Iodine as an Essential Nutrient for Dementia Patients
I first started looking for a cure for Lewy Body Dementia when my uncle was diagnosed with the disease about a year ago. Having spent several years researching no-chemo, no-radiation cures for cancer that had been covered up, I was surprised to learn that a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia is relatively new in conventional medicine (as opposed to cancer, which is a diagnosis that has been around for a long time). I knew that cancer and Lewy Body Dementia had some things in common, the most important being the fact that they're both chronic degenerative diseases, so I started my Lewy Body Dementia research by looking more closely at some of the cancer cures that I regularly recommend to people. And I encourage readers to click around and read about some of the cancer cures that pop up throughout this discussion of Lewy Body Dementia cures and Parkinson's Disease cures. Our medical system teaches us to think about diseases as separate and distinct from one another, but often, the root cause of disease is the same. What differs is how our bodies respond to stressors in the environment and differences in our diets. For some, the lungs are weak and they develop asthma. For others, digestion is poor and they develop cancer as a result of enzyme or nutrient deficiencies. Still others develop neurological problems. If you're reading this article right now because you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia or Parkinson's Disease, keep an open mind if you see a link to an article about cancer cures. I've included links in this article to some of the cancer cure articles I've written because some of the natural cures for cancer would also work to cure certain forms of LBD and PD. While Parkinson’s Disease has been observed since the 1800’s, Dementia with Lewy Bodies was a rare phenomenon until relatively recently. This disease was first observed and recorded in 1912 by F. H. Lewy. Until the 1960’s, doctors would only occasionally encounter a patient with the disorder. But starting in the 1980’s Lewy Body Dementia became much more prevalent. Today, Lewy Body Dementia is the diagnosis for 12 to 15% of all dementia patients [1].In the 1960’s, when doctors first started identifying a growing number of Lewy Body Dementia patients in the general population, some important and relevant changes took place to our food supply. Of special interest is the fact that flour and yeast were replaced with toxic and unnecessary additives like potassium bromate and brominated vegetable oils in commercially produced breads. The bromine in potassium bromate is toxic to humans but bromine / bromide is also used in new car interiors, as a fire retardant. It is also sprayed on children’s pajamas, it’s found in paint (which can gain access to the body via contact with the skin), in swimming pools (it replaces chlorine as a water purifier in pool water). Bromine / bromide is an ingredient in insecticides, and it’s used in citrus soft drinks as brominated vegetable oils (BVOs) to give those drinks a cloudy "citrus-y" appearance . A U.S. brand of potato chips was removed from shelves in China for containing trace amounts of potassium bromate (the substance is considered toxic in most countries except the U.S.), but bromine is an almost ubiquitous problem throughout the world that can only be combatted with iodine supplementation. Anyone who has dementia who has been exposed to bromine daily (which is almost everyone in the United States) should take iodine supplements of 50 mg per day. Bromine / bromide builds up in the body over time. Iodine can help the body “throw off” the bromine / bromide to stay healthy.
Bromide is also a component of non-organophosphate insecticides. Indeed, both organophosphates and bromide-containing insecticides are extremely toxic and exposure to either type of insecticide can lead to dementia and other neurological symptoms. Bromine / bromide competes with iodine in the body. Iodine is needed for healthy functioning of the thyroid gland in the neck as well as healthy functioning of the reproductive organs. When the thyroid and reproductive glands aren't working well, the brain also doesn't work well either. Many people who are deficient in iodine may experience symptoms of a goiter which could include anything on a spectrum from distressing swallowing difficulties to a swollen neck. Below are some of the symptoms of a low-level iodine deficiency that can occur even before a patient notices that they have a goiter:
- Brain fog
- Slow metabolism
- Swelling at the base of the neck
- A tight feeling in the throat
- Hoarseness
- Coughing
- Difficulty breathing
- Difficulty swallowing
- Dizziness when the arms are raised above the head
- Neck vein swelling [8]
- Dementia
- Hallucinations
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Confusion
- Psychosis
- Weakness
- Stupor
- Coma
- Loss of control of body movements
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Anorexia
- Constipation
- Angiomas
- Acne
- Pustular and erythematous rashes
To add insult to injury, in the 1970’s in the U.S., iodine was removed from bread as a fortifying agent and replaced with Potassium Bromate, an additive that’s been banned in the European Union, Canada, Brazil, China, and other countries too because of its toxicity to humans. But Potassium Bromate remains a legal additive in the United States. Iodine, a necessary trace mineral, was put into salt instead of being put into bread products in the U.S. even though salt is not a good carrier for iodine. Iodine in salt begins to vaporize as soon as the box of salt is opened. And many doctors have lately been advising patients to eat less salt, which means that patients get even less iodine than before. As a result, their deficiency worsens without them ever suspecting that they’re simply lacking an essential nutrient [1]. Symptoms of Iodine Deficiency Include:
- Goiter
- Unexplained weight gain
- Fatigue, weakness
- Hair loss
- Dry, flaky skin
- Feeling cold
- Heart rate changes
- Foggy thinking
- Heavy or irregular periods
- Persistent swelling or soreness in the neck and throat
- Muscle soreness
- Memory Loss
- Mood problems: anxiety or depression
- Cyst formation on the ovaries
- Uterine fibroids
- Prostate issues
- Fibrocystic Breast Disease
- Colitis or other digestive issues
- Autoimmune conditions
- Thyroid cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other reproductive-system cancers [2]
In addition to the ubiquitous problem of bromine / bromide and the lack of available iodine in the food supply, in the 1970’s toxic chemicals that block iodine uptake were introduced into the environment. These include fluoride and perchlorate. Perchlorate permanently blocks the thyroid gland’s ability to use iodine. It was once prescribed as a treatment for hyperthyroidism. Today, perchlorate is used to control static electricity in food packaging. It is used in rocket fuel and in the production of fireworks too. This chemical has contaminated the food and water supply in various locations throughout the United States and it causes devastating health problems via its effects on the thyroid gland.
