Iodine and an old lie, still being spread

The extremely erroneous "Wolff–Chaikoff effect" is why medical doctors are so wrong about iodine - yet the "effect" is still being presented in recently published research as a reasonable theory.

The Culling is more obvious now but started in the 1950’s in the U.S. with the addition of fluoride to drinking water and the substitution of potassium bromate for potassium iodide in bread and pastry flour. The food supply became goitrogenic and the iodine deficiency/halide excess has been accumulating over three and a half generations now. With each pregnancy women became more depleted in iodine and later babies may be more likely to be born with congenital hypothyroidism. Providing iodine promptly might help restore some normal development but standard treatment has been to just provide synthetic T4 thyroid hormone, Synthroid.

Replies to my recent post, PCOS and Mitochondrial Dysfunction, by Timothy Winey who Writes Timothy’s Newsletter, included this link:

• The Historical Background of the Iodine Project, Guy. E. Abraham M.D. https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8

• and this one in a different reply, thanks! https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Vitamin_C_Mitigating_and_Rescuing_from_Synergistic_Toxicity_Sodium_Fluoride_Silicofluorides_Aluminum_Salts_Electromagnetic_Pollution_and_SARS-CoV-2/13580318/1

Dr. Abraham has some things to say about the Wolff-Chaikoff effect - worth reading his words. (P-off someone enough and they will get cranky.) Nutshell - many decades ago the standard treatment of thyroid conditions with iodine was switched to medications that use a more dangerous type of iodine. Negative side effects of the dangerous treatments are blamed on iodine itself now, rather than on the dangerous type of iodine being used.

The Wolff-Chaikoff effect was developed in stages by Dr Chaikoff and then Dr Wolff but it misinterpreted iodine sufficiency as dysfunction - why did the thyroid stop taking up more iodine and producing more thyroid hormone? Instead of saying - because there was enough iodine and thyroid hormone already and the patient seems normalized in their symptoms - the interpretation was that the use of high dose iodine caused thyroid dysfunction - why wasn’t more being made? But the patients were functioning fine - there was not symptoms of low thyroid function. They didn’t need an excess.

Too much thyroid hormone is not good either. Hyperthyroidism can cause mania and reckless behavior and rapid heart rate, jittery thinking and jittery hand-writing.

Addition - supposedly giving high dose iodine can help stop production of thyroid hormone in hyperthyroidism - that was very untrue for my case. I really needed to avoid it, even naturally occurring in rhubarb (plant with a high uptake of iodine).

“The Wolff–Chaikoff effect[1] is a presumed reduction in thyroid hormone levels caused by ingestion of a large amount of iodine.[2]

It was discovered by Drs. Jan Wolff and Israel Lyon Chaikoff at the University of California, Berkeley: in 1948, they reported that injection of iodine in rats almost completely inhibited organification (thyroglobulin iodination) in the thyroid gland.[3][4] However, recent [when?] research into the study shows that the thyroid hormone levels of the rats were not checked prior to injections. [citation needed]” - from the Wikipedia page.

A questionable study on rats, from 1948, is still being used to support iodine deficiency throughout the population. The U of C, Berkeley, location does not rule out possible links to covert groups, as California was and is, seemingly, a central location for many of the covert issues we still have.

“Israel Lyon Chaikoff (2 July 1902, in London, UK – 25 January 1966, in Berkeley, USA) was a Canadian-American physiologist and biochemist, known for the Wolff–Chaikoff effect.[1][2] He and his colleagues were pioneers in the use of radioactive iodine (iodine-131) to investigate thyroid function.[3]” Wikipedia

Clue - radioactive iodine kills thyroid function. A memorial is all glowingly positive and there is no mention of the controversy about iodine deficiency. He was born in London, England, got his education in Canada and moved to California after completing his PhD at U of Toronto. http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb629006vt&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00007&toc.depth=1&toc.id=

Low iodine levels are so common that lab ranges are based on deficiency rather than on truly healthy people. The Dr’s Wolff and Chaikoff likely had no healthy patients except for those in whom the “Wolff-Chaikoff effect” had been observed, (*or just lab rats). Many lab biomarkers are based on “normal ranges” seen at the lab. If the lab is at a hospital where really sick people go for care, then their “average” will likely be the lab averages of dysfunction and illness.

my reply: hmmmm

Wolff–Chaikoff effect - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Wolff–Chaikoff_effect

The Wolff–Chaikoff effect is a presumed reduction in thyroid hormone levels caused by ingestion of a large amount of iodine.

