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This is my fourth post about the Japanese nuclear disaster. First, I have to give credit to the U.S. government for suggesting that U.S. citizens move further away (50 miles) from the radiation danger. This action would serve to verify the severity of the crises.
I believe this crisis should highlight the need for each of us to take a more active role in our own health care decisions. It is important to take the proper steps to achieve your optimal health before a crisis arises. Many times these steps include eating a healthy diet and taking the correct supplements. My experience has shown that ensuring an adequate iodine level is one piece of the puzzle to obtaining your optimal health.
Bromide is less well known and we are exposed to it in just as many places, & it causes the same issues! Stay aware, that more and more people are becoming aware of the fluoride hazard is great! Now lets tackle bromide! Tatiacha
(NaturalNews) Fluoride is getting a lot of bad press these days, and for good reason: it is a toxic molecule that wreaks extensive, often irreversible, havoc on the body. The thyroid is particularly affected by fluoride exposure because its store of iodine is depleted. Iodine deficiency depresses the thyroid’s metabolic and immune functions, resulting in hypothyroidism and lowered immunity.
Fluoride and iodine are both halogens. Fluoride, the negative ion of the element fluorine, easily displaces iodine in the body because it is much lighter and therefore more reactive. In fact, the activity of any one of the halogens (Iodine 126.70, Bromine 79.90, Chlorine 35.45, Fluorine 18.99 are the most common) is inversely proportional to its atomic weight. In other words, one halogen can displace another one of a higher atomic weight but cannot displace one of lower weight.
Lack of iodine shuts down production of thyroxine, the thyroid prohormone that controls metabolism, and, in one way or another, impacts every aspect of health. The resulting hypothyroidism causes weight gain, cold intolerance, dry and prematurely aged skin, depression, constipation, hair loss, memory loss, irritability, increased cholesterol levels, heart disease and loss of libido.
But the action of iodine in the thyroid is not limited to metabolism; it also has an important immune function. Blood circulates through the thyroid once every 17 minutes in what has been called the ’17 minute passage’. Secretion of iodine, a potent germ killer, into the blood stream as it is passing through the thyroid weakens invading organisms, allowing them to be more easily eradicated. If the thyroid is deficient in iodine, this critical step in immunity will be reduced or eliminated.
Unlike iodine, which the body cannot store long-term, fluoride is a problematic and persistent toxin. Its effects are systemic and only about half of what is ingested can be excreted; the rest is stored in bones and tissues, blocking access to other elements, like iodine.
Fluoride exposure can come from multiple obvious and not-so-obvious sources. In addition to dental hygiene products and drinking water, many breakfast cereals, juices from concentrate, soda and other processed foods contain alarming levels. Fluoride-containing pesticide use means that the environment is being flooded with fluoride by conventional agriculture (http://www.fluoridealert.org/f-pest…). Also, many antidepressants contain large amounts of fluoride and are widely prescribed, often for a lifetime of use.
Conventional medicine’s response to hypothyroidism typically ignores causes and prescribes synthetic thyroxine hormone in an attempt to balance out the health equation with another unnatural substance; this is nothing new. But hypothyroidism is a national epidemic, affecting roughly 10% of the female population in the US and in no way sparing men. It has created a stable, ever-expanding market for these cash cow thyroid drugs (the leading thyroid drug was number 7 on JAMA’s list of ‘most commonly prescribed’ in 2006; one year later it was number 4).
One might assume then that fluoride’s role in depressing thyroid function is a new discovery, that government fluoride programs simply lack this vital information. Yet research has been taking place since the 1930s, when fluoride was used to treat individuals with overactive thyroid. The relationship is well established, and old.
Which leads inevitably to a difficult question: How could government allow fluoride addition to drinking water, approve fluoride-containing drugs and pesticides, and fail to test for fluoride content in food when there is a known connection with serious thyroid complications?
Perhaps the cash value of the fact that millions of Americans take thyroid drugs, and most likely will take them the rest of their lives, can suggest an unbiased, honest answer.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/026853_t…
http://www.livestrong.com/article/1…
http://www.fluoridealert.org/50-rea…
About the author
Marianne Leigh is a writer who is deeply concerned with environmental and natural health issues.
