It was two months ago today that I last posted an article. Here is what’s been happening:
It was in early January that God began to try to get my attention about some of the priorities in my life. I found Him putting His finger on my health writing, indicating that it was getting in the way of other things that were more important. Not that the health writing hasn’t been important, but that the season was changing, so to speak, and it was time for a shift.
At first, not willing to completely quit this research and writing that I have so enjoyed, I rationalized that I needn’t stop writing for the newspaper; I just needed to make it last on my priority list instead of first. Fact is, I have been working on another new project since last summer, and in January I could see that, imminently, I had to dedicate a lot more time to it. (More about that in a minute.) But I wasn’t willing to give anything else up; I thought that I could just work harder and faster and smarter. The point is, sometimes when God is trying to change something, we try to cut a deal with Him and tell Him how we can work it all out. Then He just keeps quiet and waits till we’re ready to listen.
For the next few weeks, I tried to keep Here’s to Your Health on the back burner and only sit down to read and write when I’d accomplished other things in other areas. It didn’t work very well: I typically have kept three or four potential articles simmering continually, always reading and digging a little more throughout the week until I sat down to write each Monday morning. I had trouble not thinking about it. So in early February I emailed the editor at the paper and said I’d like to pull back a bit and just send in an article once a month. He thought it over for a couple of weeks and then wrote back and said he’d decided to just discontinue the column.
I was so surprised—and disappointed. I wanted to renegotiate and get the column back. But I knew in my heart it was time to let it go, at least for now. It’s still difficult: there are a half a dozen topics I could rattle off in a moment that I would dearly desire to lay out and pass on to my readers. But God knows best, and I really am trying to listen, even though it took a while to be willing.
The new project I mentioned above is a musical. I wrote the stage play last summer; in February I began the arduous and painstaking and intensely pleasurable process of transcribing 27 songs into musical score. I’m pretty much done the first ten, at least the first phase of the first ten. But since I last came home from Vernon, over three weeks ago, I haven’t had time to touch it. Been so busy, I’m really glad not to have Here’s to Your Health on my plate anymore.
Here is something that you, my readers, could do for me: Please let me know of any large churches or Bible schools or the like that have a ministry in the area of musical theatre. (This is the kind of venue where the musical belongs.) I have been sending out the stage play to interested parties for them to read and consider. Bear in mind that this musical could be produced anywhere in the world that English is spoken: distance is no barrier.
Thank you, in advance, for sending me any helpful leads. Below is my last article—at least for the foreseeable future. I will miss writing for you all.
You can email me at nancy@ogdenfish.com.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
52. Iodiphobia — Part II
One day I went into Value Drug Mart in Wetaskiwin, one of two places in town that have begun to carry Lugol’s Solution since my writings created a demand for the product. A question about iodine had come to me from a reader, and I wanted some professional input. In the course of my chat with the pharmacist, he gave me a “Material Safety Data Sheet” from a company that manufactures Lugol’s iodine.
As I read it over, it was interesting to see how this information reflected and fed the current medical “iodiphobia,” the fear of iodine. The first thing that leapt off the page at me was this statement: “The substance is toxic to thyroid.” This is one of the “Potential Chronic Health Effects.” How bizarre this statement is in the light of the marvellous track record of this iodine solution in resolving thyroid issues (see previous article). It’s bizarre, too, when I consider my own case: Four years ago, my hormone doctor wanted to put me on thyroid medication, as my blood work indicated that I was “hypo.” After stalling her off for six months, prayer and intuition led me to Lugol’s as a solution for anxiety (see Blog #1), and in the process, my thyroid issues righted themselves. Recent blood work indicates that all is still well in that department, even as I continue on with a dose that is 240 times the recommended daily allowance.
Back to the Data Sheet: the Health Effects information indicates also, “Chronic ingestion of iodides may produce ‘iodism,’ which may be manifested by skin rash, running nose, headache and irritation of the mucous membranes.” I am personally familiar with these side effects; however, they are not properly iodism but bromism. Generous doses of iodine (a vital nutrient) displace bromine (a nasty toxin in our air, water, and food supplies) and cause these symptoms, as well as others, as the kidneys struggle to clear the overload. A simple salt cleanse (see Blog #21) will quickly relieve the overload along with the symptoms.
The information sheet continues: DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Classified Reproductive system/toxin/female, Development toxin [POSSIBLE].
That’s strange. Reams of evidence show that iodine is crucial for reproductive health in both men and women. Iodine deficiency is one of the causes of infertility and miscarriage; and iodine deficiency in birth mothers is the single greatest cause of mental retardation in children, worldwide, so says the World Health Organization. Two women have reported to me personally that, since taking Lugol’s, they have had complete (and medically verified) resolution of fibrocystic breast disease, a precursor of breast cancer. And Lugol’s seems to have cured my own daughter from debilitating dysmenorrhoea and suspected polycystic ovary syndrome.
The data sheet warns, too, that Lugol’s is “slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant, permeator, may cause burns).” Yes, it surely permeates, quickly and deeply. This is a very good thing when you want to treat a wound. I have also treated many skin lesions with Lugol’s. Damaged skin tends to stain much more than normal skin, and even as I have treated spots for days, weeks, and sometimes months on end, I’ve never had a problem with the normal skin around the lesion becoming irritated. My conclusion is that Lugol’s can be hazardous—to abnormal skin.
