06/10/2023, 16:01 Iodine - what is the correct daily dose?

- DoctorMyhill

Iodine - what is the correct daily dose?

[UPDATED JANUARY 2023]
See My Book - The Underactive Thyroid - Do it yourself because your doctor won't

Use as an anti-microbial
See also Iodine - another vital multitasking tool that should be a household word for how to use Iodine as an anti-
microbial

The Basics
The benefits of micronutrients in modern medicine have been hugely dumbed down. The Government recommended daily
amounts (RDAs) of micronutrients are the lowest levels required in order to prevent obvious pathology - for example the RDA
for Vitamin C (90mg) is set to stop scurvy, rather than optimal health.

These amounts do not reflect the optimum amount of micronutrient for optimum health. The two amounts (i.e. the RDA and
the optimum amount) for individual micronutrients may be very different and this is well illustrated by iodine. It is now
assumed that iodine is only necessary for the production of thyroid hormones, but actually breast tissue requires just as much
and deficiency results in fibrocystic disease of the breast and in breast cancer. It is notable that countries with the highest
iodine intake have the lowest risk of breast cancer. Indeed, a tendency to cysts generally, including polycystic ovaries, may
well be an iodine problem. See the table below for how the body uses iodine:

See My Book - The Underactive Thyroid - Do it yourself because your doctor won't for much more detail on the
uses of thyroid, including:

Autoimmunity
Brain
Sleep
Skin

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Iodine_-_what_is_the_correct_daily_dose%3F 1/4
06/10/2023, 16:01 Iodine - what is the correct daily dose? - DoctorMyhill

Energy delivery mechanisms

Bon*and others...
For the Dr B West reference, see The Iodine Movement - heart (http://iodineresearch.com/heart.html)
For the 2003 reference, see The thyroid, iodine and breast cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC314438/)

See also

Changes in Dietary Iodine Explains Increasing Incidence of Breast Cancer with Distant Involvement in Young
Women (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28243321/)
Is there a role for iodine in breast diseases? (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14965610/)

How much iodine in the body

A normal thyroid gland contains 50mgs of iodine, fat in the body and breast tissue contain 700mgs, striated muscle - 650mgs
(lack of iodine in muscle may result in muscle pain). 20% of body iodine (about 400mgs) is present in skin and without it the
skin cannot sweat.

Complete lack of iodine in the unborn infant and young child results in cretinism with severe mental deficiency. A deficiency
results in low IQ. Mothers who supplement iodine during pregnancy have notably brighter babies!

Also essential for oxytocin...and helpful in autism

Iodine is also essential for production of oxytocin. This hormone is the "love" hormone - it is what Puck must have given to
Titania so she fell in love with Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream! Without oxytocin there is no empathy. See Synthesis
of oxytocin using iodine for oxidative cyclization and silica gel adsorption chromatography for purification
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/429090/)

Indeed, it has been postulated that there is a deficiency of oxytocin in autism and early trials have shown that oxytocin is
helpful in this condition. See Oxytocin Infusion Reduces Repetitive Behaviors in Adults with Autistic and
Asperger's Disorders (http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v28/n1/full/1300021a.html) in the journal
Neuropsychopharmacology.

Lugol's iodine
Jean-Francois Coindet in 1820 used 250mg a day of iodine in order to treat goitre with great success. The French physician
Lugol in 1829 used 37.5mg per day for the treatment of infectious disease, again with good results. Indeed, he developed
Lugol's iodine, which was a mixture of 5% iodine with 10% potassium iodide, which greatly enhanced the absorption of iodine.

American physicians then used between 12.5mg and 37.5mg daily to treat both hyper and hypothyroidism, with some patients
requiring 90mg daily. This resulted in a 90% success rate for treatment. It became recognised that there was a pandemic of
iodine deficiency. As a result of this, iodised table salt was introduced generally and the benefits of iodine supplementation
were forgotten. However, iodine and iodides compete with the other halides (such as fluoride, chloride, bromide) for
absorption. Iodine deficiency has been made much more common in recent years because many people are subjected to high
levels of fluoride because of their water supply or because of dental treatments; bromide was routinely used in bread making
and also as a fire retardant. Thus the high levels of fluorides and bromides in our diet and the environment mean that we are
all at great risk of iodine deficiency. Furthermore, the recommended daily amount of iodine is 150 μg - that is to say a
thousand fold less than the sort of doses that were used in the 19th century. See The Iodine Study 8 - The Historical
Background of the Iodine Project (https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8) which discusses this work and also
that of Dr Flechas and Brownstein and lists 23 references.

Interest in iodine was re-awoken in 1993, when Ghent demonstrated that 5mg a day of iodine is highly effective in the
treatment of fibrocystic disease of the breast. A study in Japan showed that the average daily intake of iodine was 13.8mg
(because of their high intake of seafood) and the Japanese have the lowest incidence of breast cancer in developed nations.

See Iodine replacement in fibrocystic disease of the breast (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8221402/)

Buy Lugol's 15% (https://www.salesatdrmyhill.co.uk/lugols-iodine-15--30ml-463-p.asp) at my Online shop

Iodoral formulation

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Iodine_-_what_is_the_correct_daily_dose%3F 2/4
06/10/2023, 16:01 Iodine - what is the correct daily dose? - DoctorMyhill

Work done by Professor Guy Abraham (whose work I have been following for many years now and whom I highly respect) has
lit up an interesting new way of using iodine as a therapeutic intervention. Indeed, he quotes from the Nobel Laureate Albert
Szent-Gyorgyi, who discovered vitamin C in 1928, who commented when I was a medical student, iodine in the form of KI was
the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good. We students used to sum up
the situation in this little rhyme:

"If you do not know where, what and why, describe ye then K and I."

