Campaigners are now calling for iodine to be ad... - Thyroid UK
Campaigners are now calling for iodine to be added to foodstuffs, especially salt in the UK
Iodine will not be helpful for those who're hypothyroid. This is a past post:-
Adding iodine willynilly to food is not as straightforward as it may seem. Those living in areas with plentiful iodine in the diet do not need more as in some sensitive cases it can upset the HPT axis and thyroid output. Those living in iodine poor areas need the iodine, but if severely deficient should not get the full diet dose immediately. Again this can cause problems. I 'd rather test iodine in patients and if deficient treat them as individuals
Iodine should be added to plant milk - dairy milk is one of the main sources of iodine , vegans are missing out which could lead to giving birth to babies with congenital hypothyroidism
In Ireland we have now plant milk that has seaweed in it 
The answer is right on our doorstep - we are surrounded by the sea
It is added to some plant "milk" products - but not all. You have to check each one - and then re-check regularly in case they change the formulation.
Iodine deficiency, not excess, is the cause of autoimmune thyroid disease bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i94...
It is all very well in that link reading Peter J Lewis's quote:
In Japan, where dietary iodine intakes are high, it has been shown that ‘The incidence of Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s disease does not appear to be affected by high intakes of iodine.‘
When the reality is that thyroid disorders are common in Japan. Huge numbers have raised thyroglobulin or thyroid peroxidase antibodies. So the high iodine intake might not have been demonstrated to affect Graves' and Hashimoto's, but nor does appear to protect.
(And high intake in the context of people who have had lifelong high intake is a different situation to high intake after a life of low or moderate iodine intake.)
Thyroid function in Japanese adults as assessed by a general health checkup system in relation with thyroid-related antibodies and other clinical parameters
Kanji Kasagi 1 , Norihiro Takahashi, Gen Inoue, Toyohiko Honda, Yasunori Kawachi, Yoichiro Izumi
Affiliations
PMID: 19678737 DOI: 10.1089/thy.2009.0205
Abstract
Background: A limited number of epidemiological studies have attempted to assess thyroid function in the general population of iodine-sufficient countries. The aim of the present study was to determine the underlying thyroid diseases responsible for abnormal thyroid function detected by a general health checkup system in Japan, and to characterize the lipid metabolism in subjects found to have thyroid dysfunction.
Methods: Serum thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine, anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), and TSH-binding inhibitor immunoglobulins (TBII) were determined in 1818 Japanese adults (804 men and 1014 women; mean age 51.3 +/- 9.0 years) who undertook a general health checkup.
Results: Of the 1818 examinees, 12 (0.7%) had overt hypothyroidism (OH), 105 (5.8%) subclinical hypothyroidism, 13 (0.7%) overt thyrotoxicosis, and 39 (2.1%) subclinical thyrotoxicosis. TgAb or TPOAb tests were positive in 17.7% of men and 31.4% of women. The prevalence of positive tests for TgAb or TPOAb was 14.8% for men and 23.4% for women without palpable goiter. Positive tests for TgAb, TPOAb, TBII, and a palpable goiter were more common in subjects with abnormal thyroid function tests than in subjects with normal thyroid function. At the time that abnormal thyroid function test results were first obtained, the signs of thyrotoxicosis were mild or even absent in all 13 subjects with overt thyrotoxicosis, 8 of whom had Graves' disease and 5 of whom had painless thyroiditis. Of the 12 patients with OH, only 2 patients had a palpable goiter. In the OH group, TgAb tests were positive in eight, TPOAb tests were positive in eight, and TBII tests were positive in two. The prevalence of disturbed lipid metabolism, when adjusted for age, was significantly higher in the subclinical hypothyroidism group than in normal controls (p < 0.001; odds ratio, 1.67; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.51).
Conclusions: In Japanese adults who chose to be screened by a general health checkup system, the prevalence of abnormal thyroid function was nearly 10%. In a high percentage of these patients, abnormal thyroid function could not be detected by their history or physical examination. Just a physical examination without thyroid function tests, particularly serum TSH levels, was not adequate even when performed by a thyroid specialist.
'High intakes of iodine can cause some of the same symptoms as iodine deficiency—including goiter, elevated TSH levels, and hypothyroidism—because excess iodine in susceptible individuals inhibits thyroid hormone synthesis and thereby increases TSH stimulation, which can produce goiter 'ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/I...
I thought you could still chose to buy iodised table salt in the UK anyway?
As with the flour and folate additive, adding iodine to salt doesn't adress the issue for everyone by a very long shot. I can't see it being added to sea salt crystals which are very popular. Maldon Sea Salt for example.
Although if it was added to salt in crisps and salted peanuts etc., that might work!
I thought you could still chose to buy iodised table salt in the UK anyway?
You can buy it - but most supermarkets don't stock it, probably for the simple reason that they don't have to. And salt with iodine in is, apparently, more expensive than salt without iodine, so presumably people weren't buying it when it was available.
I don't have a link, just a vague memory, but I was under the impression that people had to have adequate selenium in order to tolerate extra iodine. Without adequate selenium iodine supplementation can cause all sorts of unpleasant side effects.
At least the following:
Sainsbury
Tesco
Waitrose
Ocado
My nearest Tesco never stocks it, and I haven't found it in my nearest Sainsbury. Perhaps demand differs throughout the UK.
It might. Or they put it in the fancy products section not with all the other salt.
