Vitamin D and Iodine are similar, and both are deficient and important to health

Created February 2012

Iodine Deficiency map

Red = low Iodine

Table comparing Vitamin D with iodine


	:: Vitamin D ::	:: Iodine ::
Ancient History awareness	Egypt: sun improves health and bones	China: eating burned seaweed stops Goiter
1830, 1930	1930 discover active ingredient in cod liver oil was vitamin D	1830 Determined Iodine cured Goiter 1930: US added Iodine to salt
Fortification in the US	Add vitamin D2 to milk (later changed to D3)	Add Iodine to salt note: <5% of salt sold in UK is iodized UK had gotten it from milk until mid 1990's
Just enough fortification to prevent main disease	10 micrograms (prevent Rickets)	150 micrograms (prevent Goiter and cretinism)
Very low cost for fortification	1 cent per person-year (approx)	8 cents per person-year
Huge reduction in 40 years	2X to 3X reduction	4X reduction

| Air conditioning, sunscreen, multi-media | Less Iodine in milk (no longer used on cows)

| indoor jobs, less cholesterol, more obesity reduced Magnesium and Omega-3 (both of which raise Vit D levels) | Less Iodine in bread (no longer used in processing)

| live in cities - which have less UVB | Increased use of Iodine blockers:
Fluoride Chlorine and Bromide (used in flour)
also perchlorate in some fertilizers (See 2014 PDF)

| increased used of farmed fish - which has 1/4 the Vit D
Increase use of low-fat milk, which provides less Vit D | 1) Use table salt much less
2)No Iodine in salt used in processed foods
3) half of iodized salt not meet requirements | | Need to increase the intake | at least 2X increase | at least 2X increase | | No fear of toxicity | 300 micrograms can be taken daily forever | US Tolerable Upper Intake = 1,100 mcg daily
Note: Japanese consume 50,000 mcg daily | | No fear of overdose | Single day toxic level - 1 million micrograms | Single day toxic level 1 million micrograms | | No fear of long-term consequences | Finland used 100 ug for decades ==> far less diabetes | Japanese have taken 50,000 micrograms daily for centuries | | Deficiency effects many people | Flu, pregnancy problems, cognitive decline, diabetes, etc.
Proof that Vitamin D Works | Goiter; Fatigue; Weakness; Weight Gain; Mental Retardation,
low iodine is the leading cause of mental retardation | | Delay in having govt increase levels of food fortification | Many decades for govts to increase fortification | Many decades for govts to increase fortification | | Fortification which has proven useful | milk, bread, | milk, bread, water (China) | | Individuals can improve health now | Supplement - add to food consumed - more sunshine | Supplement or add to food consumed
a single drop of Iodine a day is plenty | | Does not accumulate in body | long term storage - weeks to months | long term storage - weeks to months | | Vets use at least 3X more on mammals than US says humans need | Mammals need 3X to 4X more than humans | Rabbits need 5X more than humans, dogs need 20X more than humans | | Loading dose | OK to 100X for a few weeks if need to re-stock | OK to 100X for a few weeks if need to re-stock | | Deficiency testing - blood | Yes | Yes | | Deficiency testing - free, not precise | Quick, FREE, self-test for Vitamin D deficiency | http://is.gd/iodinetest - need Iodine, results vary with temperature, etc - see below on this page |

6 reasons for decrease in Iodine (resulting in a 4X decrease in 4 decades)

Some countries do not require adding iodine to salt used commercially
People have been minimizing use of salt to reduce sodium in their diet
Iodine in salt dissapates in about 1 year
People are using salt from mines, mountains that is not iodized
Cow's udders are now cleaned with Bromine instead of Iodine
Iodine is no longer used in baking bread

Switzerland has greatly INCREASED the amount of Iodine in ALL of their salt over the past 60 years

3.75 mg/kg in 1975,

7.5 mg/kg in 1962,

15 mg/kg in 1980,

20 mg/kg in 1998 vs US 70 micrograms/gram = 70 mg/kg

Swiss fortify ALL salt, not just table salt.

Swiss Iodine intake may be >2X of that of US.

US Map areas with low Iodine in water closely matches Goiter areas (date ?)

_Seems likely that this will be the same region which will have low Iodine in the 21st century

that people consume less Iodized salt, less Iodine from milk and bread, and more Bromine which blocks Iodine

30% of the globe has less than 100 micrograms of Iodine

Wonder what percentage of women have < 220 micrograms - which appears to be the minimum needed during pregnancy

The Need for Iodine Supplementation Othomolecular Medicine June 2017

"The variety of diseases for which iodine was prescribed in the early years is astonishing - paralysis, chorea, scrofula, lacrimal fistula, deafness, distortions of the spine, hip-joint disease, syphilis, acute inflammation, gout, gangrene, dropsy, carbuncles, whitlow, chilblains, burns, scalds, lupus, croup, catarrh, asthma, ulcers, and bronchitis - to mention only a few"
"The body requires iodine to metabolize both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids"
"Unfortunately, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for iodine - about 150 mcg per day - will not allow delta-iodolactone to be efficiently formed in the thyroid gland. The thyroid requires higher iodine concentrations to efficiently produce it. Researchers have found that 100 times the RDA amount of iodine is optimal to produce delta-iodolactone."

Attached to the bottom of this page are notes on Iodine from the internet Feb 2012 and Jan 2013

Note: Water fllters which use reverse osmosis eliminate all Iodine and Magnesium