Iodine & iodine deficiency

Importance of iodine and inadequate intake
There is no international agreement on a maximum safe daily intake.

World Health Organisation guidelines advise a safe maximum daily intake of 1000µg and the British Health Food Manufacturers Association advises that food supplements should not deliver more than 500µg per day.

The UK Government adheres to a RDI / (recommended daily intake / amount) of 150µg whilst in America this is 200µg.

Average daily intakes of less than 80µg may not be uncommon in vegans.

“In all species studied the tolerance is high relative to normal dietary iodine intakes, pointing to a wide margin of safety for this element” (12).

Medical history charts the rise and fall and rise again of iodine’s place in thyroid and hormonal balance and its medical use in general. During the first half of the 20th century and in the old pharmacopeias, the recommendation for iodine supplementation was 12,500µg - 37,500µg (12.5 - 37.5mg) elemental iodine. Iodine was used extensively among British and American physicians for both hypo- and hyperthyroidism (118). But research published in the USA in 1948 may have wrongly attributed the cause of hypothyroidism and goiter to the blocking of thyroid hormone synthesis by excess iodine (116) and may have led to the arbitrary definition of levels for daily iodine supplementation in 1969 of 200µg (0.2mg), where 2000µg (2mg) was deemed to be excessive (117).

This was published against the backdrop of the wholesale introduction of iodized salt as the standard for iodine supplementation in the 1950s, along with chlorine in drinking ater and other political/industrial dietary interventions for the supposed good of the general population. The daily amount of iodide absorbed from iodized salt was 200-500 times less than the amount of iodine/iodide previously recommended widely among physicians in the USA. “The man-made organic forms of iodine are extremely toxic, whereas the inorganic non-radioactive forms are extremely safe...however, the safe inorganic, non-radioactive forms were blamed for the severe side effects of organic iodine-containing drugs” (118).

Despite this confusion, a study of 1,368 patients with fibrocystic disease of the breast published in 1993 reported the beneficial effects of 5mg iodine ingested daily for approximately one year. No adverse affect on the thyroid was observed in some 4,000 patients supplemented with iodine for as long as three years with a daily intake ranging from 12,500µg to 50,000µg (126, 127).

Literature research conducted by Dr Guy Abrahams showed that 60 million Japanese consume a daily average 13,800µg (13.8mg) of elemental iodine, and Japan is one of the world’s healthiest nations based on overall well-being and cancer stastistics (119). “Either the Japanese are mutants, capable of thriving on toxic levels of iodide, or we have been grossly deceived, and the human body needs at least 100 times the RDA, which was established very recently in 1980 and confirmed in 1989” (120).

Iodine, of which Seagreens® is an ideal natural source, has been noted by researchers in connection with the incidence ADHD and ADD in the children of iodine-deficient mothers in Western industrialised nations (124, 125).

American clinical experience and a raft of scientific research supports the view that a chronic lack of iodine in our daily diet may be largely responsible for an epidemic of thyroid-linked illnesses, breast cancer and fybrocystic disease. It has been noted by Seagreens® in the UK and in the US, that successful treatment of these conditions has been achieved using what we might regard as high levels of iodine, but which are in fact equivalent to average daily intakes in Japan, largely from the traditional inclusion of seaweed in their daily diet (203).

It is known that iodine induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) (210) a process essential to growth (eg. in the foetus, fingers are formed by apoptosis of the tissue between them) as well as to destroy cells which represent a threat to the organism (eg. cancer cells or virus-infected cells). Human lung cancer cells undergo apoptosis (shrink) when genes are spliced into them to enhance iodine uptake, both in the laboratory and when implanted in mice (211).

The incidence of breast cancer in the US is the highest in the world at 1 in 7, while in Japan until recently it was the lowest. Japanese women who emigrate from Japan or adopt a western diet have a higher rate of breast cancer compared with those consuming traditional levels of seaweed. Thirty years ago iodine consumption in the USA was twice as high as today and the incidence of breast cancer almost 1/3rd. Drs Abraham, Brownstein and Miller have accumulated a wealth of information on this subject, diligently reported in a 2008 issue of Caduceus magazine (204).

