Dosages
Treatment of Influenza and other Diseases
After testing over 500 patients, I found that 94.7%
of my patients are deficient in inorganic iodine.
Dr. David Brownstein
There are several reference points we can use to plot out iodine dosages for a variety of disorders that beg for the use of iodine for successful treatment. In this chapter I will present different views and practices from present as well as from the long past when iodine was vastly more popular as a medicine than it is today. For whatever irrational reason, doctors and patients fear iodine thus en mass do not use to its fullest potential.
Humans tolerate large doses of iodine but the ultra high doses that were used many decades ago are not required to get the most out of iodine therapy. Just a little goes a long way, as the governmental iodized salt programs showed but this dosage level was only affective for Goiter and its avoidance. It actually takes very little iodine to prevent this disease but no one ever said that was the only purpose and need for iodine in the body. Today people are more deficient then ever before because our need for iodine has increased in direct proportion to our toxic burdens especially of other competing halogens.
So effective is iodine that aerosols can be effective in sterilizing a room at levels not even detectable by humans. But Dr. David Derry of Canada says that, “Dietary iodine found in iodized salt is below the amounts needed to fill mucus defense roles. To protect themselves, people wishing to boost their defense against infections should supplement their diets with iodine.”
“Extremely high doses of iodine can have serious side effects, but only a small fraction of such extreme doses are necessary to kill influenza viruses,” continues Derry who tells us, “In 1945, a breakthrough occurred when J.D. Stone and Sir McFarland Burnet (who later went on to win a Nobel Prize for his Clonal Selection Theory) exposed mice to lethal effects of influenza viral mists. The lethal disease was prevented by putting iodine solution on mice snouts just prior to placing them in chambers containing influenza viruses.”
Dr. Derry is one of several MDs that I refer to as the Iodine Doctors.
Dr. David Brownstein said, “After testing individuals and finding low iodine levels, I began to use smaller milligram amounts of iodine/iodide (6.25mg/day). Upon retesting these individuals 1-2 months later, little progress was made. I therefore began using higher milligram doses (6.25-50mg) to increase the serum levels of iodine. It was only with these higher doses that I began to see clinical improvement as well as positive changes in the laboratory tests. Why would people need the larger doses of iodine? Why have iodine levels fallen 50% in the last 30 years? As I pondered these questions, I came to the conclusion that the toxicity of modern life must be impacting iodine levels. It is well known that the toxic halides, fluoride and bromide, having a similar structure as iodine, can competitively inhibit iodine absorption and binding in the body. Because of the elevated levels of toxic halides in the environment and in the food supply, iodine levels have not only fallen but larger amounts of iodine are necessary to correct iodine deficiency as well as to promote a detoxifying effect of heavy metals.”
I have suggested that people put iodine into a nebulizer for aerosol treatment for transdermal effect into the lung tissues in the case of lung cancer, emphysema, asthma and tuberculosis. I make the recommendation to do the same with magnesium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and glutathione. It seems obvious that iodine would make the ideal first line of defense in influenza prevention and without doubt in the treatment of both swine flu and regular influenza. Iodine, teamed up with these other primary and very necessary substances, offers an exceptionally strong defense and treatment against viral infection. It certainly is better than the antiviral Tamiflu, which only reduces symptoms by only one day. It is really not hard to beat that.
Some physicians I know are also using chlorine dioxide as an agent for treatment either transdermally or intravenously applied but I would never use it for the prevention of anything. Though I have heard some success stories about chlorine dioxide I do not use it myself nor for my children. I always will reach for the iodine first for all the things that chlorine dioxide proponents advocate, for the iodine is much safer for oral usage, especially when used in the right form. The body needs iodine anyway as a fundamental nutritional item but when even heavier guns are needed instead of reaching for a pharmaceutical one can think of chlorine dioxide.
A function of iodine in the human body relates to clear thinking.
The mind simply works better when the body is supplied the iodine it
needs and studies do show that iodine deficiency leads to decline in IQ.
