Iodine and Heart Health

International Medical Veritas Association

Courtesy of Scientific American

        According to Scientific American physicians for decades have grappled with ways to block further tissue damage in patients who suffer heart attacks. They have tried everything from drugs to cell therapy—all with little luck. But promising new research indicates that a biogel made from seaweed may have the healing powers that have thus far eluded them. Some of the principle healing agents in seaweed are magnesium, iodine, and selenium.

      Though the main theme of this book is magnesium medicine for cardiac care we will deal in this chapter with iodine and in another with the important mineral selenium. Selenium is not only crucial when using iodine but it addresses most directly the Hun Hordes of Mercury that are attacking heart tissues in massive amounts leading to cardiac arrest. Mercury is a deadly cardiac poison whose best antidote is selenium - since they bind together making it easier for the body to remove the selenium-mercury compound. 

     Doctors and all health care practitioners need to be up on their minerals because we need them now more than ever. Minerals provide the foundations of our bodies as cement provides the support for most building foundations. We need to be acutely aware also of how the minerals work together and are dependent on each other for functioning at optimal levels. It is important that mineral interactions be taken into account when looking at iodine supplementation. A person with superior nutrient intake, especially of selenium, will be much more likely to respond well to higher intakes of iodine.

       Seaweeds (iodine) have exceptional value in the treatment of candida overgrowth. They contain selenium and (all the) other minerals necessary for rebuilding immunity; furthermore the rich iodine content is used by enzymes in the body to produce iodine-charged free radicals which deactivate yeasts.[i]Experiments have shown that k. japonica, edible seaweed, was able to transform inorganic selenium to organic selenium through metabolism. Seaweed was crucial in the evolution of life in that it was and still is responsible for concentrating iodine from the ocean. The Japanese eat more seaweed then anyone in the world and they enjoy some of the best health statistics for it. 

      Clinical cardiovascular features of hypothyroidism include: bradycardia, reduced cardiac output, increased pericardial and pleural effusions, increased diastolic blood pressure and peripheral vasoconstriction. According to Dr. Stephen A. Hoption Cann, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia, iodine deficiency can have deleterious effects on the cardiovascular system, and correspondingly, that a higher iodine intake may benefit cardiovascular function.[ii]

     Regional iodine intake has been shown to be associated with the prevalence of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, where autoimmune hypothyroidism is the more common of the two in regions with moderate to high iodine intake. Both of these thyroid abnormalities have been shown to negatively affect cardiovascular function.

Selenium, an important antioxidant in the thyroid and involved
 in the metabolism of iodine-containing thyroid hormones, may
 play an interactive role in the development of these thyroid
 irregularities, and in turn, cardiovascular disease. 
                                                                          Dr. Stephen. Hoption Cann

     Dr. Michael Donaldson says, “Iodine stabilizes the heart rhythm, lowers serum cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and is known to make the blood thinner as well, judging by longer clotting times seen by clinicians. Iodine is not only good for the cardiovascular system, it is vital. Sufficient iodine is needed for a stable rhythmic heart beat. Iodine, directly or indirectly, can normalize serum cholesterol levels and normalize blood pressure. Iodine attaches to insulin receptors and improves glucose metabolism, which is good news for people with diabetes. Iodine and iodine-rich foods have long been used as a treatment for hypertension and cardiovascular disease; yet, modern randomized studies examining the effects of iodine on cardiovascular disease have not been carried out.”[iii]

Adequate iodine is necessary for proper thyroid function. 
 The heart is a target organ for thyroid hormones.  Marked changes
 occur in cardiac function in patients with hypo- or hyperthyroidism.