Other US researchers have shown that iodine increases the antioxidant status of human serum similarly to vitamin C (205), removes biological toxins and the toxic environmental chemicals flouride, bromide, lead, aluminium and mercury (206), suppresses auto-immunity (207), strengthens the T-cell adaptive immune system (208) and protects against abnormal bacterial growth in the stomach (209).

[Based on US research in the 1960s it was proposed on The Archers (BBC 25.05.08) that badgers, their immune systems lowered by deficiencies in iodine and selenium, were succombing to TB and infecting local cattle]

Iodine has been shown to reduce radioactive iodine-131 absorbed by the thyroid. In Norway pharmacies are obliged to maintain stocks to supply their local population in case of nuclear accident.

Seagreens® is believed to have a regulating effect in cases of hypo- and hyperthyroid. This may be partly because it is an ideal source of iodine but perhaps more importantly it provides a broad balance of all the nutrients required for the endocrine system and to rectify hormonal imbalance. It is increasingly used by women in menopause.

The marked decline in dietary iodine during the past fifty years included the removal of iodate from bread during the 1980s, when it was largely replaced by the goitrogeneous additive, bromate. This has since been associated with an increased incidence of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension as well as thyroid and breast cancer (118).

In 2007 Seagreens® Iodine+ Capsules 60 were introduced having all the micronutrients necessary for proper iodine metabolism and use by the body. Each 500mg vegetable capsule typically provides 350µg natural iodine. Any iodine excess to the body’s requirements can be excreted.

Indications in obesity
Canadian research at the University of Laval in Quebec looked at the increased risks of food and environmental toxicity in obesity, noting that industrial chemicals and particularly those that act like hormone disrupters - all of which have been found to accumulate in body fat cells - profoundly alter several aspects of human metabolism and appetite control.

The conclusion is that several pernicious cycles are set up through food and environmental toxicity, weight loss as well as weight gain, and poorly informed detoxification. Weight loss without proper detoxification leads to toxic substances stored in fat cells being released into the bloodstream, and as levels of these toxins rise, so levels of essential thyroid hormones necessary to maintain efficient metabolism, fall dramatically.

A concomitant reduction in muscle oxidative enzymes - which determine how efficiently the muscles use energy - results in energy again being stored as fat, completing the cycle: weight loss - rising contaminants - loss of oxidative enzymes - increased fat. Other cycles may be set up through impaired hormonal function and imbalance including over-eating and obsessive dietary imbalance (115).

Seagreens® can help neutralise fat and pollutants; restore hormonal balance, the thyroid in particular; and help regulate weight and improve circulation.

Obesity increases the requirement for iodine and up to 100,000µg (100mg) of elemental iodine per day may be required to achieve and maintain sufficiency (120). Another factor involved in the increased demand for iodine is the presence of excessive amounts of goitrogens from the diet and lifestyle (substances harmful to the thyroid), for example smoking...which interferes with the sodium/iodide symporter function...and flouride...which interferes with the uptake of iodide by the thyroid gland symporter system (and it is suggested that) flouride causes oxidative damage to the halide-binding site of the symporter...and bromide...and potassium perchlorate (which it is suggested may be) in dairy and breast milk (122).

Increasing numbers of vegetarians avoiding meat and dairy
“In the last 50 years, runner beans have lost 100% of their sodium, watercress 90% its copper, broccoli 75% its calcium. Levels of other important minerals including magnesium, iron, phosphorous and potassium have also plummeted” (14).

Whilst soil mineral deficiency may even exclude iodine (a micronutrient and trace mineral) altogether, the widespread use of (non-chelated) iodine in animal feed, milk and dairy products have made these the main sources of iodine in the British diet, disadvantaging vegetarians. Whilst UK government statistics estimate an average adult daily iodine intake of 200µg, average daily intakes of 80µg may not be uncommon in vegans (13).

Iodine and cancer
The incidence of breast cancer is rising worldwide, particularly in women over 50. It increased by 30-40% between 1973 and 1997 (221). Although it has dropped about 10% consistent with the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the incidence of breast cancer in the US remains the highest in the world, while Japan until recently had the lowest.

