Lugols/lodine loading

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Oct, 2006  by William Rasmussen

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A doctor I know took an iodine-loading seminar through Standard Process, Inc. The information given at the seminar was that a person who has been taking iodine supplements can take significant quantities without major symptoms. The more iodine-deficient individuals are, the harder it is for them to absorb, assimilate, and utilize iodine. The seminar recommended starting these deficient patients out with a low dosage, like one Iodomere tablet (200 mcg iodine) and gradually increasing the dosage over many weeks or months. Standard Process has another natural iodine product, Prolamine (3 mg iodine) made by biological fermentation of zein (corn), that can be used when the patient can handle a higher dosage. Once the patient has worked up to taking 12 mg a day of these natural iodine supplements, then Lugols solution can be added to achieve full iodine-loading/saturation. Muscle testing was taught at the seminar as a way to determine the proper starting dosage of iodine and the speed at which to increase the dosage. The doctor I talked to has been putting patients on iodine, mostly Iodomere and Prolamine, with great results--to the point where these two products are his best sellers. When patients run out, they come back to get more. He has been able to build up only a few patients to taking more than 12 mg of iodine a day, and these patients seem to be benefiting from the Lugols solution. The vast majority of his patients, however, get very good results with only one prolamine, supplying 3 mg of natural iodine instead of the megadose of 50 mg from Lugols solution that Dr. Brownstein (Townsend Letter 2005;267:74) finds necessary. Standard Process is planning to make a tablet containing 12.5 mg of iodine, and this doctor will probably switch patients off the Lugols solution and onto that product when it becomes available.

With this conservative approach, the doctor to whom I spoke has not seen any toxic thyroid reactions, esophageal reflux, stomach ulcer, indigestion, loss of intestinal flora, or other negative reactions. However, he has seen some heavy-metal detox reactions. Symptoms of these reactions included metallic taste in the mouth, headaches, diarrhea, and flu-like symptoms. These symptoms are quickly reduced by stopping the iodine. In some cases, taking heavy-metal detox products, biologically active zinc, and selenium has been necessary.

Some doctors recommend applying Lugols solution topically to the skin. This, of course, would time-release the iodine into the system, giving the body more time to assimilate it, and would put less stress on the digestive tract. Lugols solution, however, has been heavily processed and stripped of its natural cofactors, which may make it less biologically active and harder to utilize for some patients.

I wonder if Dr. Brownstein has primarily overweight patients who have good assimilation, absorption, and metabolism of minerals. That type of patient might tolerate high-dosage Lugols solution better than people with chronic health conditions. It that were the case, it could explain the generally positive response to Lugols solution he has seen in his patients.

My personal experience has been that taking Lugols solution internally gave me a big burst of energy, but I developed a burping of gas that I had not previously experienced. Switching to topical application has caused a gradual reduction in gas over the past month.

William Rasmussen

Garden27@verizon.net

[Editor's note: Much of the debate between Dr. Brownstein and Dr. Alan Gaby over iodine use is available on www.townsendletter.com.]

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