Despite its being critical to normal neurocognitive development, a new study finds that only 51% of US prenatal multivitamin brands contain any iodine, and in a number of randomly selected brands, the actual dose of iodine contained in the supplements did not match values on the labeling.[1] It is easy to understand a synthetic pharmaceutical being phased out but to have iodine, an essential nutritional element that doubles as a super effective full spectrum anti-pathogen, ignored for what it can do is not reasonable.
Dr. Michael B. Schachter says, “The treatment dose when a person is iodine insufficient is generally between 12.5 mg and 50 mg daily. Preliminary research indicates that if a person is iodine insufficient, it takes about 3 months to become iodine sufficient while ingesting a dosage of 50 mg of iodine and a year to become iodine sufficient while ingesting a dosage of 12.5 mg of iodine daily. However, the patient needs to be monitored closely with awareness of possible side effects and detoxification reactions.” This is quite a bit of iodine and if his statements can be substantiated then most people are using dosages which are much too low.
In fact if we put our attention on the full iodine story, which collides with the fluoride, mercury and bromide story we conclude that we can only err on the side of too low of a dose. Patients should push their dosages higher and higher until they get the desired result but I recommend doing this slowly unless there is little time as is the case in emergency situations or very late stage cancer. When using the Nascent Iodine one can dose pulse every two hours orally taking each individual dose up to as many as 20 drops and even at this level we are no where near points of iodine toxicity and tolerance. I have given my own three year old up to fifteen drops in a dose when she was confronted with fever and infection.
When treating life threatening diseases we do not have months to fool around with low dosages. We need to zoom up iodine levels quickly. And we need to get it concentrated to certain tissues or organs. Just to give you an idea of how high iodine dosages have been taken to we have to revisit the 1930s when iodine was still a universal medicine, present in the US Pharmacopeia and was used at much higher dosages than anyone even dreams of using today.
The usual dose for treatment was 300 mgs (46 drops of full strength Lugol’s) to 1 gm (1000 mg, 154 drops). It is very important to realize that today’s Lugol’s is not universally the same as it was because of new federal legal requirements about concentration levels. The best company offers Lugol’s at varying concentration levels. (2.2, 3 and 7 percent) Nascent is a 2 percent solution.
Preoperative before thyroidectomy: Lugol solution 5-10 gtt
three times daily, or 2-6 gtt twice or three times daily
given 10-21 days prior to surgery has been used.
MedlinePlus
Dr. Schachter wrote,” Dr. Abraham started this Iodine Project around 1998 when he became aware of the many benefits of treating patients with iodine using doses far beyond the 2 mg a day, which most physicians consider to be potentially toxic. He noted that starting in the 1820s, the French physician Jean Lugol used these higher doses to treat a wide variety of conditions. Dr. Lugol combined elemental iodine (5 %) and potassium iodide (10%) with 85 % water. Since iodine kills infectious agents, Dr. Lugol successfully treated many infectious conditions with this solution, which became known as Lugol’s solution, and which is still available today. Prior to World War II, many American and European physicians used Lugol’s solution to treat thyroid conditions, using doses higher than 2 mg daily without apparent significant adverse effects.”
When you look at mainstream recommendations all the above information seems strange but this is because dosage and RDA are set obscenely low. Note instead of talking in milligrams (mg) the RDA is in micrograms (mcg) which is a scale exactly 1000 times less. Meaning it takes 1000 mcg to equal 1 mg and it takes 1000 mg to equal a gram.
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA):50mcg daily for infants 0-12 months; 90mcg daily for 1-8 years; 120mcg daily for 9-13 years; 150mcg daily for 14-18 years.
Adequate Intake (AI) for infants:110mcg daily for ages 0-6 months; 130mcg daily for 7-12 months.
Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL): 200mcg/day for ages 1-3 years; 300mcg/day for 4-8 years; 600mcg/day for 9-13 years; 900mcg/day for 14-18 years (including pregnancy and lactation).
