Iodine And The Halogen Revolution

Definition by Life-Enthusiast Co-op:
Halogen is defined in chemistry as any of the electronegative elements, including iodine, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and astatine, that form binary salts by direct union with metals.
The term was coined in 1842 by the Swedish chemist Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius. It's from the greek words halos (meaning salt) and gen (to produce). This term is used because a salt is formed in reactions involving these elements.

See our full line of Mineral supplements

In my many years of testing people, iodine has always shown up as a very important and primary nutrient in regards to people's health and healing. Testing has always shown an iodine deficient person to be unable to utilize their proteins properly and an iodine deficient person will remain protein deficient.

My current work with my new product, Vickery Sea Plant Minerals, has further illuminated the real importance of not just curing iodine deficiency, but bringing people to full-body iodine sufficiency. This is a two step process and may take some time.

In the past I have seen that a couple of milligrams of iodine daily will cure iodine deficiency in the person with adequate gut absorption powers. This will allow them to utilize their proteins, however it will not mean that they have full body iodine sufficiency (iodine receptors) in tissues such as breast, uterus, prostate, skin, salivary glands, stomach, colon, choroid plexus, and eye. It will also not assure that a thyroid whose receptor space is taken up with another halogen, such as bromine or fluorine, will have a full sufficiency of iodine for hormone production.

There are four halogens: iodine, bromine, fluorine and chlorine. Only iodine and chlorine are necessary to the body. We need iodine in all the aforementioned tissues (probably all tissues, but it is most concentrated in the thyroid). We need chlorine in the stomach for secretion of hydrochloric acid. Chloride ion is also an important part of the blood's regulation of its acid-base balance. You need sufficient chloride to breathe.

All these halogens use the same receptors in the body. Therefore if a person's diet is deficient in iodine, the iodine receptors in the thyroid and stomach, may fill up with bromine, which is commonly present in grains, bleached flour, sodas, nuts and oils as well as several plant foods. This person's thyroid function is deficient and the iodide-pump in the stomach will not work efficiently either.

Much research has been done on the close correlation of insufficient iodine and breast cancer as well as cysts in the ovaries and uterus.

A person whose sweat glands are low in iodine will suffer from dry skin. It is important to note here that the present "low salt" regimes pushed by the mainstream medicine leave us chloride deficient as well.

Fluorine from sources such as toothpaste, certain teas, and fluoridated water will also take up receptor space.

My research shows me that once this iodine receptor space is taken up by another halogen, it takes a certain level of iodine loading to replace the unwanted halogens with iodine. This point seems to be especially pronounced for bromine. While I have seen that 1 to 2 milligrams of iodine daily will allow protein metabolism to normalize, I have also confirmed that it takes much more to remove unwanted halogens from the system.

Iodine From Sea Plant Minerals

Full body iodine sufficiency has become an item of interest to several pioneering researchers such as Dr. Abraham and Dr. Brownstein. Both of them have done thorough and credible research into the methods and efficiency of iodine loading in the body. Their research shows that 12.5 milligrams of iodine daily is the minimum requirement for full body iodine sufficiency. I have taken this number into account when prescribing the minimum daily dosage for the Sea Plant Minerals. Unfortunately my testing has shown that this dosage does not remove existing bromine from the body quickly. It appears that a loading dosage of at least 20 milligrams is required to begin the process of iodine dislodging the bromine (5 to 6 Sea Plant Minerals capsules per day). Fluorine seems to come out more easily with a lower dosage of 12 mg over a period of time (as long as the person is not a heavy fluoride consumer).

I usually start people on a 12 mg dosage (3 capsules of Sea Plant Minerals) for a couple of months and then move them up to 24, 36 and then finally 48 mg (that's 6, 9 and 12 capsules per day). There are two ways of monitoring this; the urinary and saliva/urine testing, and the energy match method which we prefer for greater tissue accuracy and and exact location of storage sites. It is also no muss, no fuss, and inexpensive. Both methods give you the controls to know the right dosage. The more Sea Plant Minerals you use, the faster the body seems to dislodge the bromine. If the bromine is coming out quickly, there will be certain symptoms such as cloudy, sediment-filled urine, body odor, rashes and extreme fatigue. It is useful at this point to recommend 1/2 tsp. of natural salt (Himalayan, Celtic) in water daily as the bromine will follow the sodium out of the body, thus relieving the person more quickly of the symptoms.

