Re: I have Hashimoto's

A good summary for what you are looking for can be found at this site:

http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=3621


Bottom line is it seems that when Iodine causes Hashimoto's to get worse we need to ask if it is really Iodine that is causing Hashimoto’s to get worse, or is the Rooster God being worshiped? Think of the Brazilian tribe that worships the rooster because its morning sound causes the sun to rise. Just because two things occur at the same time does not mean one caused the other. In all of these cases I have read about where Iodine caused Hashimoto’s to get worse all they looked at was Iodine. Blame iodine because it got worse at the time iodine was given. This is the same thing as looking at the Rooster when the sun comes up. It has been verified many times that people with Hashimoto’s in the United States are usually deficient in iodine. However, if they are deficient in iodine then they are almost sure to be deficient in selenium also. Selenium is what the thyroid uses to manage H2O2 (Hydrogen-Peroxid) so I would submit that it is low selenium that is causing these bad reactions, not iodine. Think about it from an evolutionary standpoint. If soil is low in selenium it is very likely to be low in iodine. If soil is low in iodine it is very likely to be low in selenium. As people evolved and moved around the world, they had to be able to adapt to either low selenium and iodine or higher selenium and iodine. What they did not typically have to deal with was high iodine and low selenium. That is until some “smart people” started increasing one without increasing the other. I have yet to read of a bad reaction to iodine if the person was first started in 200 mcg per day of selenium as L-selenomethionine and then iodine was increased. Several studies have looked at this and found that relationship. Of one that did not find this relationship, it appears the set up of the study was flawed from the start. They used 200 mcg of a selenium salt rather than normalizing the dose to provide 200 mcg of selenium. A dose 200 mcg of a selenium salt will contain noticeably less elemental selenium than 200 mcg and likely be noticeably less absorbable into the body that a form selenium bound to an amino acid.

Also, iodine in salt is not enough due to people eating less salt plus the increase in Bormine chemicals that block iodine from the thyroid.

So no, both an iodine/selenium deficiency can cause Hashomoto’s as can excess iodine without increasing selenium. People also point to Japan where the Hashimoto’s cases are somewhat similar to here. They eat a lot of kelp and other sea vegetables in Japan that provides a lot of iodine. HOWEVER, those plants provide far more iodine than selenium so it is still out of balance. Apparently, as Kelp moved along the evolutionary pathway it learned how effective iodine is as a defense against bacteria and other microscopic things that would otherwise kill it. What we do see in Japan is some of the lowest cancer rates in the world. That would appear to be due to the protection of iodine in their diet. They lose this cancer advantage when they move to another part of the world and adopt that diet.