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lugols_iodine_all_2014Subclinical symptoms (and even frank thyroid pathology) of hypothyroidism have always been an overlooked problem in the United States.  It seems that a larger percent of every successive generation suffers from the problem, yet it is given less and less attention.  many of the children of this latest generation are routinely having difficulty concentrating in school and maintaining a motivation for learning.  ADD, ADHD, Bipolar Syndrome, addicition, depression, PTSD and a large array of mood disorders are all related to thyroid disease.  Correcting blood sugar disorders and adrenal gland problems are excellent ways to clear up the majority of these diseases.  However, one of the tricky things in health care is to determine (diagnose) what is the underlying cause of the blood sugar and adrenal gland disorder.  Is it an infection?  Is it due to some source of toxicity like heavy metal toxicity?  Petrochemicals?  Food additives?  Previous use of medication?  Or, could it be due to poor vision such as a stigmatism that is leading to difficulty processing the information that they see?

It is also interesting to note that many of the memory problems and the inability to concentrate in the elderly can often be overcome with iodine supplementation.  This is especially true in those individuals who exhibit other, more obvious signs of hypothyroidism such as constant fatigue, muscle aches and pains, depression, low body temperature, hair loss, dry rough skin, cloudy thinking, etc….

ThyroideMost underactive thyroid problems stem from a lack of raw material needed by your thyroid gland to produce the necessary hormones.  Iodine is by far the most commonly needed material and supplementing 10 to 20 drops for the first couple of days and then reducing the dosage to 1 to 3 drops daily, is many times the only treatment needed.  And, then again, many times it is not.  Again, “The highest good is to find the cause” according to Hyppocrates.  There is always a structural cause of the thyroid gland not working properly.  There is always a chemical cause of the thyroid gland not working properly.  And, there is always an emotional cause of the thyroid gland not working properly.  With properly holistic health care, results are often experienced in as short of a period of time as a week.  Of course, it depends on the severity of the problem.  It could take as long as a month or more.  In most cases the results will be better if a thyroid glandular supplement is taken on a daily basis along with the iodine.  But, sometimes the glandular supplement is not indicated and can do more harm than good.  Every imagespatient is different and this is one of the main reasons why protocols do not work.  Just saying that everyone take 30 mg of iodine per day does not help people because some people need more than 600 times that much and other people do not need any iodine at all.  It makes no sense whatsoever to treat two different people with two completely different causes of their health concerns the same way.

UnknownFor example, giving high doses of iodine to a patient with Hashimotos can cause what is called a thyroid storm.  Their body will actually start to attack its own thyroid gland and break down thyroid tissue.  They end up have an anxious feeling and they sense that their blood sugar is imbalanced because they cannot concentrate.  Their mood is negatively affected.  They can often feel a pulsing or aching or pain in the area where their thyroid gland is located.  Sometimes they can develop goiters such as those shown in the photo.  These type of goiters are especially common in the mid west (the bible belt) where there is less fresh fish than on either coast.  This is not good.  Interestingly, Hashimoto’s patients have a severe iodine deficiency, but giving them iodine in too high of a dose is not the correct approach.  In our office if we need to supplement a Hashimotos patient with iodine, we give them sea weed or relaxing alkaline ash minerals with iodine.  We might give them whole kelp or whole bladderwrack or some other type of seaweed.  They will often do well with a variety of products from Standard Process called Min Tran, Min Chex, Orchex, Livaplex, Trace Minerals B12 and AF Betafood.  These are tried and true reliable products that have been used by doctors all over the United States for more than 100 years.  They are non toxic.  However, it is even better if the Hashimotos patient starts eating as much fish as possible as often as possible.  Fish has the highest levels of iodine in it.  The properly trained health care provider should then help the Hashimotos patient to digest the fish.  It does little good to eat fish high in iodine but then not be able to digest any of it.

Most other thyroid conditions that are not auto – immune will respond well to high doses of iodine (if needed).  Graves disease and Hashimotos are the only real contraindications for high dose iodine supplementation.  Iodine is EXCELLENT for liberating poisons and toxins, heavy metal toxicity, metabolic disorders such as slow digestion or poor circulation or varicose veins.  It is also amazing for clearing up depression and/or low energy.  The more toxic the patient the higher the dose of iodine may be needed.  The source of iodine used does matter and so we use the only truly bioavailable high dose source of iodine in our office.

Happy healing.

Dr. Ilya Skolnikoff, DC, DIBAK

Have You Attended the Seven Pitfalls You Must Avoid to Heal Your Thyroid?—– The 2 Hour FREE Thyroid Workshop?  

If you are in Northern California and would like to learn more about how Dr. Skolnikoff helps people to recover from thyroid disease, then you need to attend his 2-Hour FREE Thyroid Workshop while it is still being offered.  Space is extremely limited and the workshop always gets filled up very quickly due to limited room space, popularity of the the subject matter, and because Dr. Skolnikoff is the only health care provider in Northern California to share this information with the public.  This is a link to register for the event.  

 

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