Her latest project is creating a food blog for her community that provokes discussion about food, natural health and local sustainable agriculture.
For further details on this project, please contact her.
Fluoride depletes iodine in the body, causing hypothyroidism and immune deficiency
The only real protection from fluoride is large doses of iodine/iodide that mainstream medicine claims to be dangerous! Fluoride attaches to iodine receptors in the body, as does bromide, only large enough quantities of iodine/iodide will push the fluoride off the receptors so the body can get rid of it. Lack of iodine lowers IQ and causes cretinism! It is some kind of surprise that iodine receptors full of fluoride causes brain damage this should just be common sense! E
(NaturalNews) A new study pre-published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives confirms that fluoridated water causes brain damage in children. The most recent among 23 others pertaining to fluoride and lowered IQ levels, the new study so strongly proves that fluoride is a dangerous, brain-destroying toxin that experts say it could be the one that finally ends water fluoridation.
This story doesn’t go far enough, it addresses only thyroid cancer patients but this same radioactive iodine uptake scan is given routinely to anyone whose thyroid function is in question. They will damage or destroy your thyroid to see if it is up taking iodine to diagnose potential thyroid cancer or simply thyroiditis or hyper or hypothyroidism. If there were a nuclear accident we would be taking high does of potassium iodide to protect ourselves from this radioactive iodine. The use of this test should be criminal.
(NaturalNews) My, you look glowing today! Cancer patients who receive radiation of their thyroid glands by being given radioactive iodine are highly radioactive for up to a week following their release from the hospital — and they end up irradiating not just hospital rooms but also other patients, friends and family members. Radiation levels are so high in these people that they have set off radiation alarms designed to detect terrorist threats, says a congressional report.
Pregnant women, elderly patients and cancer patients of all ages are right now being exposed to harmful levels of ionizing radiation from these "walking dirty bombs" known as thyroid cancer patients. A part of their "cancer treatment," they are instructed by doctors to drink a radioactive liquid containing iodine-131 (a radioisotope of iodine) which travels to their thyroid gland and burns it out with radiation. Believe it or not, this is called "scientific medicine." Really.
I find it interesting that this study is implying the risk of hyperthyroid when the bromide based fire retardants have been shown to interfere with iodine levels and are directly related to hypothyroidism and the bromide toxicity that we find with the iodine protocol. Any way you look at it these fire retardants are very dangerous to our health and especially when you place them into perspective with our actual risk of being in a fire.
Engtovo
(NaturalNews) Ubiquitous flame retardant chemicals appear to alter levels of thyroid hormones in the bodies of pregnant women, with potentially severe consequences for their infants, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Berkeley and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
more…
Here are some iodine links from my other blog
Iodine Protocol
http://iodinehealth.wordpress.com/iodine-protocol/
Types of Iodine
http://iodinehealth.wordpress.com/iodine-types/
Bromide & Salt Loading
Read about this info on a Iodine supplementation list. Makes a lot of sense to me.
June 1, 2007
Article published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, written by Julia A. Laylander, highlights the emerging scientific evidence linking Chronic Fluoride Toxicity to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. Those who want to understand the science behind this emerging theory shouldn’t miss this important work! We are very grateful to the Fluoride Action Network for bringing this detailed scientific hypothesis to our attention.
PART 1 OVERVIEW & PART 2 SYMPTOMS.
August 13, 2007
If you want to know why those suffering from Fibromyalgia are repeated tested for Hypothyroidism, or why thyroid dysfunction is so frequently diagnosed prior to the development of the more debilitating symptoms of Fibromyalgia, please read CHRONIC FLUORIDE POISONING Q&A, which was published in Earth Clinic’s August Newsletter. To all those with Fibromyalgia who told us to focus on the link to Hypothyroidism we thank you for being so passionate about this connection in your questionnaires!
We strongly support the work of those physicians and researchers who focus their attention on the thyroid connection to Fibromyalgia, including:
Dr. John C. Lowe M.D., Director of Research,
Fibromyalgia Foundation of America
Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D., Medical Director,
Fibromyalgia & Fatigue Centers, Inc.
