@Corngold said in Iodine as a game changer:
Is there something I'm missing?
*) Iodine in salt
Table salt is NaCl (sodium chlorine), 60 % of which is chloride. As chlorine is a halogen, it’s not a part of the solution: You add a layer to the problem.
*) iodine in milk is coming mostly through a disinfectant applied to the cow's udder after milking. It is probably betadine (povidone iodine). The solution contains 10% povidone, yielding 0.5-1 % available iodine (I2)
Although Betadine contains iodine, it does not provide iodine supplementation necessary for thyroid function (IK). The povidone-iodine solution is a mixture containing povidone, hydrogen iodide and elemental iodine.
*) Remind: We need I2 and IK
See the video below for a more comprehensive model: Iodine vs Iodide vs Molecular (+ the instability of this ion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D87dxtsjHPI Iodine (Video 6’)
When we say Molecular Iodine we are referring to I2. => About the molecular structure of an atom and electron prevalence (valence layer = last peripheral layer of electrons).
NB: This short video is fine to perceive how I- links to I2 to form I3- and why halogens are not very stable.
*) Which kind iodine is used and where?
The thyroid and skin use almost only KI type iodides, or potassium iodide, the form of supplementation found for example in iodized table salt. But the breast, prostate, ovary and brain need molecular iodine type I2. The kidney, spleen, liver, blood, salivary glands, intestines and muscles necessarily all have a joint contribution in both forms (56). The fight against cancer, probably also (57). And all these organs are abandoned to their sad deiodized fate...
Woman breast needs more than what is allowed through food, even when eating fish twice a week and drinking half a liter milk. And by the way – for men aged > 65, prostate requires I2 too. Breast and prostate need I2. But the average iodine intake will not be high enough to reach another organ than the thyroid…
References
56. The kidney, spleen, liver, blood, salivary glands, intestines and muscles all require a joint supply in both forms: I2 and IK.
R. Vergini, Hypothyroïdie, https://www.fao.org/3/y2809e/y2809e0i.htm
57. The fight against cancer, probably also, requires both forms: I2 and IK.
H. Rösner, W. Möller, S. Groebener et al. Antiproliferative / cytotoxic effects of molecular iodine, providone-iodine and Lugol’s solution in different human carcinoma cell lines, Oncology Letters, 2016.
*) Amount of iodine in food
Let’s be now interested in presenting the most concentrated products, in descending order, and per 100 g of fresh products (87).
Food / Iodine (mcg/100g) / Extent range (mcg/100g)
Mollusks, crustaceans 183 28-313
Sea fish 111 17-330
Egg *1 48 9-52
Cheese 26 19-50
Fresh diaries 18 8-21
Milk *2 15 2.8-25.8
Cold cuts & deli 13.8 1-32
Cereals 7 5-10
Bread 7 2.4-19
Meat 5 2-9
River fish 4 1,7-9
Legumes 4 1-13
Fats 2.9 2.7-4.4
Dried fruit 2.7 1-4
Poultry 2.5 2-5
Potato 2 0.2-3
Mineral waters 1.5 0.5-6.5
Green vegetables 1.4 0.5-15
Fruit 1.3 0.1-4
Source 87: E. Kalonji, M. Touvier, Evaluation de l’impact nutritionnel de l’introduction de composés iodés dans les produits agroalimentaires, AFSS, 2005.
*1 I eat free range chicken eggs twice a week. Most laying hens are today fed with food supplements enriched with iodine, hence the final concentration found in the eggs. Which is not the case, obviously, for eggs from organic chickens who manage their diet alone on soil poor in iodine, and for whom no dietary supplement will possibly be offered... Their eggs will then be as deficient in iodine as their diet.
*2 The amount of iodine in milk can vary by a factor of 1 to 10 depending on the quantity of food supplements offered to the cows by their breeders... Add to this an unexpected source of iodine: antiseptics (iodized) used to prevent mammary infections in cows, to maintain and clean the udders when milking the animals. Result: these types of “Betadine” also leak into the milk but it not a problem since it’s to lower the dose of antibiotics.
