This Essential Weight Loss Mineral Can Also Eliminate
an Incredible Number of Other Health Problems

It's hard to believe that too low levels of this one mineral can cause you to completely fail in your weight loss goals, but it's true! Not only that, low levels can also cause a whole host of other health problems. And because it is so central to how your thyroid balances itself, if you have lab tests for thyroid function, the results might show up as low thyroid, high thyroid or even both! To find out if low levels are sabotaging your weight loss goals - and contributing to other health problems, too, do these two things.

1. Use the check list below to see if you have some of these symptoms, and
2. Follow that up with the simple self-test described after that:

Milder Symptoms:

_____fatigue
_____brittle or ridged nails
_____skin dry and cold
_____shortness of breath
_____cold hands and feet
_____constipation
_____nervousness
_____depression
_____headache
_____irritability
_____increased cholesterol

More severe symptoms can include:

_____marked weight gain
_____sluggishness,
_____round face
_____many folds of skin beneath your eyes and jaw,
_____tongue thick, voice guttural
_____skin dry and cold
_____hair brittle and falling out
_____low metabolism
_____mind and body placid, feeling "lazy
_____problems with memory and speech
_____recurrent infections
_____chronic aches and pains including backache and arthritis
_____blood problems like anemia
_____chronic bruising,
_____minor bleeding,
_____ulcers,
_____severe muscle cramps, especially at night
_____stiffness and numbness

You may have opposite set of symptoms, which can include:

_____pulse over 120 beats/ minute
_____sweating,
_____bulging eyes,
_____restless overactivity,
_____nervousness,
_____weakness,
_____sensitivity to heat,
_____tremors,
_____increased appetite but losing weight,
_____abnormal thyroid hormone values.

If you are a woman, you may also experience:

_____excess menstruation,
_____ovarian cysts
_____cervical dysplasia
_____uterine abnormalities - uterine fibroids, polyps, endometriosis
_____female reproductive difficulties

What does iodine do in the body?

keeps the thyroid functioning properly
helps immune system fight infections
helps reproductive glands and tissues functioning properly, including breasts, ovaries,endometrium and prostate
has been shown to reverse fibrocystic breast disease
has been shown to suppress chemically-induced breast cancer in rats
balances estrogen levels
stablilzes heart beat, helps regulate and keep normal rhythm
can normalize serum cholesterol levels
improves glucose metabolism (it attaches to insulin receptors)
is essential for development of the central nervous system
helps remove heavy metals

How to Test Yourself:
(Note: Do not do this test if you are allergic to iodine!)
You can monitor your own iodine levels by doing an 'iodine patch test'. This means applying about a 2 inch square of iodine tincture (that orange-colored stuff you get at the drugstore) to your skin in the morning after your shower or bath, noting the time you put it on, and then monitoring how it changes over the next 24 hours., noting how the color changes. The sooner it lightens, the more likely you need a supplement containing protein-bound iodine. If the color remains about the same as when you put it on, or has lightened only slightly by the same time the next day, your body has no need of the iodine, and so left it where you put it. In that case, it is likely you need no iodine supplementation.

How Can This Be Addressed?
(Note: Do not take supplements containing iodine if you are allergic to it!)
Get your iodine levels up. The best food sources of iodine are two seaweeds - kelp and Kombu. (which is why low iodine levels are almost unheard of in Japan, where the diet includes lots of these seaweeds.)

Next, if you are going to take an iodine supplement, start slowly and increase gradually. That's because when the receptor sites on your cells are not used to picking up iodine, they often act like they've gone to sleep on the job. They require a little exposure to the circulating iodine to 'wake up' and start absorbing it into your cells. During that time if you have too much iodine circulating, you might feel anxious, nervous and have a higher pulse rate, almost as if you had a temporarily overactive thyroid.

Also use a protein-bound iodine for best absorption. Why? Because iodine can be toxic due to its tendency to combine with protein. That's why it works so well to put iodine on a cut: iodine destroys the protein in bacteria, thus destroying the bacteria. To avoid this, take an iodine product that's already bound with protein (called protein-bound iodine).

According to Dr. Guy Abraham, a researcher and an authority on the safe use of iodine, the daily dose of iodine should be 12.5mg to 37.5mg per day. But you can monitor your own iodine levels. To do so simply repeat the above patch test every week or two. When the patch no longer fades and has only faded slightly in 24 hours, you can cut back.

If you are a woman suffering from reproductive system symptoms, topical iodine has been shown to be successful to assist your healing. Use 10 drops of Lugol's solution (a strong iodine solution available in most pharmacies). Apply it to an organic, cotton tampon and insert once per month for 3-4 hours or up to overnight. (Thanks to Australian herbalist Angela Hywood for this information.)

If you have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, be aware that some thyroid experts say iodine is absolutely contraindicated with this condition while others insist it's not only fine, but highly beneficial. The short story is that the jury is still out on this subject. What experts do agree on is that iodine stimulates the production and activity of the thyroid peroxidase (TPO) enzyme which is the target of the autoimmune attack. Many alternative practitioners address the underlying immune condition, which they believe is often a result of a virus that closely resembles the structure of the TPO enzyme, and that supporting the body to rid itself of the virus is the approach to take. Some would argue that whether or not to take iodine if you have this condition depends on whether or not the particular virus that mimics your TPO enzyme happens to feed on iodine. If it does, nix the iodine supplementation until you're clear of the virus. If it doesn't you should be fine to get your iodine levels up.

Pamela Levin is an R.N. and a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst in private practice 42 years. She also has 500+ post-graduate hours in clinical nutrition, herbology and applied kinesiology. She is an award winning author and nutritional journalist whose writings are published in 10 languages.

Pamela Levin, R.N., T.S.T.A.
June 5, 2012

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