> I think I came up with the info below from this list earlier (maybe
> another paleo eating support list ?)
>
> I did the iodine skin patch test and, MAN!, I couldn't believe it.
> Within 2 hours the patch TOTALLY disappeared from my inner arm! I've
> been taking Standard Process Prolamine since then. As laid out below,
> it's a very slow ramp up to the full dose. I focused on iodine after
> hearing the Terry Wahl Ted presentation. YOur brain cannot repair or
> protect itself if you do not have enough iodine. It is generally said,
> but I don't know that it is true, that early human populations lived
> near the sea, so externally sourced iodine (SEAWEED) has always been
> part of our diet. In the macrobiotic healing diet, a diet that does
> cure people although it's far from perfect for daily eating, iodine,
> though seaweed consumption, is very important. They recommend drinking
> a seaweed tea daily. You make this by taking a 6inch piece of kelp and
> simmering it for (I think) 30 minutes. You drink the tea daily and can
> use the same piece of kelp for about a week to make tea. (And then
> slice it up and eat it with tamari.) -Allan in WV PS In the modern
> world, you want seaweeds that have been harvested in areas of the sea
> that have yet to be contaminated (I understand that there really are
> such places (??)) Also, if you take supplemental selenium, I believe
> the metals will not stay in your system.
>
> ODINE FULFILLMENT THERAPY
>
> From "Health Alert" Newsletter by Dr. Bruce West, December 2005,
> Volume 22, Issue 12]
>
> To subscribe to "Health Alert" Newsletter: http://www.healthalert.com/
>
> From 1900 to the 1960s almost every single U.S. physician used Lugol
> (iodine) supplements in his or her practice for both hypo- and
> hyperthyroid, as well as many, many other conditions-all with
> excellent results. In fact, iodine was considered a panacea for all
> human ills. (1) Today a phobia-generated by medical misinformation
> against iodine therapy-has caused physicians to avoid this powerful
> treatment like the plague. (2)
>
> By avoiding iodine therapy, you could be missing out on the very link
> that could get you well. Today we know that total body iodine
> fulfillment or sufficiency can finally resolve tough, stubborn
> problems that resist all other treatments. Called
> orthoiodosupplementation, this treatment employs elemental iodine
> supplements until the thyroid gland and all other iodine-sensitive
> sites in the body have reached iodine sufficiency.
>
> The most commonly difficult problems for which this therapy has been
> called a panacea are fibrocystic breasts, polycystic ovary syndrome,
> hypo- and hyperthyroid (with or without goiter), brain fog,
> constipation, obesity, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure),
> and even some heart problems-most notably irreversible arrhythmias
> like atrial fibrillation.
>
> Why Iodine is Important
>
> Iodine is detected in every organ and tissue in the body. It is found
> in high levels in the thyroid gland, liver, lung, heart, and adrenal
> glands. It is found in the highest concentrations in fat and muscle
> tissue. It is depleted out of the thyroid gland and other tissues when
> thyroid hormone medications are prescribed. Iodine has been considered
> so important that up until 20 years ago, it had been routinely added
> to bread as a supplement. Now because of politics and fear of iodine,
> the thyroid-toxin bromine has taken its place as a bread supplement.
> And in the past 20 years there has been an increased prevalence of
> obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, as well as more thyroid and
> breast cancers.
>
> According to Guy E. Abraham, MD, perhaps the world's most
> knowledgeable expert on iodine and the thyroid, "Medical iodophobia
> has reached pandemic proportions. It is highly contagious and has
> wreaked havoc on the practice of medicine and on the U.S. population.
> More misery and death in the U.S. may have resulted from [medicine's
> unwarranted fear of iodine] than from both World Wars combined."
>
> That is quite a statement from a former professor of Endocrinology and
> a man who pioneered ways to assay iodine and minute quantities of
> hormones in the body. This man in the past 35 years has received more
> biochemistry, diagnostics, clinical chemistry, and hormone and iodine
> research awards than anyone I know of. And he has studied iodine
> therapy in high doses in over 4,000 people-publishing his findings in
> a document titled "The Iodine Project." These findings once and for
> all dispelled the medical myth and fear of iodine therapy.
