Iodine

Do I need iodine?

From Dr. Kharrazian’s website: drknews.com/iodine-and-hashimotos/ In this study subjects with Hashimoto’s were divided into two groups. One group ate a normal diet. The other group was put on a diet that strictly avoided iodine so that they consumed less than 100 mcg per day. Eighty percent of the group who avoided dietary iodine experienced complete remission of their thyroid symptoms!

Why iodine seems like a good idea (it is if you are hypothyroid but not autoimmune): Iodine supplementation has become very popular in recent years, and with good reason. Iodine has been shown to be an effective therapy for such conditions as breast and uterine fibroids, breast cancer, and more.

When it comes to Hashimoto’s, however, I oppose the use of iodine as you risk worsening your autoimmune thyroid condition. . . Supplementing with iodine stimulates the production and activity of TPO. For most people with Hashimoto’s, TPO also happens to be the site of autoimmune attack, and surrounding thyroid tissue is damaged in the process. So everytime TPO production is stimulated, the immune system, which perceives TPO as a foreign invader to be eradicated, responds more aggressively and amps up the attack.


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