Protecting Your Thyroid from Radiation with Natural Iodine
With radiation exposure from medical practices such as mammograms,and cancer treatments, as well as that which is being leaked from sites like Fukushima, it becomes more important than ever to educate ourselves about natural ways to protect against radiation exposure. Fortunately, iodine has been shown to protect the important glands of the endocrine system from radiation toxicity, namely the thyroid.
The Iodine Solution and Why it’s Important
The triple meltdown that happened just a year ago, which still dumps millions of gallons of radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean, could be small potatoes in comparison to the potential threat at several sites in the US. Nuclear waste experts are saying that we are all playing with fire considering the amount of nuclear fuel stored onsite at many reactors.
Some contain more than 10 times the deadly levels of celsium-137 released during the 1986 Chernobyl accident. There is no question that protecting yourself from radiation exposure is extremely important. Enter, iodine.
The thyroid glands actually use iodine to make thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for keeping the body’s metabolism working. That doesn’t just mean helping you to burn fat, but also ensuring that your lungs can process air, your heart still beats, and your liver, kidneys, and spleen do their jobs too.
Read: 7 Hypothyroidism Natural Treatments
Dr. David Brownstein is an expert on iodine. When it comes to radiation exposure, he explains:
“If there is enough inorganic, non-radioactive iodine in our bodies, the radioactive fallout has nowhere to bind in our bodies. It will pass through us, leaving our bodies unharmed. It is important to ensure that we have adequate iodine levels BEFORE this fallout hits.”
Iodine can also help to promote true health by naturally supporting healing associated with the following ailments:
- ADHD
- Breast Cancer
- Detoxification
- Fatigue
- Fibrocystic Breasts
- Graves’ Disease
- Hashimoto’s Disease
- Hypothyroidism
- Improve the Immune System
Acute radiation sickness can ensure and cause the our body’s DNA to being a process of degrading within hours of high-level exposure. Chronic radiation exposure can cause cancer and even low levels of radiation can harm cellular regeneration.
There numerous foods rich in iodine, which can be consumed to deflect radiation disease. You can also take an iodine supplement, but organic, food-derived iodine is the most beneficial. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University recommends the following foods for iodine:
| Food | Serving Size | Iodine |
| Dried Seaweed | 1/4 ounce | >4,500µg (4.5 mg) (3000% DV) |
| Cod | 3 ounces* | 99µg (66% DV) |
| Iodized Salt (Fortified) | 1 gram | 77µg (51% DV) |
| Baked Potato with peel | 1 medium | 60µg (40% DV) |
| Milk | 1 cup (8 fluid ounces) | 56µg (37% DV) |
| Shrimp | 3 ounces | 35µg (23% DV) |
| Fish sticks | 2 fish sticks | 35µg (23% DV) |
| Turkey breast, baked | 3 ounces | 34µg (23% DV) |
| Navy beans, cooked | 1/2 cup | 32µg (21% DV) |
| Tuna, canned in oil | 3 ounces (1/2 can) | 17µg (11% DV) |
| Egg, boiled | 1 large | 12µg (8% DV) |
Because of Fukushima, iodine supplementation from plants would be worse than counterproductive. The worst would be Alaskan sea kelp (which prior to our wonderful Jetson nuclear age, crowned with Fukushima pollution of the Pacific. was the best). Mineral iodine is unfortunately now the way to go. BTW, the poisonous nature of iodine is a NWO myth. My major was chemistry and I looked into it. Easy enough to research it for yourself on the internet. The LD50 (lethal dose 50% for a 150 pound person is about 3 pounds of iodine ingestion.
the fukushima disaster happened over two years ago. march 2011.
No started over 2 years ago …… still going on ….
Nuclear power plants release Iodine-131 during their “normal” operations, too!
It’s a dirty little secret of the nuclear industry.
They test for Iodine-131 around nuclear power plants and find it in the air, water, grass, cattle, fish, etc.
Google: “NRC Effluent Environment” Reports to find a list of U.S. nuclear power plants and the radiation they have emitted into the environment.
Also, nuclear plants release TRITIUM into the environment all the time, and Tritium is found in the rain and snow!
ENENEWS is a good place to learn a lot more about this interesting topic.
Christina: will you please address the question of the level of radioisotopes in ocean harvested seaweed. My understanding is that even on the far-reaching shores of Finland where the world’s best dulse has been harvested for decades, is already showing evidence of Fukushima contamination. Sea Vegetables are especially vulnerable and therefore I have to ask: does the benefit of this premiere source for Iodine get trumped by the concurrent radioactivity?
I don’t understand why the credentials of someone being a freelance writer specializing in the healing power of yoga has been asked to write an article on food and medical radiation treatment. This is terribly incorrect, as radioiodine therapy used as radiation treatment in cancer is chosen for it’s ability to bind to the cells of your thyroid (including those cancerous cells it is trying to kill). Consuming iodine in another form (through food or supplement), creates a reaction between another form of iodine and the thyroid & cancer cells. This is turn renders the radioidine therapy useless, or severely compromises it’s ability to do it’s job.
– a very concerned Registered Dietitian.