>
> Whole Body Iodine Sufficiency
>
> Thyroidologists like Dr. Abraham have learned of the tremendous
> benefits of what they call whole body iodine sufficiency-when the body
> is saturated with sufficient iodine to supply all the tissues. Along
> the way, they have also discovered some amazing things about current
> thyroid treatment, thyroid drugs, and iodine. The very first thing
> discovered is that iodine is the treatment of choice for hypo- and
> hyperthyroid problems-with or without goiter.
>
> Doctors could get as high as a 90% cure rate with hyperthyroid
> (overactive thyroid) by using what would be considered high doses of
> iodine daily. Doses of six to 37 mgs daily seemed equally effective in
> resolving cases of hypothyroid (underactive thyroid). These doses,
> once considered normal, are now considered high by most people in the
> medical profession.
>
> Whole body iodine sufficiency is also a critical means to counter the
> side effects of thyroid hormone medications (Synthroid, etc.).
> Long-term use of these drugs is associated with depletion of thyroid
> and tissue iodine levels, as well as increased rates of cancer.
> Fluorescent scanning of the thyroid clearly shows how drug and other
> medical thyroid therapies deplete the gland and body of critical
> iodine.
>
> Therefore, Synthroid or thyroid-destructive therapies should never be
> taken without iodine therapy-something you will never hear from your
> endocrinologist. If all Thyroidologists and endocrinologists were
> forced to fluorescence scan their patients' thyroid glands, they would
> then have to fact up to the damages they are causing to these glands
> and their patients!
>
> In addition to thyroid therapy, all thyroid patients should be on
> iodine therapy, with the goal to reach a whole body iodine
> sufficiency. When this state is reached, the following results
> (gathered using sophisticated lab testing, fluorescence screening,
> clinical measurements, and a host of other high-tech medical testing
> procedures) have been observed:
>
>    Goiter is reduced or eliminated.
>    Stress on the pituitary gland with resultant high TSH readings is
> eliminated.
>    Increased excretion of thyroid poisons and heavy metals occurs via
> the kidneys.
>    The liver's detoxification mechanisms are enhanced.
>    Obesity is more easily overcome-in fact, iodine therapy may be a
> critical and unknown factor in obesity.
>    Diabetes and high blood pressure are more easily controlled.
>    Breast tissue normalizes with decreased occurrences of fibrocystic
> breast disease.
>    Menopausal symptoms are improved.
>    Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can be cured.
>    Brain function is better, with less brain fog.
>    Heart function is better, with reduced arrhythmia problems.
>    And cancer rates, especially of the thyroid and breast, are reduced.
>
> Additionally, through the Iodine Project studies, Dr. Abraham
> discovered that even patients with complete thyroidectomy (removal of
> the whole gland) benefited from iodine therapy. Therefore it became
> known that iodine not only improved the thyroid gland, but the other
> target areas of the body where iodine and thyroid hormone are active.
>
> The doctors in the Project found that patients who achieved iodine
> sufficiency were often able to resolve diabetes problems without
> insulin. They could normalize blood pressure without medication.
> Goiters were resolved. And those taking thyroid hormone medication
> could greatly reduce or completely eliminate these drugs.
>
> Heart, Arrhythmias, Fibrillation
>
> As you have read over and over in Health Alert, there is an epidemic
> of cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation in this country. Expert
> Thyroidologists like Dr. Abraham are convinced that the medical iodine
> phobia has a great deal to do with this phenomenon. Adequate stores of
> iodine are necessary for a smooth heartbeat.
>
> Amazingly, while medicine shuns iodine therapy, their most popular
> anti-fibrillation drug, Amiodarone, actually is iodine in a toxic,
> sustained release form. This drug can produce a smooth heartbeat when
> the body has accumulated about 1.5 grams (1,500 mgs) of iodine. This
> is exactly the same amount of iodine retained by the human body when
> iodine sufficiency is achieved by natural iodine supplementation.
