What Doctors Fail to Tell You About Iodine and Your Thyroid

by Robert Thompson

The Importance of Iodine in Preventing Disease

Few people-including many doctors-understand the importance of iodine for several crucial aspects of health, including: - Optimal thyroid function - Breast health - Cancer prevention - Prostate health - Preventing and overcoming obesity - Brain development and prevention of mental retardation in children - Immune system support - Brain health and prevention of Parkinson's and other brain disorders Most people do not get enough iodine, and even if they do, environ- mental factors prevent our bodies from using it, contributing to our current epidemics of hypothyroidism, obesity, fibrocystic breast disease, hormonally related cancers, developmental disabilities in children and many more preventable health concerns.

What Doctors Fail to Tell You About Iodine & Your Thyroid is your guide to strategies to get the iodine your body needs in its correct and more absorbable form to prevent thyroid disease.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition

88 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 2015

About the author

Dr. Robert Thompson practices integrative, anti-aging and holistic medicine in Soldotna and Anchorage, Alaska. A board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist for more than 30 years, he now devotes his practice to preventive medicine and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for both men and women. He is author of The Calcium Lie II: What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know. A concert violinist and outdoors enthusiast, Dr. Thompson also devotes his time to cooking, art, music and raising and training his beloved Labrador retriever dogs.

Reviews

[Alisha Allred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall interesting but there is a lot of tangential evidence , broad claims and the references that are used are not well cited within the text. There is a reference page at the end of the book but not linked to specific sentences or claims only by chapters. I also found it annoying on how often buzz words were used.

[Guillaume Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very short book that contains the very basics of thyroid health and the importance of iodine. It is written in a similar style as The Calcium Lie, which as also written by the same author, but that was significantly longer and more informative. Having said that, it is a good summary of the most basic points that are good to know, and I think this was the author's intention. Basically, the conclusion is that almost everyone should supplement with reasonably large amounts of iodine to supply all the iodine that is needed for all the glands and tissues to have their fill, and to help displace the toxic halogens like bromine, chlorine and fluorine from the body. I personally take large amounts (between 12.5 and 50 mg per day) of iodine, which I started a couple of years ago after reading Brownstein's book and feel a lot better for it. So, taking iodine has definitely been good for me.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mom made me read this book, and I must say, it was a quick painless, and sensible read. However--It wasn't particularly well-written, and while he did have an appendix of sources, he did not cite them directly in his writing.

I get what he's driving at, and agree with many of his points, but I'm not sure I believe that there is "no such thing as too much iodine". I'm sure I'm iodine deficient, but I'm also sure my teeth are horrifically weak, while my flouride using husband has perfect teeth.

[Mike & Brittni Holverson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful and makes a good case for the need of iodine. However, there is very little referencing and citing of sources and I have issues with books that claim “this one thing cures all your woes” mentality. I do appreciate the break down of how the soil has become iodine deficient, that the FDA has changed foods, the dangerous additives in our water supply and all the other disrupters that effect absorption of iodine but even that was simplistic at best. This is not a deep dive book into iodine and its various studies but rather a general guideline or introduction into its importance. I appreciated the book for what it was and will do more thorough research of iodine and its studies since the writing of this text.
-B

[Wendy Frye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Thompson reinforces the importance of iodine in our bodies

This book was a great supplement to reading Dr.David Brownstein 's book on iodine. It gave further validity and support of Dr. Brownstein 's theories and also offered some more information on the subject. We need more doctors to accept iodine as a necessary staple in the American diet so we can live healthier, longer lives.

[Penny Tunnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book

I am a huge fan of Robert Thompson. The Calcium Lie II & hair mineral analysis suggestion were complete game changers for my health! This book contains equally crucial information. Great material everyone needs to understand!

[patrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

Enlightening. Will be supplementing with iodine. Easy read. Laymen turns. I did enjoy this book. I do suffer from hypothyroidism.

[Cassi Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book on Thyroid

Excellent book to read to learn about IODINE and How critical it is. How we need way than they've let know . How it regulates our body temperatures.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and informational book in iodine and the thyroid, plus lots of scientific research to back up his claims.

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book argues that everyone needs iodine supplementation, and the more the better! It recommends commercial supplements without disclosing whether the author has a financial interest in the company that makes them.

It asserts that halogens are toxic but iodine, which is a halogen, is good for you. It fails to explain why iodine is so different from the other halogens. It says that iodine is a “powerful antimicrobial,” which means that it is toxic to living things.

On page 15 it says that salt is “a perfect food in its unrefined form containing every mineral needed by the human body in the exact proportions.” It fails to mention that those minerals are not in an organic form that can do the body any good. It recommends sea salt, which is inorganic and hence no more bioavailable than any other kind of salt. On page 59 it recommends detoxing by drinking salt water! How can you detox by drinking something toxic? Salt water induces vomiting.

The author lists symptoms of iodine deficiency, but they are common and can be due to many causes, as he admits. He tells how to test iodine levels, both at home and through medical laboratories. To his credit he condemns fluoridation of water and toothpaste. He blames thyroid cancers in French Polynesia on iodine-deficient soils, without a mention of the nuclear bomb tests that took place in that region.

Iodine supplements are not panaceas for everything that ails you and may not be safe. My parents had tincture of iodine in their medicine cabinet. It had a skull and crossbones on the label. Of course iodine is an essential trace mineral, no one disputes that, but it must be in an organic and bioavailable form. Organic means derived from living sources—plants or animals. Inorganic iodine is dangerous. Iodine in the dosages recommended by this book is ridiculous, and probably dangerous. Taking any mineral supplement in the absence of other minerals is dangerous. But this book implies that iodine supplementation is harmless when it states on page 20 that “It is nearly impossible for a human to get too much iodine.” Don’t believe it! Iodine is a trace element, not the staff of life.

I tried the iodine supplements recommended by this book but had a very bad reaction. I cannot prove a cause-and-effect connection, but after I stopped the iodine supplements I recovered in two weeks. Be careful! A serving of seaweed once a week will provide all the iodine you need, and safely.