Iodine is one of the essential minerals that we need to be healthy. Everyone is taught that iodine is needed for the thyroid, and they're right, but iodine can do so much more.
Doctors and health professionals are just told that it's needed for the thyroid and you shouldn't take any more. They are basically afraid of people getting more, for it might cause hyperthyroidism. On the other hand, there's other people who say you should take a lot more. And so there's a lot of conflicting information.
In this post, we'll dive into the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for iodine, talk about how much the body could actually benefit from, and discuss what happens to your thyroid when you take high doses of it, including the Wolf-Chaikoff effect, then reach a balanced conclusion on the safety of iodine. Is it safe for you? That's what you really want to know. I'll help you answer that question.
Understanding the RDA for Iodine: Why So Low?
The RDA for iodine is set at 150 micrograms per day for most adults. It's a bit higher for pregnant women and for breastfeeding women as well. The RDA is basically set to prevent iodine deficiency, which can lead to hypothyroidism.
The classic case of hypothyroidism happens when your thyroid isn't producing enough hormones, often due to not having enough iodine in the body. As a result of low levels of iodine, the thyroid gland actually gets larger, trying to extract any little bit of iodine it can get its receptors on to make thyroid hormone. We call the enlarged thyroid a goiter. It used to be much more common, especially in the middle of the continent where the iodine levels are very low in the soil. And now with the iodized salt, you don't see that much at all.
How did they ever figure out how much iodine you needed? Well, it came from studies in the 50s and 60s that looked at thyroid iodine accumulation and turnover. Researchers determined that intakes below 10 to 20 micrograms a day would cause goiter and hypothyroidism. So they moved up to 150 mcg as a level that was sufficient to maintain normal thyroid function for almost everybody, with a safety factor built in.
So, the RDA was really set to avoid deficiency and to provide enough iodine for proper thyroid function. The focus was on thyroid health, ensuring you made enough thyroid hormones like T3 and T4, which regulate metabolism, energy, and overall bodily functions, which are very critical functions, actually.
But iodine is used for a lot of other glands besides the thyroid. This is the next topic we need to cover here.
How Much Iodine Does the Body Really Need?
Even though the RDA is 150 micrograms, there's evidence from a lot of different investigations that suggest the body could benefit from higher amounts—milligram amounts, potentially in the range of 1 to 3 milligrams per day (that's 1,000 to 3,000 micrograms a day), so at least 10 times as much as the RDA.
Some of this evidence comes from observations and populations like the Japanese people, where they eat a lot of seaweed and seafood and have low rates of thyroid disorders.
Proponents such as David Derry, PhD, MD, and David Brownstein, MD, argue that higher doses of iodine support not just the thyroid, but help other glands and tissues in the body as well. Dr. David Derry, in particular, in his book Breast Cancer and Iodine, shows how iodine can be very helpful for this very common malady, breast cancer.
Dr. Brownstein deals with a whole range of diseases, including thyroid diseases such as Graves' disease and Hashimoto's disease, and shows how higher levels of iodine can help even these conditions of thyroid dysfunction.
The case against higher doses of iodine
While there are a few proponents of higher levels of iodine for the body, mainstream health organizations still maintain that there's no strong evidence for intakes above the RDA that would provide additional benefits for most people. They still think of iodine for the thyroid as the primary and really only function that we need to worry about for iodine. There is no benefit to the body outside of the thyroid for iodine as far as mainstream medicine is concerned. And they would go so far as to say that taking higher levels of iodine is actually dangerous. They don't see any benefit, just risk of thyroid maladaption at higher doses. So they advise against it.
Of course, you are allowed to do your own research and you should. If you're looking to optimize your body's functions beyond just iodine deficiency prevention, you might want to explore higher doses of iodine.
The case for more iodine
According to an updated 2016 iodine research summary that I have put together, while the thyroid requires only microgram amounts of iodine, the rest of the body benefits from hundreds of micrograms or even milligrams—potentially up to 100 times the RDA—to support overall health. High-dose iodine aids the immune system in fighting infections, balances estrogen for reproductive health (including breasts, ovaries, endometrium, and prostate), normalizes cholesterol and blood pressure, improves glucose metabolism for better diabetes management, supports central nervous system development, and may enhance bone health, lung function, and skin integrity. It also helps detoxify heavy metals and bromide from the body. For general health maintenance, 1-3 mg per day is suggested, while those with suboptimal organ function may safely use up to 50 mg daily, with thyroid monitoring recommended for intakes over 10 mg continually. You can find the iodine research summary here.
If you want a quick look at the evidence for iodine's benefits beyond the thyroid, including energy, immunity, hormones, and more, check out this article: Iodine Benefits Beyond the Thyroid: Energy, Immunity, Hormones and More.
What Happens When You Take High Doses? The Wolf-Chaikoff Effect Explained
One of the main concerns with high-dose iodine is what is called the Wolf-Chaikoff effect. This misunderstood mechanism just seems to be a natural protective mechanism for the thyroid.
When there's a sudden influx of iodine, say from a supplement or from a contrast media or some medical intervention, the thyroid temporarily shuts down hormone production to avoid overproducing T3 and T4 based on the usual low iodine availability. The thyroid usually has a large number of iodine receptors on its surface, but when there's a huge flood of iodine coming in, it has to downregulate the production of thyroid hormone so you don't get way too much of it being produced.
This sudden response usually only lasts a few days. After that, the thyroid gland adjusts to the now usual level of iodine floating around in the blood and it reduces the number of iodine trapping receptors on its surface. Problem over. This is how the thyroid gland is supposed to normally work. The only time there's trouble is when it doesn't work as it ought to work.
We can think of this as the thyroid just recalibrating to a new abundance of iodine. It's just part of normal physiology. It usually resolves on its own in a process the doctors call, "escape" from the "Wolf-Chaikoff" effect.
In reality, it's not a big deal. Hormone production resumes normally. However, in a few rare circumstances, if the body doesn't recover normal thyroid hormone production, it could lead to a hypothyroid state. So that's one of the dangers of taking a lot of iodine.
One of the key points in a 2013 review on iodine called "Consequences of Excess Iodine" by Leung and Braverman was that iodine is "generally well tolerated in most people."
On the flip side, people that have autonomous thyroid nodules (which are independent of normal regulatory controls) might experience hypothyroidism as its nodules could start producing large amounts of thyroid hormone, outside the normal checks and balances in the thyroid gland.
This isn't very common at all, but if you are a person with a history of thyroid issues, you might want to get it checked out before starting high doses of iodine. That's all. For most healthy people, this isn't anything to worry about.
So, Is High-Dose Iodine Safe?
In conclusion, is high-dose iodine all risk and no benefit? No. Mainstream medicine has it wrong. There's a lot of potential benefit and very little risk. That's the correct way of looking at this.
In a few susceptible people, iodine could lead to hypothyroidism, or, if you have independent nodules, to hyperthyroidism. But most people tolerate up to a milligram or more without issues at all.
At Hallelujah Diet, we've been selling iodine supplements for more than 20 years, and we haven't encountered reports of negative reactions, particularly when using nascent iodine.
If you have thyroid issues, talk to a healthcare professional that's familiar with high-dose iodine. They can help you navigate your particular circumstances.
Ultimately, high dose iodine isn't just safe, it could be very beneficial for you in supporting the health of your whole body. Start slow, monitor how your body responds, and work up to a higher dose. Many people have already found that it is worth the extra effort.
