Priyantha Hettige

Our health

Keeping healthy should be at the top of our list of personal concerns. But who can we turn to for help and information?  That job is left to a few medically trained doctors and food specialists!

Our lack of sufficient Iodine

The experts tell us iodine is needed in every cell of the human body.

It is on the World Health Organizations list of essential vitamins.

But there is a big problem: there are falling levels of iodine in our food but unfortunately, rising levels of bromide in our environment. Bromide is absorbed but not used by the body. It acts more like a toxin. But iodine in sufficient quantities is vital for us to remain healthy. We cannot live without iodine and chloride. Note that because bromide and iodine molecules are of similar size they can competitively inhibit one another. One can displace the other. It seems that unhelpful bromide is displacing much needed iodine.

Any lack of sufficient iodine has serious consequences. All the hormone glands need it: the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, the ovaries, the uterus, the breasts, the prostate, the pancreas, etc. We must get it in our diet for these glands to work properly. You can’t make thyroid, ovarian hormones, and testosterone, pituitary and hypothalamus hormones without iodine. Also, the main job of iodine in the glandular tissue is to maintain its normal structure, otherwise cysts form and enlarge.. and worse .. cancer.

The lack of iodine

USA Medical Dr David Brownstein has tested, over the years about 8,000 patients for iodine levels and found 97% of them deficient in iodine. Other medics find the same results themselves.

Dr Brownstein has lectured in the UK, Australia and Israel and says this deficiency of iodine problem is world-wide. He has written seventeen books on iodine and related subjects. He says iodine levels have fallen by 50% over the last 40 years. He talks about seeing younger and younger people getting cysts which develop into cancer and raise the risks of death. Something big is happening. Is it additives to our water supply? Or exhaustion of the soil? Or something in our environment? What could it be? It seems that most of us are deficient in iodine, and it is affecting us!

Experts say women, before and during pregnancy, should definitely stock up on their iodine levels. It is needed in fairly large doses for themselves and for the coming baby. It is suggested that congenital shortcomings such as cretinism, Attention Deficit Syndrome and children’s low intelligence are caused by lack of iodine in the mother.

Please note that Dr David Brownstein says the thyroid primarily uses the reduced form of iodine – iodide. The breasts need iodine and other tissues different forms of iodine. The key to success in curing diseases caused by iodine deficiency is to know which form of iodine is needed. Applying iodine to solve all problems was not successful for him. He recommended Lugol’s liquid.

Lugol’s liquid has a solution of 2% iodine and potassium iodine of 4%. But regrettably, this is not available in Sri Lanka.

Crucially, iodized salt may not be as effective as it is claimed. Iodization may be effective for only a short period after a packet of salt is opened and used for the first time – says Dr. Barbera O’Neill. This seems like another confidence trick. But the truth is not easily come by.

Consume Water with Salt and Iodine

Dr. Ken Berry advises us to consume salt with water, with a drop or two of iodine. Salt is not harmful in moderate quantities and it helps to flush out bromide and also some toxic metals we may have absorbed. Health in a glass of water! Iodine is not harmful as long as your kidneys are working well!

The Aging Factor

In addition, as we age, our bodies become less efficient in absorbing minerals and vitamins from our food. Supplementation of these is needed, but exactly what supplements and in what amounts is where these specialists demonstrate their valuable expertise..

World Agriculture Deficient!

Iodine is found in the oceans. Most if not all agricultural farm land, far from the coast, is likely to be deficient in iodine: That is, the food we consume may not have all the required amounts of nutrients our bodies need to function well. The land is re-fertilized but iodine and other vital nutrients are unlikely to be included in that process. Cattle grazing such farmland will only pass on to us whatever iodine and other essential vitamins and minerals they have consumed by us drinking their milk and eating the meat.

Research into the food we consume

Now, medical practitioners, doctors and food specialists in the United States are diving deep into the root causes of human illness.                     The list of such public-spirited American medics is ever increasing as people realise the short comings in our environments, lifestyles and our ill-advised eating habits.

These are doing us much harm and when left to develop, the correction of these ailments at the last minute becomes very expensive.  

One such public-spirited medical practitioner is Dr Brownstein. He has become a widely known expert on Iodine. He has written books on iodine, the thyroid, and so on. Another such noble researcher is

Dr Stan Ekberg who has looked at the wide range of our complaints and ailments and has investigated their causes and cures, too. There are many others also investigating, studying research papers and publicizing their findings on food, nutrition or lack thereof, our need for trace minerals, vitamins and so on. The USA is a hive of activity searching for a cure for our human illnesses. We can live longer!

All these US medics have a common theme. They say: short comings in our diet – unwise eating, is what is making us ill. However, luckily such illnesses can often be prevented and/or reversed by the application of new knowledge recently learned from research papers and intelligent study of the human body, its needs and the way it works.

Unavailability of Suitable Supplements of Iodine

The supplementing of iodine in Sri Lanka is made doubly difficult: only iodine for use as an antiseptic is available. The well tried and tested ‘Lugol” fluid contains two chemical variants of iodine needed for the human body. This vital mineral supplement is not available in Sri Lanka.

Confirmation Please search these medical doctors’ names on YouTube to verify the information presented here. This article is written for information purposes only. You are advised to consult with your doctor in case of illness.