Almost 15% of American women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Japanese seaweed consumption was 4.5g per day when last measured in 1964, which gives an average population intake of iodine of 13.8mg of iodine (now 12g per day against a US daily intake of 240µg or 50 times less) (192). Interestingly, some of the most dramatic results achieved with Seagreens® reported by practitioners and patients between 1998 and 2008 were when using between 6 and 12 Food Capsules or 3 - 6 grams of Food Granules per day which corresponds to the traditional average daily intake in Japan.

Seagreens® are highly alkalising - some 75 times moreso than apples - and an alkaline system has a greater defence against cancer. ‘A Cancer Therapy’ by Max Gerson M.D. makes useful reference to the subject.

Other nutrients required for iodine metabolism and thyroid
Seagreens® contain all the nutrients required to feed the endocrine system including the thyroid. Although iodine is often thought to be the most important factor, equally the balance of micronutrients involved in the delicate metabolic processes which feed the thyroid is critical. Other nutrient deficiencies may be the cause of many hypo- and hyper-thyroid problems. Nutrients critical to thyroid health are iodine, selenium, tyrosine, zinc, copper, vitamins A, B2, B3, B6 and C - all of which are present in an ideal natural balance in Seagreens®. Deficiencies in the trace elements selenium and copper (and many others) are common especially where farming practices do not replenish soil levels of these micronutrients. Some biodynamic and organic food has been shown to contain better nutrient levels but this can only be where the soil has been improved.

Seagreens® is believed to have a regulating effect in cases of hypo- and hyperthyroid.

Worldwide some 200 million people are estimated to suffer under-active thyroid (hypothyroidism) which at any age may disturb regulation in almost any tissue in the body.

Common symptoms are tiredness, weight gain, constipation, aches, dry skin, lifeless hair and feeling cold. Seagreens® are a source of all the micronutrients involved in regulating and stabilizing the endocrine system of which the thyroid is a critical part. Therefore they are also an excellent source of natural, stable, chelated iodine with the full balance of the other nutrientslike selenium required for its metabolism. Within the thyroid, iodine combines with other nutrients to produce triiodinine (T3 - 3 atoms of iodine) and thyroxine (T4 - 4 atoms of iodine) (9). Artificial replacements of these thyroid hormones are available but ‘override’ the thyroid, rather than revitalise it.

The thyroid affects every cell in the body, regulating cell metabolism like a thermostat. Low function doesn’t produce enough active hormones so the system becomes inert. Thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion is regulated via a negative feedback control system involving the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary and the thyroid gland. Thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) is secreted by the hypothalamus. TRH stimulates the anterior pituitary to secrete TSH.

TSH acts on the thyroid to stimulate the release of T3 and T4 (thyroxin). T3 and T4 act negatively on the anterior pituitary to suppress the release of TSH. The conversion of T4 to T3 depends on adequate amounts of selenium amongst other minerals. Selenium levels can easily be determined by measuring hair samples or RBC levels. We understand from correspondence that patients have been able to reduce or stop thyroxin medication after 3 - 6 months on Seagreens® at 4 Food Capsules per day (twice the micronutrient maintenance intake or 2g Food Granules).

Because the thyroid regulates the burning of calories, weight tends to go up as thyroid function goes down, and vice versa. This may not always be the case because other factors are often involved.

Dr Peter D’Adamo says: “I have also found that (wrack seaweed) is very effective as an aid to weight control for Type Os - especially those who suffer thyroid dysfunctions. The fucose in bladderwrack (fucus species) seems to normalize the sluggish metabolic rate and produce weight loss” (3).

In cases of overweight, and particularly in stubborn cases and in obesity, it is vital that weight reduction and detoxification be carefully controlled because of their potentially harmful effect on thyroid hormones.

The following paragraphs may help explain why in the seaweed we find a higher ratio of iodine to bromine and chloride than may be the case in the ocean profile.