Radiation emergencies: Potassium iodide (KI) should be taken just prior to, or as soon as possible after exposure. For infants, babies, and children, KI is administered for exposure of 5 centigrays (cGy) or more. For birth through 1 month, 16mg can be administered; for 1 month through 3 years, 32mg can be administered; for 3-12 years, 65mg can be administered; for adolescents ages 12-18 years, 65mg can be administered (or up to 120mg if the adolescent is approaching adult size).
The highest dosage I have heard any doctor using today is 100 mg and that is quite a bit when you take iodine in a form where you can taste and appreciate what you are taking into your body. My favorite iodine (Nascent) is ideal for oral and aerosol applications into both nebulizers and vaporizers though I believe Lugol’s, which is harsher on the stomach and has a very bitter taste, is better for transdermal application to the skin not only because it is less expensive but because you can get it at higher concentration.
Nascent Iodine, though more expensive actually tastes and feels good while going down and is gentle enough to give to children, who do not seem to complain about its taste. Having it on hand for ones children is important for when they need it you can get them to take it but that is not so certain with Lugol’s. Nascent iodine contains approximately 400 mcg per drop so 10 drops is 4 mg and 100 drops is only 40 so it’s safe to take much higher dosages than is suggested on the bottle. One hundred drops a day is a strong dose, but when treating life threatening diseases it would not be unheard of to use upward of 200 drops a day in divided doses. It is very important to remember though that one should not shoot straight up to these dosage levels. One should start at low dosages and monitor for detox reactions, which will be less if sodium bicarbonate and other substances are used in conjunction.
For alcohol-sensitive people there is Nanocollidal iodine:
http://www.cedarbear.com/CBNLabsIodineProducts.html.
Recovered alcoholics are extremely sensitive with
the tiniest amount of any alcohol a problem.
Dr. Abrahams recommends taking 50 mg of Iodine/Iodide as Lugol’s solution (8 drops) daily for 3 months as a loading dose. Lugol’s solution is available online at varying concentrations. Then his recommendation is that dose should be gradually reduced to the 12.5 mg (2 drops) maintenance dosage under the supervision of a knowledgeable health care professional. Dr Abrahams feels that 14 to 15 mg. of iodine/iodide daily is the upper maximum of safety for long term use. This is close to Dr. James Howenstine’s (another prominent iodine advocate) recommended dose of 12.5 mg daily.
In 1953 Dr. Orian Truss discovered the devastating effects of antibiotics in an Alabama (USA) hospital. During a hospital round Truss was intrigued by a gaunt, apparently elderly man who was obviously dying. However, he was only in his forties and in hospital for four months. No specialist had been able to make a diagnosis. Out of curiosity Truss asked the patient when be was last completely well. The man answered that he was well until six months before when he had cut his finger He had received antibiotics for this. Shortly afterwards he developed diarrhea and his health deteriorated. Truss had seen before how antibiotics cause diarrhea. It was known that Candida was opportunistic and thrived in debilitated patients, but now Truss wondered if it might not be the other way round, that Candida actually caused the debilitated condition.
Truss had read that potassium iodide solution could be used to treat Candida infestation of the blood. So he put the patient on six to eight drops of Lugol’s solution four times a day and soon the patient was again completely well. Soon afterwards he had a female patient with a stuffy nose, a throbbing headache, vaginitis and severe depression. To his amazement all her problems immediately cleared with Candida treatment.
When I was coming to closure on this chapter I happened to talk to Dr. Brownstein. We were in total agreement about dosages. Our consensus extended to the proposition that the sicker the patient the more iodine they would need with most average patients needing 25 to 50 mgs with 12 mg being a good maintenance dose though of course this varies with the quality of ones diet and with ones location. Living near the beach has its health advantages but in no case should one depend on iodized salt for their needs.
Dr. Brownstein said he was using 200 to 300 mg with his prostate and breast cancer patients with those who have metastases needing the highest dosages. He also uses both Lugol’s and Nascent reserving the Nascent for his more sensitive patients. The there are the tablet form of varying dosage, which are used by more than several of the iodine doctors I know.
