Optimox - Iodoral High Potency Iodine/Potassium Iodide Supplement 90 Tablets 103513

There are two schools of thought at war with each other in the world of iodine. One paradigm tells you not to take more than a few micrograms and the other one tells you you need to take doses in the milligram range. I wasn’t sure who to believe and whether I should take a high dose of iodine (as in this supplement) so I decided to dive into the science behind it all and let my test results bear out who was telling the truth. Luckily for me, my functional medicine doctor was on board and told me she would support me and monitor me through testing. So here is what happened. In the world of conventional medicine the view is if you take too much iodine it will cause autoimmune thyroid disease; by contrast, the world of functional medicine the view is if you don’t get enough iodine you will get autoimmune thyroid disease. After doing my own investigation, it appears that the conventional medicine paradigm does not fully understand the science behind iodine and thyroid. When a person begins taking high dose iodine the blood level of TSH will rise. Conventional medicine will see this as a negative. However, research shows that this is a normal biological response in a situation where a person has been deficient in iodine for a prolonged period of time. When there has been a long-standing iodine deficiency, the body down-regulates its production of NIS symporters. NIS symporters are found on many different glands in the body and their purpose is to transport iodine from the bloodstream into the gland. When iodine is lacking in the diet, the body will not make as many NIS symporters simply because they are not needed if there is no iodine to transport. So when a person starts taking iodine in the milligram range the body will increase production of TSH in order to stimulate production of NIS symporters to meet the demand now that iodine is available. A good explanation of this process can be seen in the video “P2P Webinar: Iodine & Autoimmune Thyroid Disorders” by Dr. David Brownstein on YouTube. In this video webinar Dr. Brownstein also explains how iodine works within the thyroid gland. Conventional medicine alleges that milligram ranges of iodine supplementation will result in a rise in thyroid autoimmune antibodies. However, Dr. Brownstein explains this is actually because they haven’t gone high enough with the dose. If the dose is not sufficient enough to produce iodinated lipids (i.e., δ-Iodolipids {delta iodolipids}) within the thyroid gland, the increase in H202 that occurs during the production of thyroid hormone can damage the TPO enzyme. This in turn will trigger an immune response to produce TPO antibodies to destroy the damaged enzymes. However, if the level of iodine is sufficient enough to trigger the production of δ-iodolactone, it provides negative feedback to the NADPH oxidase system which puts the brakes on the production of H2O2, and this will result in a reduction of thyroid autoimmune antibodies. I proved this with my own testing. I slowly worked my way up to 50 mg of iodine in the form of Lugol’s tablets (using either Iodoral and/or Lugotabs). Just as Dr. Brownstein claimed, my TSH rose, my T3 stayed within limits, and my thyroid autoimmune antibodies went down. As Dr. Brownstein Stephanie Buist both explain in their YouTube videos, the TSH may stay elevated for an extended period of time until the body restores the population of NIS symporters now that the body is being repleted with Iodine. I had to personally increase my dosage of iodine slowly and do salt loading due to bromide detox symptoms I had along the way. I feel fortunate to have an integrative/functional medicine endocrinologist on my side throughout this whole process being that I did not know which camp was telling the truth and what would happen. The only thing I can say is that I have had amazing results in the following areas after taking high dose iodine. My sleep has improved dramatically (I suffer suffered from chronic insomnia), my thyroid nodule shrunk, my Tgab antibody levels went down, my cognition improved, my energy level increased, and my sxs of SICCA completely disappeared after 2 months. Everyone is different so your experience might not be the same as mine. But I encourage everyone to look into this for themselves and find a Doctor who will monitor you and support you through the process.

I was told over a year ago about the benefits of Iodine and how we need more than we are getting but I didn't do anything about it. Last November I began getting very tired and even though I would take naps (sometimes for 2 hours) within a half hour I would feel tired again. Quite unnerving. I went to my nurse practitioner who did a blood draw and found that I had Hypothyroidism. She knew I prefer natural healing so I was buying supplements from her that were working but cost about $74 a month. It took about 3 months for things to start changing for the better though and she even added a RX to help the process. But I didn't like that I had to go over to her office to buy the supplements and the cost so I started researching other products. I did find something that was $14 and it was good but I was still tired. A few times my mind would go to the discussion of Iodine and all the benefits but it took me a few more months before I finally researched for myself and found that for the last 20 or so years they have been reducing iodine in our foods and replacing it with bromides. I also read that some of the positive effects of Iodine were in helping the thyroid so I purchased this product. It also has potassium. I read the paper that was enclosed. It suggested 1 to 4 tabs per day. I started with a 1/2 the first morning and when nothing wierd happened, I took the other 1/2 that night. I then took 1 tab a day for a few days and found no improvement but nothing adverse either. I then increased to 2 tabs for a few days and then to 3. That was the turning point for me! 3 tabs a day was the beginning of my life going back in terms of energy. I also take Pure DHEA (Help balance my hormones & helps with hot flashes & added energy level). These two products have turned my life around. I am 61, and teach ballet and arts & crafts at the local YMCA. I am with children from 3 - 11 years and I am happy to say that I can keep up with their energy levels. My brain is functioning at a higher level and I no longer have that horrible "fuzzy" feeling in my brain. I have my life back and I look forward to every day.

Good quality iodine for thyroid support.

I’ve read a book about how important iodine is, and that we need two types of iodine for good results. This odor contains both types. I live in “the goiter belt”, the states surrounding the Great Lakes, which has been shown to have iodine deficient soil. Iodine comes into play with many body functions.

I have been taking this a long time. My doses for my thyroid medicine has come down. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with this but it’s good for me.