I have been a PCOS patient for thirty years. For those of you who are not familiar, this is an endocrine disorder most frequently characterized by a constellation of symptoms, such as infertility, overweight, hirsutism, and adult acne, among other issues. In addition, those with PCOS have a greater tendency to develop heart disease, thyroid problems and diabetes. Emerging science also indicates that PCOS women develop fibrocystic breast disease, uterine cancer and breast cancer more frequently. I did, indeed, have fibrocystic breasts, and I developed breast cancer six years ago. I have suffered with many additional problems, among them: IBS, poor resistance to upper respiratory infections (including six bouts of pneumonia and many more cases of bronchitis and sinusitis), and devastating chronic fatigue.
I have been in the care
of many doctors throughout the years, but never got any answers from them--only band-aids and spot treatment for the individual problems I had. I got the usual pat on
the hand, and was told to lose some weight and exercise. Well, for the
PCOS patient, losing weight is very difficult, and while a healthy diet
and exercise are certainly advisable, they fall very short in addressing
so many of the issues related to PCOS. No doctor all those years cared enough or had enough time or knowledge to track
down the source of my problems. But one doctor did tell me that it was more likely one issue causing most or all of my problems, rather than my having a lot of different issues.
He was right.
Two years ago I stumbled across what I believe is the source of nearly all of my health problems. It's very simple, really, and inexpensive. In fact
you may have some of this stuff sitting in your medicine cabinet right
now. It is . . . .
iodine.
Hard to believe, right? But here are some important facts about this simple, necessary element:
1. The current RDA for iodine
(150mcg) was intended to prevent goiter and cretinism. The fact that many of us may not be sure what goiter and cretinism are confirms that this standard minimum has done its job in that regard. However, an optimal daily
requirement has never been intensively studied or established. Proponents
believe the RDA should be much higher.
2. Iodine resides in every
cell of the body, but is especially stored in the thyroid gland, breasts and uterus, and the bones and muscles to a lesser
extent.
3.
Iodine is the major building block of thyroid hormone. If there is a
deficiency, then hypothyroid-like symptoms may appear, even if the
thyroid gland is perfectly healthy. It just lacks the ingredients it
needs to make hormones.
4. Iodized salt and seafood are the only significant sources of iodine in our country. We've been told for years to cut back on salt to discourage high blood pressure, and we're also told to limit our intake of fish, due to concerns about mercury. So we have effectively encouraged millions of people to cut back on their only significant source of iodine. Therefore, doctors who are proponents of supplementing iodine believe it's likely that most
people in the U.S. are iodine deficient to some degree.
5.
It is well-established that iodine deficiency is related to fibrocystic
breast disease. Emerging science also strongly suggests that breast
cancer for some women is caused, at least in part, by iodine deficiency.
This is bolstered by the fact that Japanese women, who consume up to 13
mg per day of iodine in their diet, are far less likely than American
women to develop breast cancer, and are, in fact, among the healthiest
people in the world. (Keep in mind that 13 mg is nearly 1,000 times the
U.S. RDA.) In any event, taking iodine regularly can certainly help
protect you from breast cancer, and other female cancers, even if you
are otherwise healthy.
6. Until the advent of synthetic thyroid
hormone therapy in the 1960s, doctors routinely used iodine to treat all
kinds of thyroid problems. And, in the years before blood tests were available to guide them, doctors
simply treated until the patient felt well. Gee. What a concept.
7. It's hard to 'overdose' with iodine, because the body excretes any excess.
8.
Women are more prone to develop health problems due to a lack of
iodine. Below is a list of possible
symptoms, including
discussions on some. If you don't relate to many (or any) of these, maybe you know someone that does--send them here!
Hypothyroid-like
symptoms: fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain, loss of libido,
and memory issues. No doubt that iodine deficiency can be the cause of
this, rather than overt thyroid disease.
Breast
complaints, including fibrocystic breast disease and increased soreness
in the breast around the time of menstruation. Iodine's ability to
correct these problems is well-documented, owing to its antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in breast tissue.
