium iodide is also used to treat (but not prevent) the effects of a radioactive accident.Stories of tincture Iodine
From Childhood days
I remember when i was young, if we got hurt, doctor would use tincture iodine to clean the wound and put a gauge cloth to heal. Tincture iodine would sting a lot. One of my fancy thinking i would say would be treat a wound without all this pain. Down the memory line, i remember seeing some spray that would form a patch when sprayed on the wound. I would say so cool.
Now coming to the age to understand what a wound is and understand a bit more about skin, etc ... tincture iodine or spirit to kill all the infection or germs at the wound is a good alternative. Tincture iodine is also good in healing the infected area.
Even in hospitals, during surgeries, etc we see tincture iodine being used to treat the infected area or cut area of the skin. It helps the skin to heal later as well.
Form of Iodine to use as supplement
Detoxadine is a high-quality daily nascent iodine supplement made from dietary transformative iodine in a bio-elemental nanocolloidal state. The production process of Detoxadine has a stabilizing effect on the elemental iodine, making it far more bioavailable than other nascent iodine products which can exhibit toxic effects.;With Detoxadine, the purified USP iodine crystals are subjected to a proprietary process in which it becomes nano-colloidalized and transformed into a non-toxic form of elemental nascent iodine, also referred to as monoatomic iodine, without the addition of iodides.