     The country of Finland is an excellent case study of cardiovascular disease and iodine, as reviewed by Dr. Cann. Endemic goiter was common in people and in domestic animals, particularly in the eastern part ofFinland away from the sea. Studies in the 1950s revealed that the major dietary difference between eastern and western Finland was iodine. The risk of death from coronary heart disease was 3.5 times higher for people with a goiter in Finland.[iv]

     "Thyroid hormone is an important regulator of cardiac function and cardiovascular hemodynamics. Triiodothyronine, (T(3)), the physiologically active form of thyroid hormone, binds to nuclear receptor proteins and mediates the expression of several important cardiac genes, inducing transcription of the positively regulated genes including alpha-myosin heavy chain (MHC) and the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase.” [v]

     “Negatively regulated genes include beta-MHC and phospholamban, which are down regulated in the presence of normal serum levels of thyroid hormone. T(3) mediated effects on the systemic vasculature include relaxation of vascular smooth muscle resulting in decreased arterial resistance and diastolic blood pressure. In hyperthyroidism, cardiac contractility and cardiac output are enhanced and systemic vascular resistance is decreased, while in hypothyroidism, the opposite is true. Patients with subclinical hypothyroidism manifest many of the same cardiovascular changes, but to a lesser degree than that which occurs in overt hypothyroidism. Cardiac disease states are sometimes associated with the low T(3) syndrome.”[vi]

     “The phenotype of the failing heart resembles that of the hypothyroid heart, both in cardiac physiology and in gene expression. Changes in serum T(3) levels in patients with chronic congestive heart failure are caused by alterations in thyroid hormone metabolism suggesting that patients may benefit from T(3) replacement in this setting."[vii] T(3) of course is iodine dependent so the relationship between iodine and heart disease gets clearer.

Iodine-containing thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and
 triiodothyronine (T3), are important metabolic regulators
 of cardiovascular activity with the ability to exert action on
 cardiac myocytes, vascular smooth muscle, and endothelial cells.
                                                                                       Dr. Stephen. Hoption Cann

    “Whole body sufficiency of iodine/iodide results in optimal cardiac functions,” writes Dr. Guy Abraham.[viii] There is an epidemic of cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation in this country and Dr. Abraham is convinced that the medical iodine phobia has a great deal to do with this phenomenon. Adequate stores of iodine are necessary for a smooth heartbeat.[ix]

     The thyroid hormone deficiency on cardiovascular function can be characterized with decreased myocardial contractility and increased peripheral vascular resistance as well as with the changes in lipid metabolism.[x] Dr. B. West says, “Iodine supplementation may be the missing link in a good percentage of heart arrhythmia cases, especially atrial fibrillation. The body needs adequate stores of iodine for the heart to beat smoothly.  After close to a year now of using Iodine Fulfillment Therapy, I can attest to this fact.  Most of the stubborn cases of cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation that we were unable to completely correct with our cardiac protocols have now been resolved with adequate supplies of iodine added to the protocol.”[xi]

     “Amazingly, while medicine shuns iodine therapy, their most popular anti-fibrillation drug, Amiodarone, actually is iodine in a more toxic, sustained-release form. This drug can produce a smooth heartbeat when the body has accumulated about 1,500 mgs of iodine—the exact amount of iodine retained by your body when iodine fulfillment is achieved by natural supplementation with Prolamine Iodine. Unfortunately, Amiodarone is an extremely toxic form of iodine used by the medical profession. The side effects are often too great (and even life threatening) for most people to endure long enough to achieve a normal heartbeat. In addition, once you stop this drug, your original problem returns. Iodine therapy, on the other hand, fulfills the body’s needs safely, then maintains the smooth heartbeat with a low-maintenance dose,” continued Dr. West.

     Dr. Donaldson reminds us of the selenium iodine connection saying, “Another factor in how much iodine can be safely used depends on other possible mineral deficiencies. Selenium is very important for thyroid function. Selenium is part of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. Glutathione peroxidase in the thyroid helps quench free-radicals produced by the enzyme thyroid peroxidase (which functions to organify iodide as it enters the thyroid). If high levels of iodide are present in the thyroid without sufficient amounts of glutathione peroxidase it causes free-radical damage to the thyroid, leading to autoimmune thyroid disease. Several of the enzymes that convert T4 into T3 also require selenium. Studies in Zaire have found that supplementing selenium and iodine deficient children with just selenium had adverse effects on thyroid function.” [xii]

The selenium content in seaweed can bind with
 whatever mercury is present and render it harmless.

http://www.heatherbruce.com.au/healthy-living/nutrition/iodineandhearthealth