Breast cancer without other health complaints. Iodine protects the breast and uterus from cancer because it discourages rapid cell division (mytosis) and helps induce natural, healthy programmed cell death (apoptosis). Both of these actions may address the fundamental issue with cancer--errant cells that multiply like crazy.
Chronic
fatigue issues, including fibromyalgia Many doctors who are iodine
proponents note that these disorders only came on the scene after traditional iodine treatment for thyroid issues was abandoned in favor of
synthetic hormone replacement, and after thyroid test results became the last
word in treatment. Now doctors only treat patients for thyroid disease
if they have obvious problems shown in their blood work, and they treat the patient
until their blood test results are 'in normal range' rather than until
the patient feels well, as was done before the advent of testing. For
many who do not have thyroid disease, but rather a shortage of iodine,
they may, in fact, experience chronic fatigue and other symptoms that
may not show up in the blood work. Some of these poor souls are shunted off
into the chronic fatigue category with no effective treatment, because
they don't fall into the 'thyroid' category for treatment--this happened to me. Some iodine doctors report excellent results with their chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia patients, using iodine. If you have a chronic fatigue issue and you've tried everything, it certainly can't hurt to try it!
PCOS
There is pretty solid evidence that iodine deficiency is at the bottom
of this condition for some women, OR that it causes symptoms that are
mistaken for PCOS. One curious aspect of my own PCOS condition was that I was never infertile--in fact I could just about name my date to conceive, and I have three grown children. This seemed odd to my doctors, and I believe that this may be one clue that suggests that I did not actually have PCOS proper, but an iodine deficiency mimicking the condition. I did, indeed, have polycystic ovaries and in fact had one ovary removed due to a large suspicious-looking cyst.
Diabetes
High blood pressure and arteriosclerosis
Heart arrhythmias
Impaired immunity to common viruses This was certainly true for me.
COPD
Iodine can be a valuable tool in the treatment of COPD, again because it discourages mytosis, or cell division, helping prevent the colonization of micro-organisms, which is often a problem with COPD. It will also loosen and
thin mucous secretions.
Slowed mental function, especially in children, and possibly ADD
Links to iodine deficiency and autism are being explored, as well as a relationship to migraine headaches.
Here is an excellent article to read for further information:
http://holisticprimarycare.net/topics/topics-o-z/womens-health/233-iodine-a-breast-health-think-beyond-the-thyroid.html
My only complaint about this article is its caution about taking too much iodine. I myself take 25mg daily and I've never felt better. Of course, it's prudent to gauge one's dose of any substance, but further reading on iodine sites reveals some of the myths surrounding iodine supplementation. Here is a good place to start:
http://theiodineproject.webs.com/
Unfortunately,
the idea of iodine
supplementation has not yet reached the mainstream medical community, so
you may be on your own here, unless you have a good naturopath.
Mainstream doctors are slow to adopt new ideas and treatments due to
liability issues, and many will wait until longer-term results are
available, to protect themselves. Understandable, but in the meantime,
there are an awful lot of people out there suffering needlessly. After
all my negative experiences with doctors, I have just gone ahead and
treated myself, but I can't, of course, recommend this for anyone else.
If you can find a like-minded doctor, you'll always be better off
coordinating iodine supplementation with him. If, on the other hand, you
decide to do the research yourself and give this a try, be reassured
knowing that it's very difficult to take too much iodine, and there is
really no downside to trying it. Will it help alleviate your symptoms,
whatever they may be? I can't say, of course, but if you do try it and
find good results, let me know!
There is so much
more info out there on this subject, so I won't belabor it anymore here.
Below are some sites to visit to educate yourself more.
Take a look at this blog by cardiologist William Davis. There is a link on his blog that leads to a very scholarly and scientific article by Naturopathic doctor Lyn Patrick, ND.
Good basic iodine info
A long historical perspective on iodine
If you have any concerns about breast cancer or other breast diseases, look here.
A primer on supplementing with iodine
One good place to buy iodine pills on the web -- Iodoral is the most recommended, but other brands are now being sold.
