Iodine, bromine, etc.

Hey, Sarah --

Sorry to take a while getting back to you. I have had migraine 4 out of the last 8 days and it has been dreadful. I get them whenever there is a thunderstorm and we are at the start of summer storm season here in Virginia...

I get Iodine at jcrows.com. A lot of people on the Iodine support forum use a solution that is both Iodine and Iodide (two different forms which the body uses in different places) called Lugol's Solution, which is fairly cheap (one reason, I am convinced, that there is not widespread interest in iodine is because there is no money to be made off of it so drug companies have not paid attention to it). There's a pill form of Lugol's called Iodoral, which I think is available at the great informational site breastcancerchoices.org (lots of information there on the how and why of iodine, obviously with an eye toward breast health).

Jeff Crow who runs that site posts a lot on the Iodine Support forum, and is very knowledgeable. Also a lot of interesting iodine information on his site in general about iodine and old folk medicine stuff like apple cider vinegar, etc.

There is an iodine protocol listed at breastcancerchoices.org. I take salt water, selenium, and Vitamin C on days when I supplement. The iodine will chelate metals like aluminum and mercury, but you still need the salt, etc. to flush it out of the body.

Fat. It is really interesting, and explained in great detail in the Jorge Flechas interviews on Iodine Support and at Dr. Flechas' website, which is I believe helpmythyroid.com. Basically, though, a close relative of iodine is bromine, which shows up in bread (it replaced iodine in about 1980 as a dough conditioner, which caused us to ingest more bromine and also lose the daily RDA of iodine that a slice of bread used to supply, which is 160 mcg). It's also used in power drinks and citrusy sodas like Mountain Dew -- it appears in the form of "brominated vegetable oil" and acts to disperse the citrus flavor in these products. Many countries ban it entirely; it's under review and in a questionable status at the FDA here, which is basically where I think that they park it because they know it's not safe but it's obviously important to the soft-drink and bread industries so there is pressure not to ban it.

Anyway, bromine is stored in the body in fat where it becomes solid and is very hard to get rid of (in addition to blocking the body from iodine uptake, so it's a double whammy). When you undergo iodine supplementation, i.e. iodine plus salt plus selenium plus C, the bromine will dissolve and leave -- if you look at the Iodine Forum you'll see reports from those who have seen sediment in their urine, which is bromine exiting the body. (Because of my twins, I rarely have time to examine my urine, but I think I've seen some bromine exit because of the fat loss!)

As I think I mentioned before I have gotten a lot thinner since I started supplementing with iodine (I take a pretty conservative amount, too.) It seems to make everything work better and has been wonderful for my digestive system, and of course when your stomach and intestines are in good shape and you are eating nutrient-dense foods, they don't end up storing a lot of fat because absorption is efficient, rather than when you are in constant hunger and then storage of food because your gut health is just poor.

But I also think I had some residual bromine -- sort of bottom of my belly, arms, usual female fat-storage areas, which has gone. I have really not reduced my eating at all and if anything eat more the older my twins get. I am a terrible exerciser (which is to say, I don't -- apart from running after them, despite what others think it is really not that much exertion!) So I don't have another explanation except for supplementation.

Hope that's helpful! I love posting back and forth and I hope you are feeling well this week (even if, by your standards, that means a little morning sickness!)

Have an awesome day, everyone --

Laura