You can read a lot more info about the Iodine and fibromyalgia connection here
Summary#
47553
Topic:
Iodine Supplementation May Improve Cognition In Mildly Iodine-Deficient Children
Keywords:
COGNITION – Iodine
Reference:
“Iodine supplementation improves cognition in mildly iodine-deficient children,” Gordon RC, Ruffman T, et al, Am J Clin Nutr, 2009; 90(5): 1264-71. (Address: Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand).
Summary:
In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study involving 184 mildly iodine-deficient children, aged 10-13 years old, results indicate that iodine supplementation may improve cognition. The children were randomized to receive a daily tablet containing either 150 microg iodine or placebo for 28 weeks. Cognitive performance was evaluated at intervention end. Children in the iodine group showed significant improved scores in picture concepts and matrix reasoning, compared with children in the placebo group. Thus, the authors of this study conclude, “Iodine supplementation improved perceptual reasoning in mildly iodine-deficient children and suggests that mild iodine deficiency could prevent children from attaining their full intellectual potential.”
The Iodine Allergy Myth
Some people that have a history of allergy to shellfish, a history of a previous reaction to IV iodinated contrast, or a history of a reaction to a topical iodine solution, have been told that they have “iodine allergy.” This is actually not correct. “Iodine Allergy” doesn’t really exist. Iodine is a substance essential to life and is found throughout your body like within thyroid hormone or in amino acids, your body’s basic building blocks. The reactions experienced in each of these situations do not have to do with the presence of the iodine. Instead, in each case the reaction is to another substance. In the case of shellfish, the reaction is to tropomyosin, a muscle protein. In the case of iodinated contrast, it is the other portion of the contrast molecule, not the iodine. In the case of topical iodine solution, it is to other substances in the solution, not the iodine itself.
Shellfish allergy is not a contraindication to iodinated contrast because the allergy is entirely unrelated. This is a longstanding myth even within the medical community and is difficult to dispel. To some degree, asthma will increase the possibility of a contrast reaction. Sensitivity to Betadine® and other Iodine-containing solutions is unrelated to reactions to iodinated radiographic contrast agents.
From the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology:
“Once a person has one contrast reaction they are at very high risk for more unless treated. The reactions do tend to be worse in people who are dehydrated (dried out) when they are given the contrast in their veins. These reactions are not caused by iodine and are not more common in people with shellfish or any other true allergy. They can be minimized by pretreatment with antihistamines and oral steroids and/or using non-ionic contrast material that, interestingly, still has iodine in it.”
Bromides are a common endocrine disruptor. Because bromide is also a halide, it competes for the same receptors that are used in the thyroid gland (among other places) to capture iodine. This will inhibit thyroid hormone production resulting in a low thyroid state.
Iodine is essential for your body, and is detected in every organ and tissue. There is increasing evidence that low iodine is related to numerous diseases, including cancer. Various clinicians and researchers have found iodine effective with everything from goiter to constipation.
Bromide can be found in several forms. Methyl Bromide is a pesticide used mainly on strawberries, found predominantly in the California areas. Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is added to citrus drinks to help suspend the flavoring in the liquid.
Potassium Bromate is a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.
Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
If you are like most people, you probably haven’t spent much time thinking about how much bromine you’re absorbing from your car upholstery or your Mountain Dew. But bromine toxicity is a definite danger from some surprising sources, and it can wreak havoc on your health.
Bromines All Around You
Bromines are common endocrine disruptors, and are part of the halide family, a group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine and iodine. What makes it so dangerous is that it competes for the same receptors that are used to capture iodine.
If you are exposed to a lot of bromine, your body will not hold on to the iodine that it needs. And iodine affects every tissue in your body — not just your thyroid.