Iodine is needed in microgram amounts for the thyroid,
mg amounts for breast and other tissues, and can
be used therapeutically in gram amounts.[2]
Dr. David Miller
just a shoty note to express my appreciation for your sharing of knowledge …it is slowly sinking in …I mean I’m only 68 :O) …
blood pressure was high and iodine may be an issue …long term hypo thyroid ..I been reading and saving your issues since January 13th 09 …lost some weight and altered my food to raw or home cooked …drinking nettle and dandylion teas only
thank you so much
Norm
Very informative and well written. I strongly believe iodine is a requirement for good health.
I believe it should be stressed that taking large doses requires the addition of selenium to prevent damage to the thyroid. (200-400mcg max).
Also, if iodine treats candida, would it not be required to replace the good bacteria as it would also kill those off?
Anyone able to help on reasonable dosage of iodine in this patient with no thyroid due to extraction in 1994, plus other cancer, immunity and also tiredness issues due to taking only half (150mcg per day)of the originally-prescribed doseage of Synthroid ™ thyroxine over three years so as to discourage recurrence of a sarcoma from 2005? Thanks.
Dear Mark Sircus: What a wonderful review on iodine, thank you! I am making my list of measurements in case of H1N1 swuie flu or H1N1 swine flu mandatory vaccination and indeed for the first situation is absolutely needed and also for the 2nd right?
I have 3 questions, how is thyroid metabolism altered with some of these dosages of iodine?
Do we need a thyroid profile be taken first to take iodine?
How is iodine deficiency determined?
I send you a big hug. Dr. Elena Manrique.
Great article and badly needed, especially in these perilous times.
I have periodontal disease and have been using Iosol’s iodine but too conservatively. I will try doubling the dosage to 23mg a day and I feel optimistic that my gum problems will greatly diminish if not disappear altogether. Thank you!
hello. my comment is – thank you for this information. i had just sat down at the computer to determine iodine dosage once and for all. this has been a very unclear issue for me. before i started i checked my email and there was your newsletter re iodine. perfect timing! i also have a quick question. i am treating three dogs for cancer: 7 lbs with melanoma of the jaw and chin; 20 lbs with malignant tumor at top of right front leg; 7 lb female with rectal, vaginal and now mammary tumors. my vet doesn’t know the first thing about iodine. could you possibly just give me your best guess as to dosage for these little guys? i just started a few days ago with consistent doses. i use magnescent and give each dog 5 drops twice daily. i do not think this is enough. if these were your own dogs…
also – can you put magnescent or lugols right on the tumors?
thank you and very kind regards,
peggy
I have purchased the books about magnesium and Iodine and I think your information is really helpful. I have been taking 3 drops of Nascent iodine 3 time a day since I read your book.
I had some standard blood test done a few weeks ago. My TSH was 5.3 and normal 0.3 to 4.8. My doctor said I was ruining my thyroid and to stop taking the Iodine. Can this be possible? He is not an alternative practitioner and we argue allot. I have not taken any for a month now and think I am doing wrong, Can you enlighten me?
I’ve been an avid reader of your letters for a long time now. As it happens I also belong to the Weston A. Price Foundation, in fact I’m a local chapter leader in Germany. The last two issues of their journal Wise Traditions dealt with iodine.
Having put the fear of thyroid trouble into me by my pharmacist who refused to sell me Lugol’s when he heard I wanted to use it internally, I had been reticent and only used it externally after purchasing it from another pharmacy.
Once I started using iodine in a homeopathic form my stubborn sinus issues finally started resolving. Then I read that topical treatment of moles with iodine would make them fall off or disappear within three to four weeks.
This experiment is still in progress, but I can feel the iodine working on my moles, they first turn darker and itch and then they crust over and flake off. The results so far have been encouraging, both with the moles and sinus troubles at the same time.