The balance of halides such as bromine, chorine, and iodine is critical in the process of detoxification. Chloride and bromine, for example, compete for reabsorption in the kidneys. "When there is a decreased amount of chloride in the body, less bromine will be excreted from the kidneys, resulting in  elevated bromine levels. Increasing the amount of chloride in the diet will allow the kidneys to release more bromine into the urine for excretion..only with adequate chloride levels, can the body eliminate bromine in any significant amounts" (225).

This illustrates the reason why it is the balance and relationship of nutrients which is critical in the body rather than the individual nutrients themselves. Even medical professionals will say: "You should avoid this or that nutrient" but the body has evolved the most ingenious ways of balancing itself and this is why it is so important to give it natural whole foods which it is able to deal with and metabolise to its best advantage. Denying nutrients, within the whole picture, may do more harm than good. The balance is too delicate for us to begin to try and achieve artificially and this is the danger of  'formulated foods' especially for children.

Bromine has been found in the environment in prescription medicines, bakery products and carbonated drinks, as an antibacterial agent in swimming pools and hot tubs, as a fumigant crop spray and against termites and other pests. Research has shown that a bromine imbalance will eliminate and replace iodide in the thyroid gland (227).

"Bromine will bind in the body wherever iodine is bound. Iodine is an essential element for the production of thyroid hormone. When bromine binds to the thyroid gland, it is not only a toxic element but it can cause an iodine deficiency to occur...iodine allows the body to detoxify itself from bromine, while retaining the iodine...the use of iodine will also cause bromine to be released from other tissues in the body as well as the thyroid" (225).

"Increasing the intake of iodine additionally increases the urinary excretion of other toxic halides (226). But although the use of iodine will displace bromine from its bindingsites, the kidneys will not excrete bromine without adequate amounts ofchloride (225).

The nutritional profile of Seagreens® wrack seaweed is of positive assistance in helping the body to achieve and maintain homeostasis. This is the process, which if continuously challenged by environmental and dietary imbalances, causes significant stress and can lead to chronic fatigue and other maladies. It is not only balancing, but dense. That is it has high nutrient concentrations per gram.

“In patients on thyroid hormones, orthoiodo- supplementation resulted in a decreased requirement to much lower levels of thyroxine and in some cases resulted in the complete discontinuation of this hormone. This decreased requirement for thyroid hormones...was (also) observed in a female patient with total thyroidectomy, suggesting that iodine not only improves thyroid function but also has an effect at the target organ level” (122).

No other whole food iodine / kelp supplement free from additives
Inexpensive kelp tablets are a natural source of iodine, but are seldom of organic food quality. Most kelp is the by-product of industrial harvesting for horticultural use or for alginate extraction where human food quality seaweed is not important.

Kelp is a less balanced source of iodine than Seagreens® and is unlikely to be certified free of contaminants, toxic metals and microbial pathogens. Market research prior to introducing Seagreens® Iodine Capsules in 2003 found a leading brand of (not organic) kelp tablet sold as “a natural source of iodine”and “suitable for vegans” contained 0.225mg (225µg) of iodine, 264mg of cellulose and calcium phosphate ‘fillers’, plus 11mg of silica, magnesium stearate and stearic acid added for manufacturing convenience.

No product of organic quality was available. Seagreens® capsules are also entirely free from additives and manufacturing incipients, and may still be the only pure vegetable source on the market.

All Seagreens® capsules are suitable for continuous daily use. Seagreens® Iodine+ Capsules typically deliver 350µg iodine per capsule.

If a lower daily intake of iodine is required, use Seagreens® Food Capsules each typically providing 195µg iodine. Seagreens® Food Capsules have a higher level of all the other nutrients in relation to the iodine content.

If a higher daily intake of iodine is required, combine Food Capsules with additional Iodine+ Capsules, since each Iodine+ Capsule will raise the body's requirement for a balance of all the micronutrients.

Equally, Seagreens® Culinary Ingredient provides the same iodine content as the Iodine+ Capsules and is an inexpensive and highly versatile granular food ingredient. It can have very wide - and healthy - application in the family diet as it mixes easily with an equal volume of salt.