You are already exposed to far too much chlorine and bromine. Bromine can be found in a number of places in your everyday world, including:
- Pesticides (specifically methyl bromide, used mainly on strawberries, predominantly in California)
- Plastics, like those used to make computers
- Bakery goods and some flours often contain a “dough conditioner” called potassium bromate
- Soft drinks (including Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Sun Drop, Squirt, Fresca and other citrus-flavored sodas), in the form of brominated vegetable oils (BVOs)
- Medications such as Atrovent Inhaler, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Pro-Banthine (for ulcers), and anesthesia agents
- Fire retardants (common one is polybromo diphenyl ethers or PBDEs) used in fabrics, carpets, upholstery, and mattresses
- Bromine-based hot tub and swimming pool treatments
According to van Leeuwen, who has extensively studied the effects of sodium bromide on thyroid function:
“Although the bromide ion is widely distributed in nature, the main route of exposure in humans stems from bromide residues in food commodities as a result of the abundant use of bromide-containing pesticides, like methylbromide and ethylene dibromide, for soil fumigation in intensive horticulture and for postharvest treatment.”
One clinical consequence of overexposure to bromine is suppression of your thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism, which will be discussed shortly. Another is bromide toxicity.
Bromine — The Bully of the Halide Group
When you ingest or absorb bromine, it displaces iodine, and this iodine deficiency leads to an increased risk for cancer of the breast, thyroid gland, ovary and prostate — cancers that we see at alarmingly high rates today. This phenomenon is significant enough to have been given its own name — the Bromide Dominance Theory.
Aside from its effects on your endocrine glands, bromine is toxic in and of itself. Bromide builds up in your central nervous system and results in many problems. It is a central nervous system depressant and can trigger a number of psychological symptoms such as acute paranoia and other psychotic symptoms.
In fact, in an audio interview, physician Jorge Flechas reported that, between 1920 and 1960, at least 20 percent of all hospital admissions for “acute paranoid schizophrenia” were a result of ingesting bromine-containing products.
In addition to psychiatric problems, bromine toxicity can manifest as the following:
- Skin rashes and severe acne
- Loss of appetite and abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Metallic taste
- Cardiac arrhythmias
Baby Boomers might recall a popular product from the 1950s called Bromo-Seltzer. These effervescent granules, developed by the Emerson Drug Company of Baltimore, were used to treat heartburn, upset stomach, indigestion, headaches and hangovers.
Bromo-Selzer’s original formula contained 3.2 mEq/teaspoon of sodium bromide — hence the name. The sedative effect probably explained its popularity as a hangover remedy. Bromides were withdrawn from the American market in 1975 due to their toxicity.
Bromo-Selzer is still on the market, but no longer contains bromide.
Bromines in Your Bread Box: Potassium Bromate
The ban on bromines have not prevented them from sneaking into your foods and personal care products.
You probably are not aware of this, but nearly every time you eat bread in a restaurant or consume a hamburger or hotdog bun you are consuming bromide, as it is commonly used in flours.
The use of potassium bromate as an additive to commercial breads and baked goods has been a huge contributor to bromide overload in Western cultures.
Bromated flour is “enriched” with potassium bromate. Commercial baking companies claim it makes the dough more elastic and better able to stand up to bread hooks. However, Pepperidge Farm and other successful companies manage to use only unbromated flour without any of these so-called “structural problems.”
Potassium bromate is also found in some toothpastes and mouthwashes, where it’s added as an antiseptic and astringent. It has been found to cause bleeding and inflammation of gums in people using these products.
Sodium Bromate and BMOs
Mountain Dew, one of the worst beverages you can drink, uses brominated vegetable oil as an emulsifier. Not only that, it contains high fructose corn syrup, sodium benzoate, more than 55 mg of caffeine per 12 ounce can, and Yellow Dye #5 (tartrazine, which has been banned in Norway, Austria and Germany.)
A weapon of mass destruction — in a can.
Even drinking water can be a source of bromide. When drinking water containing bromide is exposed to ozone, bromate ions are formed, which are powerful oxidizing agents. Such was the case in 2004 when Coca Cola Company had to recall Dasani bottled water.
Sodium bromate can also be found in personal care products such as permanent waves, hair dyes, and textile dyes. Benzalkonium is used as a preservative in some cosmetics.
Finally, bromine and chlorine were the most common toxic elements reportedly found in automobiles, according to the blog of David Brownstein, MD (March 2007). They showed up in the seats, armrests, door trim, shift knobs and other areas of the car.
