Where has all the Iodine gone...?

Beerzoids and the sinus flush are years old now and have made such an amazing impact on my life its really hard to express it.   

This time you'll get a chance to start at the ground floor.

So check out this list of symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Modest weight gain
• Cold intolerance
• Excessive sleepiness
• Dry, coarse hair
• Constipation
• Dry skin
• Muscle cramps
• Increased cholesterol levels
• Decreased concentration
• Vague aches and pains
• Swelling of the legs 

Sound familiar?  Probably 90% of humanity has several of these according to any number of measures.  This list is from a University of Michigan web site on health and iodine deficiency.   My wife has always suffered from a number of these, cold intolerance and muscle cramps in particular.  And lately a few more starting rearing their heads.


According to the old U of M iodine deficiency is "now rare in the U.S. as a result of widespread distribution of foods from iodine sufficient areas. The incidence of iodine deficiency occurs in certain geographical areas at higher altitudes with iodine depleted soil - usually in areas away from the seacoast and in countries where salt is not fortified with iodine." 

So she tells me "these symptoms sure sound like me" so she starts digging.  Eventually she comes up with this:

Most people have serious iodine deficiencies.  While what's recommended (RDA level) is "19 years and older, 150 micrograms of  Iodine per day" many people, for example the Japanese, have much higher intakes (in the 12mg range - note 150 MICRO grams versus 12 MILLI grams - probably 100 times more).  Then she tells me she found a test to tell her if she's iodine deficient - it's called iodine painting (some examples are here and here - I prefer this second site).

So she gives it a try and sure enough she comes up short.

So she tells me she can keep on paining this stuff on herself and it will increase her iodine daily iodine intake.

We're about a month into this now and I have to say it really seems to be doing positive things for her.  Her complaint level on the various symptoms is way down, she has A LOT more energy, sleeps better, and on and on.  

So here I sit now with my painted on patch to see what it does...