Wolff-Chaikoff Effect - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics https://www.sciencedirect.com › topics › wolff-chaikoff-e...

Inhibition of the infant's thyroid function (Wolff–Chaikoff effect) caused by high iodine dosage is possible if the child's intake is 100 μg/kg daily, ...

*ScienceDirect seems to be Tabloid journalism too. Entire pages of excerpts on a topic about magnesium I have seen without a single use of the word magnesium. Look up the search phrase individually with the word magnesium, and (not) amazingly - lots of results. ScienceDirect is hiding certain information, while presenting what looks like a thorough review of the subject.

Evidence that ScienceDirect is an academic misinformation site - the page on PCOS does not mention iodine deficiency or a low carbohydrate diet at all. Metformin is mentioned in one excerpt as a treatment that not all but many doctors do use. (Evaluation and Management of Dyslipidemia in Children and Adolescents) A different paper on the topic page about genetics, makes the case for PCOS having a genetic factor because the problem seems to be seen in female siblings, and their male siblings may also have hyperlipidemia symptoms. (Genetics of polycystic ovarian syndrome) (ScienceDirect/PCOS)

True, siblings having the same symptoms might indicate genetic heritability for those symptoms, or it might indicate that all the siblings had a similar fetal development since they all had the same mother - who may have been low in iodine - for all of her pregnancies. Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one. (Iodine deficiency and ovarian cysts, (iodineresearch.com/ovaries).

Iodine deficiency also increases the risk of damage to mitochondrial DNA (1, 2) - once that has occurred, there would be ongoing problems, however we grow new mitochondria too. Providing the body mitochondrial support nutrients and Nrf2 to promote DNA damage repair pathways, might help grow more healthy ones. Might help more than saying “There is no cure for PCOS”. Minimally providing adequate iodine would likely reduce inflammation and pain, by resolving cysts and acting as an antioxidant for mitochondria, it would be protecting them from further oxidative damage.

Personally, my fibrocystic breast pain went away and has only returned since passive exposure CoV jab illness - seems to be flaring up any old aches and/or at this point in my hyperthyroidism experience I may need a little more iodine than I’ve been using. Too much iodine or iodized salt products causes an enlarged thyroid for me again. But I have seemed a little low and I have had Nori rolls with seaweed a few times without a swollen thyroid afterward.

The Wolff-Chaikoff erroneous effect is still being used to explain hypothyroidism.

Iodine-Induced Fetal Hypothyroidism: Diagnosis and ... https://www.karger.com › Article › Fulltext by MT Hardley · 2018 · Cited by 12 — Excess maternal intake of iodine can cause fetal hypothyroidism due to the inability to escape from the Wolff-Chaikoff effect in utero.

Potassium Iodide - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › books › NBK542320 by JF Torti · 2021 · Cited by 2 — Potassium Iodide (KI) affects the production of thyroid hormone ... iodide uptake during the escape from the acute Wolff–Chaikoff effect.

Those are recent hits - this Wolff-Chaikoff fallacy is still believed and is being used in new research and publications. When the trainers are being trained wrong, then seeking guidance from them will only provide wrong answers.

I see tinfoil people everywhere. (Sixth Sense paraphrase)

Addition April 13, 2024 - a reference via Doorless Carp’s series on Magnesium; magnesium deficiency will cause a decrease in iodine uptake by thyroid cells and a decrease in thyroid hormone production which leads to an increase in TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone. (Wang, et al., 2018) The body would be trying to get more thyroid hormone produced but without magnesium and ATP-magnesium, then that will likely remain slowed down even with more TSH present.

“Magnesium, as an enzyme cofactor, plays a critical role in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis, and its deficiency can affect these functions and lead to decreased iodine uptake by thyroid cells and a subsequent drop in thyroid hormone synthesis, thereby causing the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Animal experiments have shown that magnesium supplementation can significantly increase radioactive iodine uptake by thyroid cells, while its deficiency does the opposite³⁴. Notably, the majority of participants with hypothyroidism in this study exhibited subclinical hypothyroidism;” (Wang, et al., 2018)

Iodine repletion resolves many negative symptoms, for many people, including me.

