I have been studying Dr. Abraham’s papers on Iodine and am concerned that his proposed mechanism that claims Iodine intake over 15mg daily will protect the thyroid from Hashimoto’s is incorrect.

If you go to this particular paper and scroll down to page 30 you can see the diagram he drew indicating that this amount of Iodine is supposed to protect from Hashimoto’s.
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/pdfs/IOD05.pdf

The reason I became concerned with this is that, it appears that someone on the Iodine VWT forum has developed Hashimoto’s while taking 100mg of iodine along with the companion nutrients (selenium and magnesium are of particular interest).

Abraham proposes that iodine over 15mg daily will lead to iodinated lipids inside the thyroid which downregulate the TPO enzyme. TPO enzyme activity is what ultimately leads to autoimmune attack by the body. Abraham says that higher levels of iodinated lipids downregulates TPO while higher free intercellular calcium levels upregulate the enzyme. So, higher iodine intakes should lower the risk of Hashimoto’s. Magnesium reduces free intercellular calcium levels which should also protect against Hashimoto’s. Selenium is supposed to lower oxidative stress by converting excess hydrogen peroxide into water, also lowering the autoimmune response seen in Hashimoto’s.

If you click over to the VWT Iodine Forum you can read about Lexi2014’s case. This person appears to have developed Hashimoto’s while taking 100mg of iodine, 200mcg of selenium, and 500-750mg of magnesium. These are all amounts that are supposed to lower the risk of Hashimoto’s.
While this is only one case, this calls Dr. Abraham’s hypothesis in to question.

I attempted to bring this issue up at the Iodine Forum , but feel like I was simply attacked for asking questions about it. I was not attempting to say that iodine for sure caused this issue. I cannot back that statement up at this time. I simply posited the question about Dr. Abraham’s assertion.

If Lexi is being truthful about their regimen, then 100mg of iodine, higher selenium and higher magnesium intake do not always protect against autoimmune attack of the thyroid and Dr. Abraham’s hypothesis needs to be examined and tested further. I feel that it is irresponsible to recommend these amounts of iodine when it appears as though some will still develop Hashimoto’s while on them.

Did the iodine cause the autoimmune response? Was the autoimmune condition already there and just flared up due to the iodine? These are valid questions that should be able to be asked without being attacked by those who refuse to accept new evidence and experiences which might contradict their currently held beliefs on iodine.

It appears as though, at the very least, the 100mg of iodine, 200mcg of selenium, and 500-750mg of magnesium did NOT offer protection against the autoimmune attack. Even if the autoimmune disorder was already present, they did not prevent the increase in attack. At the very worst, one or some of them caused it. I feel we should investigate Abraham’s proposed mechanism to find out.

Good scientists, real scientists, are always open to new evidence that might contradict their current hypotheses. This is how we learn what works and what does not.

Does anyone have an opinion on Dr. Abraham’s proposed mechanism in the paper cited above? I have searched through Lexi’s old posts and it appears as though their antibodies were normal when starting the iodine. I feel as though it may be incorrect given that Lexi2014 appears to have developed Hashimoto’s while on 100mg of iodine.

I simply wish to engage in an intellectual discussion on the subject. I am not coming here to start a flame war or personal attack on proponents of orthoiodosupplementation.