Vitamin D

I have also noted an apparent connection between bringing sufficient iodine into a bromine plugged thyroid and the vitamin D metabolism of the body. Although I am unaware of the exact mechanism, it seems clear that the calcitonin-parathyroid hormone-vitamin D-calcium balance in the body changes as people on iodine loading programs often register as vitamin D deficient when they did not previously. It is interesting to note that when people are given calcitonin as part of an osteoporosis program, one of the side effects mentioned is a "flushing sensation of the skin". I have had two iodine loading, high bromine patients who during the lowering of their bromine levels registered as iodine deficient and mentioned "a sunburn flushed feeling on the skin of their faces, arms and back." This flushing disappeared with vitamin D3 supplementation at 2000 iu daily for a limited period of time.

The protein that the body uses for iodine transport (sodium iodide symporter) needs to be sufficient in quantity also in order to deal with the influx of iodine now available for utilization as the bromine and fluorine are being pushed out. A protein deficient person will not be able to do this, so it is wise not to begin iodine loading until your patient is no longer protein deficient. (Vitamin C is also helpful in supporting the symporter system as shown by Dr. Abraham, although he is unaware of the protein deficiency factor.) Utilization of the Platinum Plus Essential Amino Acids should bring them up fairly quickly.

Of course, the application of both the Sea Plant Minerals and the Platinum Plus Amino Acids together will also cause a very rapid and thorough flushing of heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, cadmium and lead. This is indispensable for those patients with mercury amalgam fillings, as these fillings are always putting small amounts of mercury into the system, which is rapidly cleared by the use of these two products. While I have already had great success with metal removal using just the Platinum Plus Amino Acids, I find the use of the Sea Plant Minerals to enhance the Amino Acids' action significantly.

While the liquid iodine tincture (Lugol's) tests well for people, it is hard to regulate its dosage. Drs Abraham and Brownstein promote the iodine tablet Iodoral. I have had one patient who could not tolerate this tablet. When this patient was asked how she experienced iodine loading on the Vickery Sea Plant Minerals, she replied, "It's like coming home."

I find the Vickery Sea Plant Minerals, which contain a high iodine form of organic kelp powder, to be very gentle yet effective in iodine loading and supplementation as well as supplying ionic trace minerals and plant processed vitamins. Kelp is also high in the essential sugars, which are an integral part of our immune proteins (gamma globulins) and are also very important in intercellular communication. Essential sugars are involved in red blood cell metabolism (although the mechanism is unclear, their presence is apparent). While essential sugars are involved in many protein complexes, by themselves they also help keep bacteria such as streptococcus mutans (dental caries) and staphylococcus from finding receptor space in the body.

Aloe Vera For Better Absorption

I have had a number of patients that continued to register iodine deficiency even after initial 12 mg per day supplementation with the Sea Plant Minerals. I realized that their gut absorption must be very low due to prolonged protein deficiency. For these patients I have created a product that they can use until their gut heals sufficiently to absorb the Vickery Sea Plant Minerals (we use Laminaria Digitata because of it’s highest iodine content). This product, Sea-Aloe Gold, contains a mix of the Sea Plant Minerals along with organic Aloe Barbadensis Miller (200:1 concentrate) to soothe and promote a rapid healing of the gut epithelial tissue, plus promoting absorption up to 7 times more of the iodine.

I have had tremendous success with this product since it is also fungicidal, viricidal, and bacteriacidal. It is considerably more expensive. I have also found it to be beneficial in GERD cases where stomach iodine reserves are low and the gastric mucosa inflamed, as the aloe proves to be very healing and soothing to the epithelial lining of the stomach, while also promoting iodine accumulation.

I also have available for practitioners who are familiar with applied kinesiology and/or Electrodermal; testing, a limited amount of fluoride and bromide kits in the range of 3x-200x (11 bottles/kit ). These will help you locate the presence and location of the unwanted halogens in the body as well as determine the efficacy and direction of your program in the elimination of these substances.

I am available for phone consultations with doctors (803-644-0607). I am interested to hear your experiences and we need to put up your case histories with iodine supplementation and the use of Platinum Plus in your practices so that we will ultimately educate the mainstream and not just the “Emerging Science” (FDA, FTC term) elite.

And remember - Protein Is Primary, Protein is Life!

Dr. Brice E. Vickery