by Dr. David Brownstein
Dr. B’s Blog [1]
I have been practicing holistic medicine for nearly 25 years. Among all the items I have found successful, one stands head and shoulders above rest: iodine. Iodine is one of the most fascinating essential elements. After checking thousands of patients (along with my partners), I can state with confidence that the vast majority of our population is iodine-deficient. Sadly, most are severely iodine deficient.
I was taught in medical school that iodine deficiency was a thing of the past. My professors only mentioned iodine by declaring that the iodization of salt solved the iodine deficiency epidemic that was affecting most of the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
In my book, Iodine: Why You Need It Why You Can’t Live Without It [2], I describe how the iodine deficiency epidemic is (unfortunately) alive and well in our modern times. In fact, due to our exposure to toxic halides that contain fluoride and bromine, our iodine requirements have increased over the last few decades.
The consequences of iodine deficiency are severe and include cancer and diseases of the glandular tissues including the breast, ovary, uterus, prostate, pancreas, and thyroid. Which cancers are increasing at epidemic rates? Glandular cancers including all that I listed above are occurring too frequently.
Iodine is also necessary for a fetus to develop normally. It is well-known and accepted that iodine deficiency in a pregnant woman can result in a lowered IQ in her child.
Researchers in England examined the relationship between maternal preconception (before the child is conceived) iodine status and their offspring’s cognitive function (IQ level) at age 6-7 years.
The scientists measured the urinary iodine status in women approximately three years before conception. Interestingly, the median urinary iodine measurement in these women was 108.4 ug/L which classifies these women as iodine deficient. This level is similar to the average current iodine level of U.S. women of pregnancy age. The researchers then compared the preconception maternal iodine level with their children’s IQ measured at age 6-7 years.
As compared to women with higher iodine levels, women with the lowest preconception iodine levels were found to have children with lower IQs. The authors concluded by stating, “In a general population sample of UK women, lower iodine status before conception was related to lower IQ in their 6-7 yer old children.
The Journal of Nutrition. Nutritional Epidemiology. 2018.148:1-6 Comment:
Folks, there is nothing I am more passionate about than teaching patients how to be healthy. It is impossible to achieve your ultimate health by being iodine-deficient. As previously mentioned, iodine deficiency is still (unfortunately) alive and well in our modern world. A mother deficient in iodine puts her child at risk for a host of problems including abnormal development of the child’s neurological, endocrinological, and immune systems.
The U.S. Government’s data (through NHANES) has shown that iodine levels have fallen over 50% over the last 40 years, yet the powers-that-be still provide no remedies to this situation.
You simply cannot wait for the Government to guide you on how to optimize your health. Why is that? The agencies of the U.S. Government that should be working and watching out for us, including the FDA and the CDC, are owned by Big Pharma and other corporations. These agencies cannot be relied upon to do the right thing.
It is up to you to educate yourself about how to keep yourself healthy. That is why I write my newsletter (Dr. Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health [3]) and my books.
I have been lecturing and teaching about iodine deficiency for over 15 years. It is beyond time to put an end to iodine deficiency in our population. I predict that ending the iodine deficiency epidemic that has gripped our country would change the course of many diseases that are affecting us including cancer of the breast, prostate, ovary, uterus, thyroid, and pancreas. Furthermore, ending the iodine deficiency epidemic in women of childbearing age would result in healthier children who do not suffer from so many common neurological problems such as a lowered IQ.
More information about iodine can be found in my book, Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It. [2]
Original source. [1]