Here’s a question that I started researching in 2013 and never found any concrete information; rather, I found that the original statement came from a man who sold iodine himself, and was the originator of the statement in the Towsend Journal (a non-peer reviewed journal). I have NEVER been able to find out if it is true.
The idea is that chloride, bromide and flouride can block thyroid receptors and that by taking iodine you can - well - fix that. (Told by an iodine seller.)
Can anyone help me get to the truth on this? IS this found in medical books? I searched and searched and searched for studies years ago on this subject but I just found this website and perhaps someone else out there can help me.
In the end the deal is… I am trying to figure out if all the massive exposure to chlorine (swimming) was the trigger for hashimoto’s; while I may have been genetically predisposed to thyroid disease; was it the trigger, and is it possible that I might reverse it through the safe and proper iodine protocol for the thyroid…
Can anyone help me? BTW – Don’t bother giving me any advice from Abrams or Brownstein or ANYONE who is a seller of iodine or “buddy buddy” with these iodine promoters. I need outside unbiased info.
I can find the statements about iodine, bromide, chloride and the receptors all over the internet… And it pretty much starts in one place – it’s either Abrams, Brownstein or both - it’s been so long since I researched it… THanks in advance.
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disorder which may have a genetic component - it’s not caused by exposure to swimming pool chlorine.
It’s treated (typically with synthetic thyroid hormone replacement therapy) when it causes lowered production of thyroid hormones. Taking iodine supplements is a bad idea, since excessive iodine can worsen hypothyroidism, cause the gland to enlarge (goiter) or in some people promote excess secretion of thyroid hormones.
There’s a lot of quackery on this subject. Talk to your physician/endocrinologist for good information. Here’s an article that may be helpful.
Chloride levels in serum are quite high, Normal range: 98-106 mmol/L, corresponding to around 9 g of NaCL/L. It is the predominant anion in extracellular fluid. This level is regulated by the kidney, and kept quite constant. Exposure the swimming pool “chlorine”, sodium or calcium hypochlorite and its reaction products have nothing to do with chloride levels in our organism, which we mostly get from sodium chloride (plain salt).
In contrast, normal iodide levels in serum are much lower, around 0.00004 g/L. Iodide is a micronutrient needed for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, which plays an important role in metabolic regulation. Chronic insufficient iodide intake results in hypothyroidism, goiter and cretinism, which can be prevented by adding traces of iodide to table salt (iodized salt).Seafood is also a well known source of iodine.
The cellular receptors for thyroid hormone are intracellular receptors that regulate gene expression in response to tyroid hormones ( Thyroid hormones - Wikipedia ). Simple iodide, bromide or chloride ions would not be able to displace the hormone from the receptor at anything like physiological concentrations.
An iodide ion has a radius of 206 picometers and a chloride ion 167 picometers. That’s about a 20% difference in radius. A protein will have a receptor site that is fairly specific to the molecule it bonds. Expecting thyroid hormone to bind chloride is like expecting a sphere with a 15 cm radius to fit tightly in a hole with a 20 cm radius. It’s not likely to happen to any significant extent.
Hashimoto’s - there can be a genetic predisposition; however, there are many people who get theirs into remission; there are “triggers” that can “trigger” it - and somehow - some people are able to get their bodies back into the proper balance and actually get their hashimoto’s antibodies back into the proper range; it is amazing. Not everyone can do this.
I’m asking if chlorine could have “triggered” it - meaning; could it have caused the imbalance in my thyroid (regarding a specific statement about iodine, bromide, chloride etc. and receptors). These people allege that iodine is needed after exposure to these things. I’m not a chemist so I don’t understand about the chloride, bromide and iodine; and I’m not sure I even believe it. It sounds a bit quackish to me.
I have an endocrinologist and have been researching and learning for years from him as well as outside resources in which there is a lot of validity; including Isabella Wentz, “Hashimoto’s Root Cause” and there’s tons of helpful info in Stop the Thyroid Madness" book 2 written by MD’s for MD’s. – And there’s more.
So my specific question really relates to Abrams and Brownstein’s statement which sounds like some very scholarly sounding hogwash to me…
But I’d like to know the truth; I want to know if it’s in medical books, I am looking for data, links to origination; really the functionality of the thyroid physiologically relating specifically to the receptors, and bromide, chloride, flouride and iodine.
It sounds to me like you’re hoping for a cure for your Hashimoto’s. That is an understandable desire, one shared by millions of people with one chronic disease or another.
Unfortunately, we don’t always have a cure.
The fact you have not been able to find peer-reviewed, confirmed, hard data on this iodine “cure” should tell you there isn’t one and that the quackery is, indeed, quackery.
Yes, sometimes an autoimmune problem like Hashimoto’s can go into remission. We don’t really understand the why or how of it, just that some people are lucky. Most are not. Until you find yourself in Camp Lucky I recommend you stick with the more proven, if annoying and requiring long-term use of medication, method of dealing with this illness.
And no, exposure to pool chlorine did not cause your thyroid problem, nor will massive amounts of iodine cure it. In Hashimoto’s the root of the problem is an immune system that mistakes the body’s own thyroid tissue for an invading enemy, it is not due to iodine metabolism or the chemistry of iodine, chlorine, or bromine. The confusion *might *have arisen because both iodine deficiency and Hashimoto’s can cause goiter, but that’s like saying both bacteria and viral infections can cause fever. Same symptom, but different causes and different treatment required.