There is some evidence that people who have managed for years on an iodine deficient diet, once moving to an iodine-rich area, have then developed hypothyroidism. This observation has led to the conclusion that sometimes iodine can cause thyroid malfunction.
I have two thoughts here: One is that when the body suddenly gets sufficient iodine and yet still is deficient in selenium (which is crucial for the conversion of T4 to T3), the body is thrown off the balance it has managed to maintain.
The other idea seems even more plausible: These studies involved foreigners moving to the U.S., which in the studies is categorized as “iodine-rich,” because of iodized salt. However, the tiny amount in salt, and poor form as it is, is not much help. At the same time, the U.S. is the most goitrogen-toxic country in the world. The human system is bombarded with chlorine, bromine, and fluoride at every turn, all of which blast our tiny reserves of iodine into oblivion.
Iodine is so necessary for so many functions in the body. It falls to us to think for ourselves, to recognize that there are pharmaceutical interests that have reason to poison the reputation of this wonderful nutrient. Drs. Guy Abraham and David Brownstein say, “The toxicity of iodine depends on the forms of this element. ... The manmade organic forms of iodine are extremely toxic, whereas the inorganic non-radioactive forms [of which Lugol’s is one] are extremely safe. ... It can be ingested safely in amounts up to 100,000 times the RDA.”
As I read it over, it was interesting to see how this information reflected and fed the current medical “iodiphobia,” the fear of iodine. The first thing that leapt off the page at me was this statement: “The substance is toxic to thyroid.” This is one of the “Potential Chronic Health Effects.” How bizarre this statement is in the light of the marvellous track record of this iodine solution in resolving thyroid issues (see previous article). It’s bizarre, too, when I consider my own case: Four years ago, my hormone doctor wanted to put me on thyroid medication, as my blood work indicated that I was “hypo.” After stalling her off for six months, prayer and intuition led me to Lugol’s as a solution for anxiety (see Blog #1), and in the process, my thyroid issues righted themselves. Recent blood work indicates that all is still well in that department, even as I continue on with a dose that is 240 times the recommended daily allowance.
Back to the Data Sheet: the Health Effects information indicates also, “Chronic ingestion of iodides may produce ‘iodism,’ which may be manifested by skin rash, running nose, headache and irritation of the mucous membranes.” I am personally familiar with these side effects; however, they are not properly iodism but bromism. Generous doses of iodine (a vital nutrient) displace bromine (a nasty toxin in our air, water, and food supplies) and cause these symptoms, as well as others, as the kidneys struggle to clear the overload. A simple salt cleanse (see Blog #21) will quickly relieve the overload along with the symptoms.
The information sheet continues: DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Classified Reproductive system/toxin/female, Development toxin [POSSIBLE].
That’s strange. Reams of evidence show that iodine is crucial for reproductive health in both men and women. Iodine deficiency is one of the causes of infertility and miscarriage; and iodine deficiency in birth mothers is the single greatest cause of mental retardation in children, worldwide, so says the World Health Organization. Two women have reported to me personally that, since taking Lugol’s, they have had complete (and medically verified) resolution of fibrocystic breast disease, a precursor of breast cancer. And Lugol’s seems to have cured my own daughter from debilitating dysmenorrhoea and suspected polycystic ovary syndrome.
The data sheet warns, too, that Lugol’s is “slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant, permeator, may cause burns).” Yes, it surely permeates, quickly and deeply. This is a very good thing when you want to treat a wound. I have also treated many skin lesions with Lugol’s. Damaged skin tends to stain much more than normal skin, and even as I have treated spots for days, weeks, and sometimes months on end, I’ve never had a problem with the normal skin around the lesion becoming irritated. My conclusion is that Lugol’s can be hazardous—to abnormal skin.
There is some evidence that people who have managed for years on an iodine deficient diet, once moving to an iodine-rich area, have then developed hypothyroidism. This observation has led to the conclusion that sometimes iodine can cause thyroid malfunction.
I have two thoughts here: One is that when the body suddenly gets sufficient iodine and yet still is deficient in selenium (which is crucial for the conversion of T4 to T3), the body is thrown off the balance it has managed to maintain.
The other idea seems even more plausible: These studies involved foreigners moving to the U.S., which in the studies is categorized as “iodine-rich,” because of iodized salt. However, the tiny amount in salt, and poor form as it is, is not much help. At the same time, the U.S. is the most goitrogen-toxic country in the world. The human system is bombarded with chlorine, bromine, and fluoride at every turn, all of which blast our tiny reserves of iodine into oblivion.
Iodine is so necessary for so many functions in the body. It falls to us to think for ourselves, to recognize that there are pharmaceutical interests that have reason to poison the reputation of this wonderful nutrient. Drs. Guy Abraham and David Brownstein say, “The toxicity of iodine depends on the forms of this element. ... The manmade organic forms of iodine are extremely toxic, whereas the inorganic non-radioactive forms [of which Lugol’s is one] are extremely safe. ... It can be ingested safely in amounts up to 100,000 times the RDA.”
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