Think about how much time you spend enclosed in your outgassing Chevy… windows up with no air circulation.
The United States is quite behind in putting an end to the egregious practice of allowing bromine chemicals in your foods. In 1990, the United Kingdom banned bromate in bread. In 1994, Canada did the same. Brazil recently outlawed bromide in flour products.
What’s taking us so long? Another case of our government protecting big industry — instead of protecting you.
Iodine Levels and Cancer Risk
Iodine levels have significantly dropped due to bromine exposure; declining consumption of iodized salt, eggs, fish, and sea vegetables; and soil depletion. In the U.S. population, there was a 50 percent reduction in urinary iodine excretion between 1970 and 1990.
What’s this doing to our country’s health?
The Japanese consume 89 times more iodine than Americans due to their daily consumption of sea vegetables, and they have reduced rates of many chronic diseases, including the lowest rates of cancer in the world. The RDA for iodine in the U.S. is a meager 150 mcg/day, which pales in comparison with the average daily intake of 13800 mcg/day for the Japanese.
There is a large body of evidence suggesting that low cancer rates in Japan are a result of their substantially higher iodine levels. Iodine has documented antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties.
A strong case can be made that your iodine RDA should be closer to what the Japanese consume daily, if breast cancer rates are any indication. Low iodine can lead to fibrocystic breast disease in women (density, lumps and bumps), hyperplasia, and atypical mammary tissue. Such fibrocystic changes in breast tissue have been shown to reverse in the presence of iodine supplementation after 3-4 months.
If you are interested in being tested for iodine deficiency, the urine iodine challenge test is the best way to assess your iodine level.
Bromine and Your Thyroid
Adding to the negative health effects of bromine, the damage to your thyroid health deserves special mention.
As stated in the first part of this article, bromine exposure depletes your body’s iodine by competing with iodine receptors. Iodine is crucial for thyroid function. Without iodine, your thyroid gland would be completely unable to produce thyroid hormone.
Even the names of the different forms of thyroid hormone reflect the number of iodine molecules attached — T4 has four attached iodine molecules, and T3 (the biologically active form of the hormone) has three–showing what an important part iodine plays in thyroid biochemistry.
Hypothyroidism is far more prevalent than once thought in the U.S. The latest estimates are that 13 million Americans have hypothyroidism, but the actual numbers are probably higher. Some experts claim that 10 to40 percent of Americans have suboptimal thyroid function.
Many of these folks may actually have nothing wrong with their thyroid gland at all — they may just be suffering from iodine deficiency.
Seven Tips for Avoiding Bromine and Optimizing Iodine
Trying to avoid bromine is like trying to avoid air pollution — all you can do is minimize your exposure. That said, here are a few things you can do to minimize your risk:
- Eat organic as often as possible. Wash all produce thoroughly. This will minimize your pesticide exposure.
- Avoid eating or drinking from (or storing food and water in) plastic containers. Use glass and safe ceramic vessels.
- Look for organic whole-grain breads and flour. Grind you own grain, if possible. Look for the “no bromine” or “bromine-free” label on commercial baked goods.
- Avoid sodas. Drink natural, filtered water instead.
- If you own a hot tub, look into an ozone purification system. Such systems make it possible to keep the water clean with minimal chemical treatments.
- Look for personal care products that are as chemical-free as possible. Remember — anything going on you, goes in you.
- When in a car or a building, open windows as often as possible, preferably on opposing sides of the space for cross ventilation. Utilize fans to circulate the air. Chemical pollutants are much higher inside buildings (and cars) than outside.
Avoid Unfermented Soy
Another major contributor to thyroid dysfunction that I did not discuss above is unfermented soy. Soy isoflavones can wreak havoc on your thyroid.
Kaayla Daniel’s groundbreaking book, The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food is a powerful exposé that reveals the truth about the soy myths that have infiltrated our culture.
It’s ironic that soy has become so accepted as a health food when, as Dr. Daniel states, thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid- and hormonal dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility–even cancer and heart disease.
So if you want to keep your thyroid healthy, you’ll definitely want to avoid unfermented soy products of all kinds, including soy milk.
Tatiacha
Randy
Blog Admin
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