Quote:
Originally Posted by Sallysblooms
|
The Japanese love their seaweed (?) and their lack of iodine deficiency is often cited in medical discussion on this topic.
Until about a month ago, I knew almost nothing about iodine. I vaguely remember a science class about it or where we did some basic experiment, but that was about 30 years ago.
It doesn't come up in health discussions very much.
The thing that caught my attention is that it is in, or supposed to be in, every cell in the human body. That's pretty serious. The last thing I studied that is in, or supposed to be in every cell is magnesium, and that is involved in over 325 enzymatic processes.
What if iodine is involved in over 325, too?
Then I found this comment online:
Quote:
Iodine is a vital nutrient for good health. Not only is iodine critical for thyroid gland function and body metabolism, it’s also essential for reproductive tissue health. The breasts, uterus and prostate require very large amounts of iodine. It’s also needed for healthy skin, eyes and nerve function. In fact every cell of the body needs some iodine.
|
http://www.naturalbodyhealing.com/io...egetables.html
So what if our nerves don't get enough iodine? What happens then?
Is Japan a country with relatively low rates of peripheral neuropathy as well as cancer?
So far there are indications iodine plays at least an indirect role in PN, if not also a direct one, via hypothyroidism/metabolism:
Quote:
Taking Iodide tends to intensify the symptoms (itching and numbness) because in counteracting the hypothyroidism, it also restores more normal nerve metabolism. As more normal metabolism is restored, peripheral nerve cells that had been damaged, or nearly killed, from slow metabolism, start reviving.
|
http://iodine4health.com/overviews/uses/ford_uses.htm
The other thing that caught my attention is iodine is a powerful antioxidant. I seem to recall a lot of people with PN here take antioxidants.
I suspect the more protection we have for our cells, the less chance of nerve damage and/or greater chance of recovery.
I like to think of iodine as a SWAT Team - dramatic and powerful. It can apparently take out parasites, fungus, mold, etc., quickly and efficiently. No single-celled thing can survive.
I am on Day 4 of supplementing with it; so I'm reading everything I can about it.
One of the leading authorities on iodine deficiency, Dr. David Brownstein, self-publishes his books on health. That concerns me a little. It's clear as you read his writing, it lacks a rigorous edit, as well as peer review. He also has a controversial idea on another health subject, detox, where he seems to think you can sweat out toxins. A lot of medical people don't believe that.
Serious iodine thread here currently at 230 pages:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread45205.html