>
> The problem with Amiodarone is that this form of iodine (which the
> medical profession has a penchant for) is extremely toxic. The side
> effects are most often too great for patients to regain a normal
> heartbeat. Therefore it only makes sense to try to achieve iodine
> sufficiency with the natural form of iodine instead. That is why I
> always recommend iodine (in the form of either Cataplex F and/or
> Prolamine Iodine from Standard Process) with my arrhythmia and
> fibrillation patients.
>
> Caution!
>
> If you are about to try to achieve iodine sufficiency with slowly
> increasing doses of Prolamine Iodine, you must note that this is to be
> done in place of Amiodarone-not simultaneously with it. So you will
> need to have your doctor stop the drug therapy when you start the
> iodine therapy. Therapy usually starts at 1 tablet of Prolamine Iodine
> daily for a week. If no problem arises, the dose increases slowly
> (every week to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 tablets daily). If there are no
> problems along the way, and especially if your heart begins to
> function more normally, you would stay at 5 or 6 tablets daily for
> three to six months. Or you might need three months of 12 Prolamine
> Iodine tablets per day to achieve full iodine sufficiency levels. This
> is, of course, in conjunction with your current heart protocol of
> phytonutrients.
>
> Types of Iodine and Doses
>
> For decades Lugol iodine has been used by expert Thyroidologists. But
> liquid iodine has problems-it tastes bad, can upset your stomach, and
> can stain your clothes. There is a Lugol tablet on the market called
> Iodoral. This is the type of iodine Dr. Abraham uses. It is the
> inorganic form and each tablet contains 12 mgs of iodine. Iodoral is
> sold only to physicians, but you may be able to buy it on the Internet
> by doing a Google search for Iodoral.
>
> We use Prolamine Iodine, which is the organic form. Each tablet
> contains 3 mgs of iodine. Iodoral is less expensive, and some studies
> (at least with fibrocystic breast disease) show it to be more
> effective than Prolamine Iodine. Our results with all conditions show
> them to be equally effective.
>
> Exactly what dose is best for you is difficult to determine. But we
> now know that what were formerly considered high doses of the right
> form of iodine are safe and effective. Some iodine-deficient people
> only need a tablet or two daily. For people with more serious iodine
> deficiency problems, iodine sufficiency must be achieved. This is
> accomplished with a daily dose of around 37 mgs for three months: four
> Iodoral or 12 Prolamine Iodine tablets daily.
>
> And this dose should be achieved slowly-starting with one Prolamine
> Iodine tablet daily, increasing one to two tablets daily each week.
> Without side effects, the dose should be increased weekly until the
> iodine sufficiency dose of 12 daily is achieved. With Iodoral, start
> with one tablet daily and increase by one tablet each week until you
> are taking four tablets daily. Either way, after achieving the full
> iodine sufficiency dose, it should be maintained for three months.
>
> We now know that it is possible for some people to eliminate their
> need for medical thyroid drugs after achieving iodine sufficiency. We
> also now know that anyone taking thyroid drugs like Synthroid should
> also be on iodine therapy. At the very least, iodine therapy can
> decrease the need for thyroid hormone drugs.
>
> We are just beginning to discover the amazing curative powers of
> iodine. While it may not be the panacea that old-timers have claimed,
> it is indeed critical. It is often the missing factor in "incurable"
> conditions like obesity, diabetes, breast disease, polycystic ovaries,
> thyroiditis, hypothyroid, autoimmune thyroid problems, and more.
>
> While some doctors claim that no one is really allergic to iodine, I
> have seen sensitivities. If you do not know if you are allergic to
> iodine, then you are not. Those who are truly allergic know it and
> carefully avoid shellfish, iodized salt, most fish, kelp, and other
> foods that contain iodine.