Excerpts from: The Historical Background of the Iodine Project, Guy. E. Abraham M.D. https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8

"Whole body sufficiency for iodine correlated well with overall wellbeing, and some subjects could tell when they achieved sufficiency even before knowing the results of the test. Iodine sufficiency was associated with a sense of overall wellbeing, lifting of a brain fog, feeling warmer in cold environments, increased energy, needing less sleep, achieving more in less time, experiencing regular bowel movements and improved skin complexion. In some subjects with overweight or obesity, orthoiodosupplementation resulted in weight loss, decreased percent body fat and increased muscle mass. Following orthoiodosupplementation, increased urinary excretion of the goitrogens fluoride and bromide and the toxic metals mercury, lead, cadmium and aluminum was observed; marked improvement of fibrocystic disease of the breast occurred following 3 months of iodine supplementation at 50 mg/day. In 3 patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome with olygomeuorrhea, orthoiodosupplementation resulted in regularization of the menstrual cycle. " https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8

*My own use of the high dose iodine, loading and maintenance, protocol helped me in similar ways with restored energy, easy weight loss, and it resolved fibrocystic breast pain that had been a worsening problem for a few years. The “condition”, fibrocystic breast pain, has no treatment and just means that your breasts are sore, swollen and painful to touch even. Since the “condition” resolves readily with high dose iodine intake, then the condition should be labeled iodine deficiency and halide excess. The loading phase of the iodine protocol by Dr Abraham and Dr Brownstein includes one month at a very high dose and that allows the body to swap out bromide and fluoride which may be used in thyroid hormone when iodine is deficient - but thyroid hormone made with bromide, fluoride or chloride won’t work for energy level, etc - does not function.

I don't have PCOS but I know someone who does. Swollen, painful - if the ovarian cysts are due to iodine deficiency, then that pain and swelling might also reverse with iodine adequacy.

“Best results were achieved when orthoiodosupplementation was combined with a complete nutritional program emphasizing magnesium instead of calcium (1)." - Yes, I need some calcium, but I have to be cautious. Ideally, I think I need an Epsom salt bath every 4-5 days, but I tend to go overly long in between. (I took one last night - day six, but day five would have been better for my mood and muscle cramps.)

This false effect is a factor in the increased rate of breast cancer too.

This erroneous Wolff-Chaikoff effect is affecting the rate of breast cancer. All glands of the body need iodine. They thyroid just gets first dibs, so if it is low, then the rest of the body has even less iodine.

"Female patients with breast cancer seem to retain more iodine on the loading test then normal subjects and excreted more bromide than normal subjects."

Halides are bad for health, um kay.

Bromide and fluoride can be cancer promoting too. (Bromide and stomach cancer, agriculture exposure) Fluoride officially is thought to be not risk for cancer at the levels used in water but there is some evidence showing a link to bone cancer, osteosarcoma. (cancer.org/fluoride) Fluoride is more clearly linked to hypothyroidism and diabetes. Fluoride seems to inhibit insulin output. (fluoridealert.org) (ResearchGate/Fluoride causes diabetes)

- I wonder if those two, Wolff and Chaikoff, are Mengele types and made an elaborate con on purpose, and which is still fooling gullible doctors. I parted ways with my endocrinologist. He didn't really like it that I only needed two months of methimazole before I got my hyperthyroidism stabilized. I also strictly stopped all gluten which can be causal for autoimmune thyroid problems. I had stayed on the Iodoral too long at the maintenance dose without knowing that selenium is needed too, for the enzyme that breaks down excess thyroid hormone.

From an old post: Fluoride was found to be so effective at inhibiting the thyroid gland that it was the standard of care at one time for treating patients with hyperthyroid symptoms. Any fluoride containing preparation helped reduce the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Even switching to drinking ground water from areas with elevated levels of fluoride was found effective. [2, poisonfluoride.com]

“1923 – Pighini causes goiters in rats, dogs and chicken by giving them fluoridated water from a goiterous area. When sodium fluoride was administered, the same histological changes in the thyroid were seen as are produced in endemic goiter.” [2, poisonfluoride.com]

And also from that post: While editing an older post regarding macroglossia, an enlarged protruding tongue, (which can be a symptom of hypothyroidism and/or a genetic difference at birth), I discovered references suggesting that our world salt supply has been fortified with fluoride. [3, 4] This is not widely publicized information and deserves more fact checking. (I didn't realize that some websites might be completely made up - the idea of fluoridated salt seems highly suspicious.)

*post continues after this list:

1. Zelda Doyle, et al, "Are Australian Children Iodine Deficient? Results of the National Iodine Nutrition Study" (MJA, Vol. 184, No. 4, 20 Feb. 2006) [nd-au.academia.edu] / *or are they goitrogen excessive? /     Excerpt: "Western Australian children had the largest glands /an early sign of goiter/, despite having the highest median UIE level of the five states. The explanation for this phenomenon is not clear. It may relate to factors other than iodine, such as dietary or environmental goitrogens." /*fluoride for example/

2. "Thyroid history, History of the Fluoride/Iodine Antagonism" [poisonfluoride.com] *Fluoride inhibits hyperthyroidism. Fluoride in the air from pollution or in ground water naturally promotes enlargement of the thyroid gland and symptoms of hypothyroidism.

