Question: Why is iodine so important to good health?

Dr. Brownstein's Answer:

In practicing holistic medicine for the past 20 years, I have yet to see any single nutrient help as many patients as iodine. Every cell in the body requires iodine. You can’t make a single hormone without it, yet too many people don’t get enough.

The main complaint I hear from patients is that they feel fatigued. Although there are many causes, an imbalance in the thyroid gland is the chief underlying factor in most cases of fatigue. And iodine deficiency is the main cause of the thyroid problems we are facing today.

The thyroid gland contains the highest concentration of iodine, more than any other organ in the body. You can’t make thyroid hormone without sufficient amounts.

Over the last 40 years, iodine levels have fallen by 50 percent in the United States. During the same time, we have seen an epidemic rise of thyroid disorders, including:

• Graves’ disease
• Hashimoto’s disease
• Hypothyroidism
• Thyroid cancer

My research has clearly shown that these illnesses are tied to iodine deficiency.

Among the thousands of patients that come to my office, more than 95 percent are iodine deficient. No wonder there is a thyroid disease epidemic! However, the thyroid is not the only part of a human body affected by iodine. I believe that the same deficiency is, in large part, also fueling the rise in breast cancer and prostate cancer. More about this can be found in my book, Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It.

How can this be corrected? My experience has shown that doses of 6 to 50 mg of iodine per day are effective for restoring healthy levels in the majority of patients. But as you can see, that’s quite a broad range.To correct an iodine deficiency, it’s best to work with a practitioner who is knowledgeable about iodine therapy.