Can we overdose on kelp? 
#69242
16 y
14,994
I would say yes...In their report of a 54-year-old woman with a 2-year history of worsening alopecia, memory loss, and fatigue, Amster et al. (2007) attributed later-emerging symptoms to arsenic in a kelp-containing (Laminaria digitata) supplement. However, the authors failed to report that the product was used at two to four times the suggested amount, of potential significance because of the naturally occurring presence of iodine in kelp. Speciation of arsenic into organic and inorganic forms was not addressed, nor was the amount of arsenic consumed calculated from observed concentration levels. Also, there were errors in marketplace and regulatory descriptions.The supplement was identified as Icelandic Kelp. The patient “initially took two tablets,” which was later increased to “at least four pills per day” (Amster et al. 2007). The authors overlooked the product’s label, which states that one tablet contains 225 μg iodine (150% of daily value) and recommends “one (1) tablet per day” (Nature's Life, Larkspur, CA). This labeling conforms to the federal regulation that limits daily ingestion of kelp to an amount that provides no more than 225 μg iodine [Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 2006]. The product label also includes the following statement:CAUTION: Do not exceed recommended dosage without first consulting your healthcare practitioner, as excess iodine may adversely affect thyroid function.In neglecting to mention the product’s labeling and their patient’s decision to ignore it, Amster et al. (2007)excluded important information. Under federal law, supplement marketers must disclose material facts associated with use of their products. When a consumer ignores a label caution though, he or she takes on responsibility for that decision.Intake of iodine at least four times this product’s recommended dose must be considered a potential factor in evaluating the observed symptoms. Four tablets contain 900 μg iodine, 600% of its daily value. Amster et al. (2007) noted that the patient had a “more severe presentation than would be expected” from the measured arsenic level. In fact, of the several symptoms recorded after the patient initiated use (and overdose) of the product, only four symptoms—weakness, nausea, vomiting, and possibly erythema—are identified in the presented “clinical manifestations of chronic arsenic exposure.” However, these same symptoms, as well as headache and diarrhea—also observed in this patient—are also associated with iodine toxicity (Pease 1996), albeit usually at higher doses. It would have therefore been no more or less speculative to declare that the patient had a "more severe presentation than would be expected" from the consumed iodine.In their analysis Amster et al. (2007) did not differentiate between organic and inorganic arsenic. Arsenic is commonly found in seaweeds used as food (Rose et al. 2007). With the exception of hijiki, most arsenic found in food seaweeds is the organic form, recognized as less toxic than the inorganic form (Rose et al. 2007). The European Pharmacopoeia (European Pharmacopoeia Commission 2007) allows up to 90 ppm arsenic in kelp used in medicinal products, whereas food regulators have advised that consumption of hijiki—but not kelp or other seaweeds—be avoided due to arsenic concentrations in this species (Food Standards Agency 2004).Although Amster et al. (2007) noted that the arsenic concentration found in most of the analyzed supplements exceeded FDA tolerances for residues in meats and eggs, they did not compare consumed arsenic from these separate sources. Daily consumption of 5 oz chicken—about one-half a chicken breast [the amount of food from the meat or beans group needed daily by women > 51 years of age, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) current food pyramid (USDA 2007)]—at the allowed arsenic concentration of 0.5 ppm would contain 71 μg arsenic. To take in the same amount of arsenic from the tested samples of Icelandic Kelp, the patient would have needed to consume between 2 g (at 34.8 ppm arsenic) and 45 g (at 1.59 ppm) of these tablets daily. Although she may have used an amount at the lower end of this range, her symptoms would be just as likely to be observed in persons eating more than half a chicken breast each day.Financial data that Amster et al. (2007) attributed to Anonymous (2002) was misstated; sales of supplements in 2001 reached only about one-tenth of the reported $178 billion. Additionally, the authors were apparently uninformed about differences between “homeopathic medications,” regulated as drugs since 1938, and dietary supplements, which have been placed in a specific regulatory class only since 1994. The authors’ reports of adulterated products in Singapore (Tay and Seah 1975), England (Mitchell-Heggs et al. 1990), and Brazil (Mattos et al. 2006) are irrelevant to the U.S. marketplace and its regulations, as is the citation from a 1990 reference about labeling of “botanical medicines” in light of the 1994 law (Mitchell-Heggs et al. 1990), which requires supplement labels to disclose more information than conventional food products.In conclusion, we have no disagreement with the authors’ implication that marketers have a responsibility to control the level of potentially harmful contaminants in herbal products. Inaccurate reporting and speculative science, however, have no place in safety evaluations of case reports associated with supplements.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2137109
side effects of potassium iodide in excess:
Usually, side effects of potassium iodide happen when people take higher doses for a long time.
You should be careful not to take more than the recommended dose or take it for longer than you are
told. Side effects are unlikely because of the low dose and the short time you will be taking the drug.
Possible side effects include skin rashes, swelling of the salivary glands, and "iodism" (metallic taste,
burning mouth and throat, sore teeth and gums, symptoms of a head cold, and sometimes stomach upset and diarrhea).
A few people have an allergic reaction with more serious symptoms. These could be fever and joint
pains, or swelling of parts of the face and body and at times severe shortness of breath requiring
immediate medical attention. Taking potassium iodide may rarely cause overactivity of the thyroid
gland, underactivity of the thyroid gland, or enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter).
What to do if side effects occur: If the side effects are severe or if you have an allergic reaction, stop taking potassium iodide.
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- Re: Can we overdose on kelp? qwan
16 y
4,166
This is a reply to # 1,429,171I would not consider this as reaction to overdose of Kelp but reaction to arsenic.
Are people crazy? Well I should not be too surprised because recently CSPI declared Green leafy vegetables in their top 10 Unsafe foods list.
Just because green leafy vegetables are being contaminated with E.coli. Nobody wants to get the depth of the issue and find out why it is being contaminated. E.coli is not a natural part of Green vegetables. Infact it is unhygenic environment in which the leafy vegetables are stored and transported that is causing the contamination.
The same here the Kelp is contaminated with arsenic.
Organic Kelp would not have given the same reaction.
This is misleading.
Reminds me of a warning on Senna leaves. I wanted to take an ayurvedic supplement which aids in detox and bowel movements that contained Senna leaves.
So I did some research to find the long term side-effects of this leaf.
I see warnings everywhere that consuming senna leave "MAY" cause liver and Kidney failure.
After digging down deep I found that only 1 case was reported where a lady was consuming 1 litre of senna tea everyday.
She already had some health problems and that is why most probably she was taking the senna tea to detox herself.
She may have died of other reasons.
But this 1 isolated case where the connection is not even clear was enough for all the Mainstream Alternative medicine sites like about.com etc to label senna leaves as dangerous.
You can see the deliberate bias.
There are so many drugs that cause deaths in double blind tests and otherwise but no one warns us about them.
But just one bloody case is one for warnings on herbal supplements.
No double blind test was conducted to confirm if Senna leaves actually cause kidney and liver failure.
But "they" demand double blind tests to accept any herbal medicine as cure to cancer, diabetes etc.
From what you have mentioned I do not agree that you can overdose on Kelp.
Just get organic certified Kelp.
Also the person consumed large amounts of Kelp.
I think if a person consumed(without washing) unusually large amounts of vegetables or fruit juices which are usually sprayed with pesticides(like grape) then they would also get some reaction to the pesticide.
Again this is not a double blind test just one isolated case so how can you conclude that a overdose to Kelp is possible?Advertisement
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- Re: Can we overdose on kelp? qwan
16 y
4,166
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