3. From the same website, "Salt Facts / Fluoridated Salt FAQ" - [poisonfluoride.com] - It was thought to be a good idea to add fluoride to salt in addition to the iodine and at even greater levels - worldwide, beginning around 1986-1994 -

4. The paper mentioned in the above link on fluoridation of salt,  Milner T, Estupiñán-Day D, "Overview of Salt Fluoridation in the Region of the Americas: Part II. The Status of Salt Production, Quality and Marketing and the State of Technology Development for Salt Fluoridation," Salt 2000, 8th World Salt Symposium, Volume 2, pg 1033-1038 (2000)  pdf [fdiworldental.org]

5. Paul H Boulétreau, et al "Fluoride exposure and bone status in patients with chronic intestinal failure who are receiving home parenteral nutrition" Am J Clin Nutr June2006 vol. 83 no. 6 1429-1437  [ajcn.org/content/83/6/1429.long]

6. - The first four references are also on the post on macroglossia that I was editing. "Macroglossia, a polite word for rude baby disease," (Dec. 10, 2011) [transcendingsquare.com] If I ignored differences in facial features then I wouldn't be doing the job of a trained health professional (in my opinion). Physical examination and a discussion of symptoms can make the lab test a confirmation of the suspected diagnosis instead of an expensive guessing game. Lab tests can add cost and risk. Any injection or other invasive test opens the body to risk of infection. *And lab test values may be compared to ranges that had been based on lab tests from unhealthy people - so not representative of normal function.

7. Joe Thornton, May 2006, "A Briefing on Fluoridated Salt"  [sonic.net/kryptox/nutri/saltGermany.htm] *primarily about its use in some European areas.

It takes a village, with adequate iodine in the soil, or supplements, to raise happy, playful children.

Musical interlude, cute video with children’s drawings about playing football on Saturday, when school is out: Fujiya & Miyagi Collarbone (Youtube) - ~ “needs a new pair of shoes, to kick it into high gear”

Iodine was one of my early research topics as it made such a difference for my own health. In looking into what the US nutrient guidelines are based on, I was dismayed to learn that many are estimates based on guesses that were supposed to have more research confirmation, which didn’t seem to happen. In the early history of iodine research, a description stood out to me - a village in Africa somewhere with low levels of iodine in the soil was visited by the researcher. The whole place was quiet, no children running around or much activity by the adults. Instead, he saw apathy, people just sitting quietly. After iodine supplementation was introduced, he reported the village looked like a normal bustling village with adults and children playing or working.

Iodine deficiency is linked to autism and Alzheimer’s dementia and to apathy, depression, feeling cold, gaining weight too easily, constipation, and also diabetes and breast cancer and fibrocystic breast pain and hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid conditions.

If your government is trying to make you apathetic and sick, it is worth recognizing that fact.

Iodine deficiency has been normalized by the controlled media. It is affecting sexual and physical health and is likely a factor in the increasing rates of infertility.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

Reference List

1. Karbownik-Lewinska M, Stepniak J, Milczarek M, Lewinski A. Protective effect of KI in mtDNA in porcine thyroid: comparison with KIO₃ and nDNA. Eur J Nutr. 2015 Mar;54(2):319-23. doi: 10.1007/s00394-014-0797-6. Epub 2014 Nov 9. PMID: 25381633; PMCID: PMC4323512. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25381633/

2. Maier J, van Steeg H, van Oostrom C, Paschke R, Weiss RE, Krohn K. Iodine deficiency activates antioxidant genes and causes DNA damage in the thyroid gland of rats and mice. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2007 Jun;1773(6):990-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2007.03.011. Epub 2007 Mar 24. PMID: 17467074. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17467074/

(Wang, et al., 2018) Wang K, Wei H, Zhang W, Li Z, Ding L, Yu T, Tan L, Liu Y, Liu T, Wang H, Fan Y, Zhang P, Shan Z, Zhu M. Severely low serum magnesium is associated with increased risks of positive anti-thyroglobulin antibody and hypothyroidism: A cross-sectional study. Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 2;8(1):9904. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-28362-5. PMID: 29967483; PMCID: PMC6028657. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6028657/