Brownstein book "iodine why you need it why you can't do without it"

[Danielj1]

Just read it now.

Some very sobering facts - they are summarised over the web so anyone interested can google.

I am taking solgar 200mcg sea kelp daily for past 2 weeks and feel incredibly positive about sticking with this. I do take it with plenty sea salt and 200 mcg selenium.

I will retest my bloods after a month and report back on any changes.

In a way I am not in any way folllowiing the doctors advice with very high doses up to 50mg - but I am interested to see the stories of consistent recovery he achieved.

Interested to know anyone else here supplementing with kelp with success.

[shaws Administrator]

I think Dr Brownstein's may be helpful before someone is hypothyroid. I do know that he helped his Dad to recover.

Additional iodine is not recommended if someone is on levothyroxine as it does contains iodine.

[shaws Administrator]

This is another link:

btf-thyroid.org/information...

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Danielj1 As you have Hashi's, you might be interested in an article by Isabella Wentz (author of The Root Cause) where she says

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

"..... iodine given to a subset of people with Hashimoto’s can flare up the attack on the thyroid gland. Iodine needs to be processed by the thyroid gland, and when the thyroid is inflamed, the processing of iodine will likely produce more inflammation. You give an angry and overwhelmed organ more work to do, and you’ll likely see it become even angrier! (5)

A person may feel more energetic when first starting an iodine supplement, but lab tests will reveal that their “new energy” is coming from the destruction of thyroid tissue which dumps thyroid hormone into the circulation, and reports will show an elevated TSH, elevated thyroid antibodies, and in some cases, low levels of active thyroid hormones. This is why I don’t generally recommend iodine supplements to people with Hashimoto’s. I don’t believe that the short-term artificial boost in energy is worth destroying your thyroid gland! ....."

So you may feel good for a while with the initial boost the iodine will bring, but be prepared for it to eventually make you feel worse.

[Danielj1]

Thanks for this. I do feel from reading the article she refers to high dose iodine approach ie I read this to

Mean the range of 10 to 50 mg and I am only suggesting taking the Daily allowance of 200mcgs from a single kelp tablet.

Is there a middle ground in this that the community can support rda levels ?

I will stick with my approach and report back vs all the detailed blood tests.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Danielj1]

The fact that you feel an improvement is good and do report on a new post with details of blood tests etc. Are you aware that to get the best results for us (hypothyroid) is that the tests have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24hours between last dose of levo and the test and take afterwards. This method is because the TSH is higher early a.m. and drops throughout the day and some doctors only look at the TSH result and pronounce us as 'normal' when we feel anything but.

If you haven't had B12, Vit D,iron, ferritin and folate checked, I'd suggest you request them as everything has to be optimal.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Danielj1]

My view of the problem is that few of us know how much iodine we are already consuming. Therefore we have difficulty putting what looks like a sensible suggestion - e.g. to add 200 micrograms - into the context of an individual's intake.

If we are very low in iodine consumption, say 50 micrograms a day, then it's probably fine and even desirable. But if we are actually consuming quite a lot more, perhaps 500 micrograms, then adding another 200 could be a bad move.