Abraham has developed Lugol's iodine into a tablet form (Iodoral) which is well tolerated. It contains a mixture of 5mg of
iodine and 7.5mg of iodide. He recommends a three month loading dose of 4 tablets daily, starting off with 1 tablet a day for a
week, then 2 tablets daily for a week, 3 tablets daily for a week and then 4 tablets.

The clinical observations Abraham has made as a result of many patients taking this regime are as follows:

1. The excretion of mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminium, fluoride and bromine is hugely increased.

2. There is increased well being and energy levels with lessening brain fog.

3. Patients feel warmer, they seem to need less sleep, their bowel action becomes more regular and their skin complexion
improves.

4. Interestingly, there is often an increase in body odour for the first two weeks (which probably represents excretion of
toxins) and some patients have cloudy urine for several months.

This regime strikes me as being eminently sensible and safe. You can buy Iodine here - Lugol's 15% (https://www.salesat
drmyhill.co.uk/lugols-iodine-15-463-p.asp) or you can buy Iodoral here - Amazon.co.uk Link for Iodoral (http
s://www.amazon.co.uk/Iodoral-12-5-mg-180-tablets/dp/B000X843VG/ref=sr_1_2). Take at bed time - this
avoids taking Vitamin C and Iodine at the same time - vitamin C is a reducing agent, iodine is an oxidising agent. However,
some people find that iodine is stimulating and may keep them awake at night - I think this is due to a DDD reaction (see
Diet, Detox and Die-off Reactions ). If you find that iodine is keeing you awake at night, then take it in the morning. The
key thing is that Vitamin C and Iodine (taken by mouth) should be taken apart from each other - leave a gap of around 2
hours.

It is likely that anyone with hypothyroidism, especially when it is not due to autoimmunity, will be iodine deficient. Because
iodine is so necessary in tissues other than the thyroid (eg breast, bone marrow, immune system, brain), the iodine levels
should be tested by a urine test.

Symptoms of iodine deficiency also include high cholesterol, hypochlorhydria (see Heartburn - at last I have sussed out
why this is such a common problem) and inability to sweat. The tongue is often enlarged, and when protruded, fills the
entire space between the corners of the lips.

Iodine can be used to treat conditions associated with excessive production of scar tissue such as keloid, Peyronie's disease
and Dupytron's contracture.

Refs: Much of the above I have learned through attending lectures by Dr Jorge Flechas (Nov 2011) and Dr David Brownstein.
For further information about Dr Brownstein's work, see The Iodine Study 8 - The Historical Background of the
Iodine Project (https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8)

Take vitamin C away from iodine

They work in different ways and combining them reduces the effectiveness of both. If the iodine is inhaled then there is no
need for a gap. Otherwise allow an hour between doses. For the chemists amongst us, iodine is an oxidising agent (electron
acceptor) while vitamin C is a reducing agent (electron donor) – if taken together they risk ‘knocking each other out’.

How much Iodine in the various Lugol's preparations

Please see the table below -

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Iodine_-_what_is_the_correct_daily_dose%3F 3/4
06/10/2023, 16:01 Iodine - what is the correct daily dose? - DoctorMyhill

The safe and effective dose of iodine for thyroid disease,

fibrocystic breast disease and much more
Please see here for many supporting studies on dosage and efficacy - Optimox - Resources for Iodine Research (http
s://www.optimox.com/education/)

Related Articles
Heartburn - at last I have sussed out why this is such a common problem
Iodine - another vital multitasking tool that should be a household word
My Book - The Underactive Thyroid - Do it yourself because your doctor won't
Diet, Detox and Die-off Reactions

External links
The thyroid, iodine and breast cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314438/)
Oxytocin Infusion Reduces Repetitive Behaviors in Adults with Autistic and Asperger's Disorders (http://www.nat
ure.com/npp/journal/v28/n1/full/1300021a.html)
Synthesis of oxytocin using iodine for oxidative cyclization and silica gel adsorption chromatography for
purification (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/429090/)
The thyroid, iodine and breast cancer, Smyth PPA.Breast Cancer Res 2003; 5(5): 235–238 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.n
ih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314438/)
The Iodine Movement - heart (http://iodineresearch.com/heart.html)
Changes in Dietary Iodine Explains Increasing Incidence of Breast Cancer with Distant Involvement in Young
Women (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28243321/)
Is there a role for iodine in breast diseases? (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14965610/)
The Iodine Study 8 - The Historical Background of the Iodine Project (https://www.optimox.com/iodine-study-8)
Iodine replacement in fibrocystic disease of the breast (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8221402/)
Lugol's 15% (https://www.salesatdrmyhill.co.uk/lugols-iodine-15--30ml-463-p.asp)
Amazon.co.uk Link for Iodoral (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Iodoral-12-5-mg-180-tablets/dp/B000X843VG/ref=sr_1_
2)
Optimox - Resources for Iodine Research (https://www.optimox.com/education/)

Sarah Myhill Limited :: Registered in England and Wales :: Registration No. 4545198
Registered Office: Upper Weston, Llangunllo, Knighton, Powys, Wales LD7 1SL, UK. Tel 01547 550331 | Fax 01547 550339

Retrieved from ‘http://drmyhill.co.uk/drmyhill/index.php?title=Iodine_-_what_is_the_correct_daily_dose%3F&oldid=26316’

This page was last modified on 7 September 2023, at 07:43.

This page has been accessed 91,566 times.

https://drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Iodine_-_what_is_the_correct_daily_dose%3F 4/4