With my experience, this treatment could put dermatologists out of business.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge,
Anita
Hi doc Mark,
I finally managed to find 10% iodine in Australia, and have removed a cancer?wart? that had been burnt 4 times,( never went away and had grown,) from the back of my hand. I wish I had taken pictures to share! I now cannot find a trace of distorted pores at all, and have perfect skin once again:-) I admit it did itch a bit at the 2 week stage, so I backed off till it stopped, used fresh aloe leaves to soothe it, and then continued, all I can say is Brilliant!!!! and thank you so much for very good advice:-)
This article and information is very interesting to me, and a you do not mention ‘mood’ changes, I thought I would send this message.
Earlier this year, I became aware that I was lacking in motivation to do anything at all. Normally I am a very active eighty year old. I complained about may state to a friend on the phone, and she suggested maybe Iodine would/could help. When i looked it up on product information on the GLN website, that source said that iodine deficiency is related to lack of WILL, just what I was feeling. Once I started to take the recommended five drops a day, within a few days things were back to normal for me. Hooray!.
Since then I have maintained the 5 drops a day, and all is well.
I gather from your article that probably more than 5 drops, maybe up to 12 drops daily would be of benefit, so I will try increasing gradually and see how that goes. I normally have very good health, tho I have had each hip replaced, and have been warned that my bone density needs to be strengthened, tho’ it is only slightly low.
Thank you for this information in your article.
Took two years to convince my brother, an M.D., that he could quit his Synthroid (25 years) if he supplemented iodine. Took 6.5 mg Iodural, twice a week and then switched to eating seaweed (4.5-5.5 mg per serving) as kombu or some other. Interestingly, his hemoglobin jumped 2 points to 12.5 after being somewhat anemic for years.
Currently trying to cure my sister with Hashimoto’s disease (15 years). With 2.5 mg of Lugol’s 2%, daily, and 88 mcg of Synthroid her TSH has dropped to 0.19. So it obviously is working. I wish she would reduce her Synthroid more. After four years of telling her to use iodine on her psoriasis, she relented and the large spot on her ankle cleared. She is now trying it on her scalp.
My wife’s borderline glaucoma (iop 19) dropped to 15 after daily 225 mcg for one year. No other changes in her diet or supplementation so it must have been the iodine.
Daughters and other women ceased having menstrual problems with as little as 225 mcg but I recommend a minimum of 675 mcg.
Women with lifelong cold hands and feet have had vast improvement with 1 mg and would probably do better with more.
Am about to leave to work with a woman who doesn’t want to go on Synthroid for hypothyroidism.
I am not a doctor. I am a retired utility worker but I do what I can. I am so tired of patents being abused and killed by their well intentioned doctors. Most have been brainwashed by the pharmaceuticals and our corrupt government. I have another brother who is a doctor but he is slowly learning and now uses transdermal magnesium. It’s a start. You know that most doctors take at least one course of “god schooling”.
Sorry, forgot. Do take selenium, as Bruce said. Also, selenium without iodine can damage the thyroid so start it after beginning the iodine. Four Brazil nuts will do. Need it to convert the T4 to T3.
As Laurel said, it works on skin cancer. Had a long time spot on my forearm that continually itched. Iodine cleared it up. Pealed a couple times but then fine.
Would Iodine help with a bacteria problem in one’s vagina? I have dealt with this for almost 3 years taking antibiotics. It clears up but comes back. I have douced with soda, vinegar and boric acid the last time. I am at a loss as to what to do. I also had a pap smear which did not turn up anything wrong.
thanks,
Leslie
I have worried with an odor problem in my female area, taking antibiotics on and off for 2-1/2 years. It clears up and then comes back. would taking Iodine orally help? Would doucing with iodine take care of it? I also have taken acidolphis but have heard that there are two things doctors have discovered that are needed which is not in the acidolphis??
I am very clean and have not had sex since married about 3 years ago. I also had a pap smear which turned out ok. I was poisoned with supposedly mercury. Do you think that could have caused the problem?
I was able to get the old Lugol’s before they reduced the percentage.
thanks,
Leslie
P.S. I wasn’t sure my post here got through, so apologize if two posts.
