Page 48 - Summer2009

HIIHFW LV RI QR FOLQLFDO VLJQL¿FDQFH $Q HOHYDWHG 76+ ZKHQ LW RFFXUV GXU- hormone therapy are said to do better when
ing treatment with Lugol’s solution, is “subclinical.” This means that no WKH\ VWDUW WDNLQJ LRGLQH ,Q DGGLWLRQ ¿EURF\VWLF
signs or symptoms of hypothyroidism accompany its rise. Some people breast disease responds well to iodine therapy,
WDNLQJ PLOOLJUDP GRVHV RI LRGLQH XVXDOO\ PRUH WKDQ PJ D GD\ GHYHORS an observation that has been documented previ-
mild swelling of the thyroid gland without symptoms. Abraham believes RXVO\ 7KH UHSRUWHG EHQH¿FLDO HIIHFWV RI LRGLQH
that the vast majority of people, 98 to 99 percent, can take iodine in doses suggest that some people have a higher-than-
ranging from 10 to 200 mg a day without any clinically adverse effects normal requirement for this mineral, or that it
on thyroid function. IDYRUDEO\ LQÀXHQFHV FHUWDLQ W\SHV RI PHWDEROLF
dysfunction.
THE DEBATE “While iodine therapy shows promise, I
With Abraham’s work, and its popularization by physicians such as am concerned that two concepts being put forth
Jorgas and Brownstein, many health-conscious individuals began taking could lead to overzealous prescribing of this
Lugol’s solution regularly, even without medical supervision. A challenge potentially toxic mineral. First is the notion that
to this practice came from Dr. Alan Gaby in an editorial published in the the optimal dietary iodine intake for humans is
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients $XJXVW 6HSWHPEHU around 13.8 mg per day, which is about 90 times

“Recently, a growing number of doctors have been using iodine the RDA and more than 13 times the ‘safe upper
supplements in fairly large doses in their practices,” wrote Gaby. “The limit’ of 1 mg per day established by the World
WUHDWPHQW W\SLFDOO\ FRQVLVWV RI WR PJ SHU GD\ RI D FRPELQDWLRQ RI Health Organization. Second is the claim that a
LRGLQH DQG LRGLGH ZKLFK LV WR WLPHV WKH 5'$ RI PFJ PJ newly developed iodine-load test can be used as
per day. Case reports suggest that iodine therapy can improve energy levels, D UHOLDEOH WRRO WR LGHQWLI\ LRGLQH GH¿FLHQF\ ´
overall well-being, sleep, digestive problems and headaches. People with Gaby takes issue with the argument that the
hypothyroidism who experienced only partial improvement with thyroid optimal human requirement is 13.8 mg per day,

REACTION TO IODORAL

“Three articles appeared recently in The Original Internist concerning clinical research with the use of iodine/iodide
in megadoses. Our medical group, consisting of three MDs and one ND/Acupuncturist decided that we should try to
find out whether any one of us was iodine-deficient. Our practice is in the Great Lakes region that was described as the
‘Goiter Belt’ by David Brownstein. We therefore followed Brownstein’s recommendation for the iodine/iodide loading
test. Five individuals within our office took the test and, by the criteria outlined, we were all iodine-deficient.
“Three of us, two MDs and our Laboratory Director, then proceeded to take the 50 mg of Iodoral a day with the
intention of repeating the iodine/iodide loading test after three months of treatment. After about six weeks of continuous
treatment, I experienced dysphagia [difficulty swallowing], resulting in lower chest pain on swallowing both food and
fluids. This was particularly marked with hot fluids, a totally new experience for me. I told the Laboratory Director that
I was going to discontinue taking the Iodoral since I had concluded that it was the potential cause. To my surprise, she
told me that she had experienced exactly the same symptom and had also discontinued the treatment. The other two
MDs who took the treatment did not experience this symptom. Some four weeks after discontinuation of the Iodoral,
we both continue to experience the same kind of dysphagia, although it is much milder. We can only conclude that we
experienced some esophagitis though this has not been proved by further study.
“If this is indeed a toxic effect of the Iodoral, we concluded that it needed to be drawn to the attention of the CAM
medical community. If the conclusions are correct, we should expect to hear that other ‘guinea pigs’ have experienced
something similar. The question remains in our minds as to whether the test outlined by Brownstein is an accurate de-
termination of chronic iodine deficiency. It may well be that iodine has a sensitive dose relationship like that which is
so well known with selenium, for example, and with other minerals. The question, put so eloquently recently by Alan
Gaby is whether we are embarking on a strategy that can be toxic for some while beneficial for those sick individuals
reported by Brownstein and his co-author, Guy Abraham. Indeed, as Gaby questioned later, of the 4,000 patients treated
by the Michigan Clinic, how many were carefully monitored in detail for potential side effects? Since gastroesophageal
reflux (GER) is mentioned in a drug commercial as a common affliction, it might be that some patients who are being
treated with high-dose iodine would never conclude that GER might be related to the iodine consumption. It might not
be recognized as a side effect even by a physician, since it is so remote from any expected or predicted symptom.”
Derrick Lonsdale MD, FAAP, FACN, Westlake, Ohio
The Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, April 2006

46 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2009