Article on Iodine for thyroid

[Guest guest]

I think I'm going to try iodine per what Chuck had told me might be safe.

For most thyroid patients iodine is not good if you still are producing thyroid

hormone because it will make you lose more or increase the antibodies. Since

I probably don't have any natural hormone left(testing told me this), it

probably couldn't hurt me. I wonder if this really might be the answer for me.

If my thyroid isn't working anymore, maybe that has disrupted my iodine

uptake. I am going to give it a try starting in small doses and will report here

my

results. Does anyone think it can be dangerous to take my levoxyl at the same

time? I am going to start with a low amount. Not sure what that will be yet.

I know many on this board are either really into iodine being good and some

are really against and some just want to know what the facts are. I really

believe in the studies, but am also wanting to try things. I figure since no

doctor has figured out how to help me, I want to try things to see if I can

find relief.

I found the below article that has some good real sources that might be

interesting to others.

Thyroid Health: How Much Iodine Helps?

Chinese Study Shows Increased Iodine Connected to Decreased Thyroid Function

By _ J. DeNoon_ (http://www.webmd.com/daniel-j-denoon)

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by _Louise Chang, MD_ (http://www.webmd.com/louise-chang)

June 28, 2006 -- A Chinese study links mild thyroid symptoms to too much

iodine. But a Harvard expert says Americans need more iodine, not less.

Iodine is the key ingredient in the important hormones made by the thyroid

gland in the throat. But your body doesn't make iodine -- you have to get some

in your everyday diet.

Iodine deficiency is particularly dangerous for two groups. Pregnant women

with severe iodine deficiency risk birth defects and mental retardation in

their children. Children who get too little iodine have slow mental

development.

That's why many nations require iodine to be added to table salt and salt for

agricultural animals. While the U.S. does not mandate this, about 70% of

American households regularly use iodized salt.

But what if you already get enough iodine? Can it hurt to get more?

Yes -- at least a little, find Weiping Teng, MD, and colleagues at China

Medical University in Shengyang, China. The researchers compared iodine levels

and ultrasound thyroid exams for people in areas of China with " mildly

deficient, " " more-than-adequate, " and " excessive " levels of iodine intake.

They found that over time -- in a nation that mandates addition of iodine to

salt -- increased iodine intake was linked to decreased thyroid function. The

findings appear in the June 29 issue of The New England Journal of

Medicine.

" Although iodine supplementation should be implemented to prevent and treat

iodine-deficiency disorders, supplementation should be maintained at a safe

level, " Teng and colleagues conclude. " Levels that are more than adequate ...

or excessive ... do not appear to be safe. "

Expert: More Iodine Is Better

" Iodine Nutrition -- More Is Better, " is the title of an editorial

accompanying the Teng study. Editorialist D. Utiger, MD, is a thyroid

expert at

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Utiger says that Teng and colleagues' conclusions are overcautious.

" Low iodine intake is more worrisome than the slight risk at the higher

levels of intake, " Utiger tells WebMD. " To eliminate iodine deficiency even in a

small percentage of the population, the intake for the whole population has to

be high. I am willing to pay the price of a few cases of mild symptoms at

the high end to get a reduction in the very severe consequences at the low

end. "

Too much iodine does not worry nutritionist Bonci, MPH, RD, director

of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

" Too much iodine is not a concern, " Bonci tells WebMD. " Iodine is essential

but do we really worry about people being iodine-deficient? No. The issue is

not to eliminate iodine as we cut back on our salt consumption. But we don't

need to frantically seek out iodine. "

Utiger, however, says that pregnant women and children should err on the side

of a bit too much iodine. He notes that 7% to 8% of Americans have moderate

iodine deficiency -- up from 1% in the 1970s. He'd says he would like to see

more iodine added to salt -- as some European nations have recently mandated

-- but he isn't optimistic this will happen in the U.S.

" Many multiple-vitamin supplements do contain some iodine, so that would be a

way to ensure high enough iodine levels, " Utiger says. " But I was very

surprised to learn that half or more of the vitamin supplements for pregnant

women

don't contain iodine. "

Fish and dairy products are rich natural sources of iodine, so are some

seaweeds, such as wakame.

_View Article Sources _ ()

SOURCES: Teng, W. The New England Journal of Medicine, June 29, 2006; vol

354: pp 2783-2793. Utiger, R.D. The New England Journal of Medicine, June 29,

2006; vol 354: pp 2819-2821. D. Utiger, MD, clinical professor of

medicine, Harvard University; senior physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital,

Boston. Bonci, MPH, RD, director, sports nutrition, University of

Pittsburgh Medical Center.

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[Guest guest]

I don't know who is " against iodine " . I'm against anyone with no

demonstrated expertise in the field of medicine prescribing dose levels

of any substance that have been shown to cause injury or death in some

significant proportion of the population by credible research. That is

not limited to iodine. As a matter of fact I strongly feel none of us

should prescribe for others on the list, but rather we should simply say

what our results are. Or what we have found from credible research. I

oppose ANY recommendation from any source for a course of action with

such a hazard.

Luck,

..

..

>

> Posted by: " tyblossom@... " tyblossom@...

>

<mailto:tyblossom@...?Subject=%20Re%3AArticle%20on%20Iodine%20for%20thyroid>

> tyblossom <tyblossom>

>

>

> Sun Nov 30, 2008 7:40 am (PST)

>

>

> I think I'm going to try iodine per what Chuck had told me might be safe.

> For most thyroid patients iodine is not good if you still are

> producing thyroid

> hormone because it will make you lose more or increase the antibodies.

> Since

> I probably don't have any natural hormone left(testing told me this), it

> probably couldn't hurt me. I wonder if this really might be the answer

> for me.

> If my thyroid isn't working anymore, maybe that has disrupted my iodine

> uptake. I am going to give it a try starting in small doses and will

> report here my

> results. Does anyone think it can be dangerous to take my levoxyl at

> the same

> time? I am going to start with a low amount. Not sure what that will

> be yet.

> I know many on this board are either really into iodine being good and

> some

> are really against and some just want to know what the facts are.