We buy ours from Sainsburys this is an original product from the 1940s when all British salt was iodised
There never has been a time when all British salt was iodised!
But it is an old brand I recognise from many, many years ago.
I believe this to be an accurate account:
Historic reports of goitre in the UK prompted recommendations in the 1940s by the Medical Research Council that salt should be iodised( 12 , 19 ). However, this recommendation was not followed and it was the adventitious increase in the iodine content of milk that led to the eradication of goitre in the UK( 12 ), rather than a public-health policy that included iodisation of salt. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that iodised salt has a current low profile, there being an absence of an iodised-salt programme (voluntary or mandatory) in the UK. There is a degree of ignorance about this fact among health professionals in the UK, with some (including dietitians and midwives) assuming that salt is iodised. There is also false information on the National Health Service (NHS) website that goitre was eradicated in the UK by an iodised-salt policy( 20 ). Without an iodised-salt programme, UK iodine intake is dependent entirely on food choices and in view of the low popularity of iodine-rich food sources (e.g. fish and milk) in some population groups, individuals are vulnerable to iodine deficiency( 21 ).
Not just selenium, plenty of clean drinking water, unrefined salt, adequate antioxidants and magnesium are needed to deal with the toxic metals that will be displaced by iodine. When iodine is not available the body uses another halide instead as it will fit in the same place reserved for iodine, but it doesn't work properly so people get hypothyroid symptoms. Unfortunately all the other halides it (the body) tends to use are heavier on the atomic table and also toxic. Therefore when iodine is available it is grabbed and the bromide or fluoride along with lead and mercury etc are displaced into the bloodstream where they have to be detoxified. This is why iodine gets "blamed" for causing an apparent worsening of hypo symptoms.
Unfortunately all the other halides it (the body) tends to use are heavier on the atomic table
Iodine is the heaviest halogen our bodies need.
Halogen Standard atomic weight
Fluorine 18.9984032
Chlorine 35.446
Bromine 79.904
Iodine 126.90447
Astatine 210
Tennessine 294
Why do you skip chloride when you say "bromide or fluoride"? It sits right between them.
You also do not really explain why you mention lead and mercury in that context. As in, why lead and mercury but not their close neighbours cadmium and tin?
Sorry, I did not explain that properly. I should have said more reactive. It is a long time ago that I read up on it and I only remembered the difficulty removing the others when iodine was low. The order of reactivity is chlorine > bromine > iodine. This is because chlorine could displace bromine and iodine, bromine could only displace iodine, but iodine could not displace chlorine or bromine. The metals I mentioned were just common examples, you could spend a long time listing all of the contaminants that can be dislodged during a detox. After reading "detoxify or die" I almost lost the will to live. Here is a study about fluoride displacing iodine and affecting the thyroids of children ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Let me make sure I understand this:
If you ingest bromine compounds, the bromine displaces iodine.
If you ingest chlorine compounds, the chlorine displaces bromine and iodine.
If you ingest fluorine compounds, the fluorine displaces chlorine, bromine and iodine.
For that reason, we need to avoid fluorine and bromine compounds.
But you expressly refer to consuming salt, as in sodium chloride, as a beneficial thing to do.
Yes, correct, that's why I don't worry about chlorine as if you add vitamin C to water it neutralizes it, but also salt is used to remove bromine from the body as the only way out is through the kidneys. I read soldiers who were contaminated with bromide (gulf war perhaps) were given saline drips to remove it. As far as I know the liver doesn't have a detox pathway for it. Unfortunately there is a lot of it around as it used in carpets, and household cleaners and some medications, so we get a lot of exposure to it in the air. Displaced bromide can cause dreadful detox reactions, palpitations, rashes and anxiety were the ones I had from it. All of my filtered drinking water has celtic salt and vitamin C added to it.
Yes, correct, that's why I don't worry about chlorine as if you add vitamin C to water it neutralizes it, but also salt is used to remove bromine from the body as the only way out is through the kidneys. I
Too many words "it"! Not sure I am interpreting your sentence correctly.
Fluorine would also displace bromine. So why the big problem with fluorine displacing other halogens?
If you add vitamin C to water, it neutralizes any chlorine that may be present. If you also add good quality unrefined salt to water and drink it, it will help to remove bromine through the kidneys by binding to the bromine. I would no way want to use fluorine to remove bromine, as they are both toxic to cells.
Does adding vitamin C to water neutralise any fluorine?
On the basis of halogen displacement, I'd have thought so. Especially if the water also contains chlorine.
Sadly no, to the best of my knowledge fluorine can only be removed by special filters, reverse osmosis and distillers.
I believe that citric acid reacts with chlorine to form chloromethane (primarily chloroform).
Why does the fluorine not displace the chlorine to produce fluoromethane?
And I am not at all convinced I am happy at the idea of drinking water containing chloroform.
I cannot answer your question on fluorine as I am not a Chemist. My water up to now in the SW of England has not had fluoride added so it is not something I have been concerned about, but I will be if/when it happens. I have been drinking water with sodium ascorbate in for years and I have not noticed myself lapsing into unconsciousness up to now. I have also always added a teaspoon of sodium ascorbate to the bathwater to neutralize chlorine from the mains water which also has not made me pass out, so I really don't think it is anything to worry about.
I have heard the boron can remove fluorine but I haven't seen any studies on it, a Canadian study was published in 2018 showing those with adequate iodine levels could "mitigate" fluoride's "disruption of the thyroid." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/303...
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