Click here to learn how to remove fluoride from the body.
Health Consequences of Iodine Deficiency in Children and During Pregnancy
- Developmental delays in children
- Lowering of IQ levels in children
- Fertility issues
- Miscarriages
- Stillbirths
- Congenital abnormalities
- Increased perinatal mortality
- Increased infant mortality
- Cretinism
- Mental deficiency
- Deaf-mutism
- Spastic diplegia
- Squint
- Myxedematous cretinism
- Mental deficiency
- Dwarfism
- Psychomotor defects
- Goiter
- Hypothyroidism
- Retarded physical development [3][4]
How Healthy Habits Can Cause Iodine Deficiency
Unfortunately, a number of healthy habits can lead to a depletion of iodine in the body. Below are examples:
- Eating less salt - Iodized salt is one of the most important sources of iodine in the U.S.. When people use less salt, they get less iodine.
- Putting less salt directly on food - Salt that’s used in cooking loses up to 62.4% of its iodine content.
- Using Kosher or Himalayan Sea Salt - While Himalayan Sea Salt contains important trace minerals that can enhance your health overall, it contains low amounts of iodine. So people who use Sea Salt to season their diet need to use an iodine supplement in addition to the salt. Sea salt is an excellent addition to most diets, but it doesn’t contain enough iodine for healthy functioning of the human body. Almost everyone needs to take an iodine supplement. Note that Salt Loading and Salt Flushing are both an important part of the Iodine Therapy Basic Protocol.
- Eating more vegetables and less meat - Eating a lot of meat can lead to a variety of health issues including cancer if the patient does not also take pancreatic enzymes with their meals, but plant-based foods (except seaweed and kelp which are high in iodine) are lower in iodine than animal-based foods. So vegans and vegetarians and people eating less meat overall need to supplement with iodine.
- Note that a deficiency of iodine is often correlated with vitamin B12 deficiency. Also note that vitamin B12 deficiency can cause symptoms identical to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or Lewy Body Dementia. Though a vitamin B12 shot should be a doctor’s first treatment that they give to any patient with dementia symptoms, today, insurance companies often forbit doctors from doing this. Vitamin B12 is an affordable treatment for dementia that can cure dementia immediately if vitamin B12 deficiency was the underlying problem. Click here to read more about vitamin B12 deficiency as a major cause for dementia here.
- Getting regular exercise - A significant amount of iodine is lost when a person sweats profusely as during a regular exercise program. Supplementing with iodine can help compensate for iodine losses that occur as a result of exercise.
- Swimming - Swimming regularly in a pool that’s sanitized using bromine can cause significant health problems over time. Swimming in a pool sanitized with chlorine is a much healthier option if you have a choice.
Summary
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, taking Iodine supplements can help reduce simple brain fog and eliminate the possibility that the dementia is caused by a combined iodine deficiency + bromine toxicity. Combine Lugol’s iodine therapy with vitamin B12 treatment either as an injection from your doctor, or using powdered vitamin B12 with DMSO topically on the skin. If your thyroid gland and reproductive organs are not functioning properly, your mental and cognitive health will decline as well. Without adequate levels of hormones produced by the glands that need iodine and that are harmed by bromine, your metabolism will be substantially reduced leading to foggy-headedness, dementia symptoms, and weight gain or even morbid obesity.The AlivenHealthy Iodine Bible - Everything you need to know to get started taking iodine and more!
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