Indeed in large farmers the livestock is fed partly on flour, grass and hay, depending on the seasons and production needs.
Margaret Rayman (94) measured the iodine content of 47 plant-based drinks available in the United Kingdom (soy, almond, most milk substitutes were naturally low in iodine, their concentration representing 2% of that of cow's milk. Only 3 of the 47 drinks were fortified with iodine (95).
According to the results of the latest Inca Study (individual study of food consumption) (96), “Products based on meat, fish, eggs (MFE) contribute to 22% of iodine intake in adults (including 9.2% for fish), followed by dairy products (excluding hot drinks) at 20%. Other important carriers of iodine are fruits and vegetables and fruit and vegetable products (12%, including 6.9% for soups and broths), cereal products (12%, including 6.4% for breads and dry bread products), hot drinks (7.7%) and condiments, herbs, spices and sauces (6.8%). In this study, algae are considered vegetables, in accordance with European nomenclature”. (97)
References
94. S.C. Bath, S. Hill, H. Goenaga Infante, et al., “Iodine concentration of milk-alternative drinks available in the UK in comparison with cows’ milk”, British Journal of Nutrition, 2017.
95. S. Bath, M. Raylan, “Most milk substitutes are low in iodine – here’s why it matters”, Theconversation.com, 26 septembre 2017.
96. Inca, Anses, 2017
97. Avis d’Anses, relative au risque d’excès d’apport en iode lié à la consommation d’algues dans les denrées alimentaires, saisine n° 2017-SA-0086, 25 juin 2018.
*) The assimilation of iodine is supposed to be very low and progressive.
It is very likely that the ideal tissue stock is close to 1500 mg (1 500 000 mcg or 1.5 g of iodine) and that the daily absorption does not exceed a few tenths of one mg per day. It therefore takes months to replenish a low stock. Probably six months according to Dr. David Brownstein. (1)
- David Brownstein, Iodine: Why you need it, why you can’t live without it. Medical Alternative Press. 2014
*) Ray PEAT on iodine
RP has not written directly on iodine. We didn’t talk about iodine elsewhere than in the thyroid in the years before 2000.
Peat has been interviewed – by Rita Lee, I think, for the blog “To Your Health” – July 2008. But again, he was then pulling the worms out of his nose.
https://www.functionalps.com/blog/2011/10/12/the-myth-of-iodine-deficiency-an-interview-with-dr-ray-peat/
- For Rita Lee, a lack of iodine is a myth: She titled her post: “The Myth of Iodine Deficiency”
For R. Lee, what is higher than RDA is excess iodine and consuming excess iodine in supplemental form (more than 150 micrograms daily) can inhibit thyroid function. Same problem with goitrogens like cruciferous vegetables or estrogen-like inducers (unsaturated oils, soy products, lack of glycine in cysteine-rich meat, etc.).
Decoder lucH: All what is in excess is counterproductive. She makes an over-simplification + amalgam. Not pertinent when we only refer to RDA for Iodine as being the right target. - For Ray Peat (paraphrasing what Ray was saying, albeit not in those exact words of course). Note RP didn’t extensively write on iodine but only on thyroid extracts and implications when thyroid didn’t do the right job.
- A dosage of 150 mcg iodine is safe.
- It’s easy to recognize a chronic iodine deficiency, since the thyroid gland will enlarge.
- "People taking iodine feel good/euphoric but it's cause iodine attacks the gland and causes a rush of thyroid hormones»
- “People who don't live in the Andes usually get enough iodine"
- "Iodine improves mitochondrial health along with vitamin E and co-Q10"
*) One statement from bigdoobydoo on reddit.com:
I believe Peat's negative attitude on iodine supplementation would have come from him, experimenting with it and noticing acne / viral symptoms etc. all of which would have probably been from bromine or fluoride being displaced rather than the iodine itself.
*) Momentary conclusion from LucH
I haven’t read anything pertinent from RP on appropriate dosage of iodine, elsewhere than in thyroid to avoid goiter. So, I don’t expect RP to be a specialist on this subject.