WHAT do breast cysts, breast cancer, fibroids, ovarian cysts, fibroids, underactive thyroid, male ‘breasts’, excessive weight gain, erectile dysfunction, and prostate cancer have in common?

The answer: Low iodine levels have been found in the blood of patients with these conditions.

Most people are somewhat deficient in iodine unless they consume sea vegetables or more unrefined salts, like Himalayan salt, regularly.

Using iodised salt helps only a bit, because the form the iodine is in is not well absorbed. Also, there is aluminium in most table salts, which increases absorption of fluoride into the body. Using toothpaste with fluoride or drinking fluoridated water may itself aggravate an existing iodine deficiency.

Other things that aggravate this deficiency are bromine in many breads and baked products (uh oh).

Drinking heavily chlorinated tap water may also compound things. If you notice, iodine, bromine, fluorine, and chlorine all sound similar, don’t they? That’s because chemically they are related, except that some of them are black sheep in excess when it comes to balancing hormones.

They all compete for binding in your hormone glands and, believe it or not, your pancreas. When they get to your hormone glands ahead of iodine, there is little iodine binding that can occur and your glands don’t function normally.

If you want to give your body a fighting chance against hormone imbalance, try adding iodine-rich foods to your diet such as sea fish, nori, wakame, and reduce your intake of competing minerals.

Many people add a stalk of kelp to their smoothies to help combat or reduce their fibroids. In India, an iodine-rich herb called Kanchanar is also helpful against many hormone problems. Studies have already shown that iodine is able to kill (apoptose) many forms of hormone-based cancers.

It’s best to let your doctor help you to determine if you are deficient before supplementing with iodine, if it is not in a natural form. If you are hyperthyroid (have too much thyroid hormone), please do not supplement with iodine.

Please note that the views represented here are not a replacement for seeing your doctor, nor are they intended to be curative. All information contained herein ought to be considered in the context of an individual’s overall health status and prescribed treatment plan.

Be blessed.

Dr Arlene Rose is the head physician and proprietor of the Jamaica Centre for Advanced Medicine (JCAM). A graduate of the University of the West Indies’ Medical Faculty, she received a masters (with Distinction) in dermatology at Wales College of Medicine and completed further studies in the US and Europe in cosmetic surgery and laser therapy. Visit JCAM’s website at: www.jcamhealth.com.