The thyroid gland acts as a gatekeeper. Every 17 minutes all blood passes through the thyroid, where this gland’s secretion of iodine kills germs that have entered the body.
Fifty years ago iodine was commonly used to treat many conditions. Nobel Laureate Albert Szent Györgyi, the physician who discovered vitamin C in 1928, noted: “When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of potassium iodide was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good.”
The pendulum swung, however. According to Dr. Kurt W. Donsbach, a single paper written by two researchers changed iodine use completely. “This poorly documented paper gave the impression that iodine use was not only archaic but not necessary and could even be dangerous, citing hyperthyroidism as a side effect. Almost overnight the use of iodine in medicine was stopped and in its place we have a fear of one of the most critical nutrients in our diet.”
The thyroid gland acts as a gatekeeper. Every 17 minutes all blood passes through the thyroid, where this gland’s secretion of iodine kills germs that have entered the body. Pathogenic microorganisms, the primary causative agent of disease, are made weaker during repeated passages through the thyroid gland until most are killed, provided the thyroid has a normal supply of iodine. “Iodine is by far the best antibiotic, antiviral and antiseptic of all time,” said Dr. David Derry.
After a nuclear event, a radioactive form of iodine is released into the air, and iodine pills are given out to protect those who may be exposed. When thyroid cells absorb too much radioactive iodine — either through the air or contaminated food — radioactivity travels throughout the bloodstream, emitting radiation over time. The massive explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 caused an epidemic of thyroid cancer and increases in leukemia rates.
According to David Brownstein, M.D., author of several books on iodine, if there is enough inorganic, nonradioactive iodine in our bodies, the radioactive fallout has nowhere to bind in our bodies. It will pass through, keeping us unharmed. The body does not distinguish between stable and radioactive iodine. Taking stable iodine can protect the thyroid from injury by filling up the gland and preventing it from absorbing radioactive iodine.
Potassium iodide (SSKI) can be found in many health food stores. Iodide has a long and safe history of being used after nuclear power plant disasters to avert cancers. But it is an incomplete answer in terms of the body’s daily need for iodine long term.
Lugol’s solution is a combination of both iodide and iodine: a water solution of 10 percent potassium iodide and 5 percent iodine. Iodine detoxifies the body by removing mercury, fluorides, chlorides and bromides. It protects against mental retardation, hypothyroidism, weight gain, fibrocystic breasts and prevents a multitude of other health problems. Since iodine passes through the body in about 24 hours, doctors usually prescribe a daily dose unless patients have Hashimoto’s disease or other complications.
Sources: Dr. Kurt Donsbach, Dr. David Brownstein and Guy E. Abraham, D.C.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 30, Number 2, April/May 2011.
February 24, 2012
Environment, Health