Leslie
This is for Deenie with the peridontal disease.
Chris Astill-Smith D.O etc. at http://www.metabolics.co.uk has told his classes that liquid folic acid, taken between 11 PM and 1 AM (Standard time) will significantly reduce peridontal disease.
Directions are to brush and floss normally, then put 2-3 squirts of the liquid folic acid in your mouth. Swish it around and massage it into your gums with your tongue for 5-10 minutes. Then swallow it. He tells us that the folic acid is needed to facilitate tissue repair. It works best doing it between 11 PM and 1 AM because this is “gallbladder time” in Chinese medicine. I do not know how/why “gallbladder time” and the liquid folic acid use correlates like this, but his experience indicates it does. There is some Wedtern medicine research that indicates certain drugs work better when taken at certain times, so there is some general confirmation that the concept of dosing vs. timing has some documented validity.
His website contains video courses of major value for those interested in the clinical application of biochemistry.
Dear Leslie,
Yes taking iodine orally and douching with it would be part of a good treatment. So would doing the same with sodium bicarbonate and even with magnesium chloride or what is known as magnesium oil. For the mercury part, which is a big part of most peoples presenting picture of disharmony (disorder) first step would be taking selenium and Alpha Lipoic Acid (rALA) and then a good natural chelation product. Also this brings up the use of clay, both a good eating clay and topical clay. I deal with LL Magnetic Clay Company for the magnesium, iodine and clay aspects of my protocol as well as for a probiotic you should take. I also like Living Stream Probiotic for transdermal use but probiotic has to be in your treatment story. You can see on my Online Clinic site my product endorsements and the contact information.
This statement about not having sex for three years since being married, if true or accurately communicated, could also be part of the problem though the antibiotics and mercury pathology picture would still be a factor no matter what. But if there is a sexual block and a shutting down of areas and organs of the body to pleasure and love well this you would benefit from looking into.
Mark Sircus Ac., OMD
Director International Medical Veritas Association
http://naturalallopathicclinic.com/cms/
http://publications.imva.info/
Doctor, I thankfully ask this: Is there a liquid measure that can be used for the %5 Lugols doseage such as 1/2 teaspoon, etc.? How much do I need measured in a teaspoon? or a tablespoon? God bless you ! And what else do we need to take with Lugols’ ? F,64,Hashimotos,etc. Taking 4-5 Armour daily as available. p.s. Under a good dr.s orders I once took 35 grains daily of Cytomel and did very well. I can no longer afford it.
Dr. Sircus deserves alot of credit for telling the truth about alternative treatments of cancers, infections, etc. I would like to add a bit of info regarding cancer. In 1948, my grandmother who was 50 then, was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. So she decide to switch to an ND (naturapatic doctor) He treated her with IV injections of medical grade hydrogen peroxide over a period of 8 weeks. She lived for another 30 years. There are under ground clinics who do this.
Thank you Dr. Sircus
Thank you for this information. It is so hard to get accurate information on dosages.When taking iodine and also using sodium bicarbonate orally can they be taken close together or should they be taken at different times. I understand iodine can reduce the effectiveness of antioxidants, and should not be taken together. does the same apply with sodium bicarb and other nutients?
Where would we be without Dr. Sircus as a champion for natural therapies. Thank you!
Lugol’s being a much higher concentration, is commonly measured in drops, not teaspoonfuls or fractions of. The amount you use is dependent on what you are treating. Maintenence doses are different from treatment doses. You should work with a qualified health care practitioner to ensure the best plan for you.
[...] C, magnesium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, zinc and iodine as well as the sun, plenty of good water, exercise and sufficient sleep will do more to protect you [...]
LESLIE, Go to Earth Clinic for your issue and read. I am sick of the subject when it is a no-brainer.
Women from all over the world write in about the same subject and want an instant cure. They just
don’t want to read. Again………. read. It is a pH , probotic, yeast, folic acid , and enzyme thing. Read.
Your idiot doctor has no clue except for anti-biotics , which will last a few weeks.
Leave your response!
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