Iodine and the Immune System
Iodine is incredibly important for the body. And make no mistake, iodine deficiency, especially sub-clinical Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) of populations worldwide, including North America, are real and not just a 'popular belief' thing, but are verified and recognized by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control (CDC), American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Did you know that in evolutionary biology iodine is deemed the original antioxidant that enabled the jump to higher forms of life? For sure, iodine was essential to the evolutionary development of warm blooded species and their thyroid gland. In fact, some believe iodine to be at the core of mammalian hemispherical brain development and humans greater degree of functional lateralization and anatomical asymmetry of the brain, an evolutionary development that became unique to humans.
Iodine is an "essential" mineral for human health and needs, meaning the human body does not make it's own iodine but must ingest it, through diet and/or supplementation to get it.
While other mineral elements are important, Iodine is the single most important and essential mineral element to healthy DNA sequencing and synapses (the epicenter of chromosomal activity) from the start of in-utero meiosis, through fetal development and on through childhood and adulthood. It is the epicenter mineral element of thyroid activity, and thus all metabolic activity in the body. Cardio-vascular and blood sugar health are just two of the many body systems dependent on a healthy thyroid and hence adequate iodine intake, uptake and utilization by the body.
Since the immune system is imbedded into every body system, that includes the metabolic system of the body, the omnipresent immune system relies on the proper functioning of the body's metabolic system to stay strong, Iodine can be incredibly useful in helping to boost your immune system, while also building the immune system.
An important consideration few people, even health practitioners, are aware of is that all iodines/iodides are NOT the same relative to their effects on biological systems. Cedar Bear® offers an amazing iodine supplement that is described as a unique 'glycerite of mono element triiodide of 'fixed' iodine’ (also popularly referred to as ‘Nascent’ iodine). This means no other manufactured chemically reduced mineral element, as mineral salts, such as potassium, sodium, etc., with an accompanying W-C Effect (described later) are used in the making of our iodine. Only the mineral element of iodine (and glycerin) is used in making our unique liquid iodine product. (‘Fixed’ means the iodine solution is stable, and we use the term ‘fixed’ because it more accurately describes this form of iodine than the term ‘nascent’ does.)
Cedar Bear® Triiodide of Fixed Iodine, is an alcohol-free supplement, made using our revolutionary proprietary Pureodine™ process, that you can use to help introduce more of the right kind of iodine into your body. It was the first alcohol-free triiodide of fixed iodine of its kind introduced into the industry and marketplace, and has remained unique and at the forefront ever since.
Cedar Bear® has been involved in providing high-quality natural-based liquid supplements to customers for almost 40 years, and they have the knowledge and expertise to help you realize the power that natural herbal and mineral supplements can have for you.
Here’s a look at just how iodine can affect the immune system and how Cedar Bear's Pureodine™ made mono element of triiodide of fixed iodine comes into play.
Metabolism and Immune System
The immune system is vital for your body to ward off harmful bacteria and viruses and control cells that are becoming destructive to the body. It is what helps prevent us from getting the flu when others around us are coughing. Your immune system depends on the body's thyroid-driven metabolic systems for the energy to fight off illness and dispose of dead cells. Without the proper minerals, fuel, and enzymes, it cannot provide a stable and reliable defense against illness.
Your metabolism is regulated by hormones produced by the thyroid and throughout the body. Iodine is the thyroid’s epicenter-need that is essential to creating these hormones, and without proper amounts of the right form of iodine, 'trapped' in the cellular colloid and matrix of the thyroid, the entire body can be negatively affected.
If the thyroid doesn’t get the iodine and trap it in the thyroid's iodine receptors, especially the right kind of iodine, it has to work harder to produce even less than needed thyroid hormones, and it can cause swelling and inflammation that leads to a goiter and stoppage of thyroid hormone production altogether. The science clearly shows that a gross deficiency of iodine at the thyroid's iodine receptors is a major cause of goiters. (Goiters are a swollen thyroid gland condition and are a full-on clinical Iodine Deficiency Disorder.)
It is often thought that vitamin C or vitamin D are what you need for a healthy and strong immune system. While these and balanced levels of other vitamins and minerals are important, iodine is seen by many as being the most foundational to a strong healthy immune system, and many problems that appear to be vitamin C deficiency related for example, may in fact be more indicative of an iodine deficiency. For sure, many unresolved conditions utilizing other nutritional supplements are often resolved when a mono element glycerite of triiodide of fixed iodine is used, either by itself or in combination with those other nutritional supplements.
Iodine is great for providing direct immune system support. Iodine can potentially help with healthy cells and potentially keep the body free of toxins. It is thought that an environment rich in iodine is unable to host harmful bacteria, viruses, and fungi that make us sick, and it has been found that these microorganisms cannot adapt to an iodine enriched environment. The amazing part of this is that compared to other minerals and vitamins intake, the amount of mono element glycerite of triiodide of iodine intake is extremely small (6 drops a day), that when compared to the huge benefits resulting therefrom, makes iodine one of the most astounding of all essential nutrients there is.
Where Iodine is Found
Iodine is found naturally all over the world, in some soils, in the oceans, the atmosphere (especially over the oceans), and in deep earth deposits. Cedar Bear's raw iodine used in the making of its Pureodine™ made mono element triiodide of fixed iodine is from mined deep earth sources that, unlike ocean-sourced or brine-sourced iodine, have been protected for eons against surface contamination and modern pollutants.
While it may be remotely possible to get enough iodine from diet alone, most people worldwide are susceptible to iodine deficiency due to a number of reasons. Recently in history, iodine deficiency has gained awareness and so it is becoming more widely available. Iodine, as potassium iodide, is commonly added to table salt to provide an easy method of access. In fact, it is estimated that around 70 percent of people around the world have access to iodized table salt, however, the iodine in iodized salt liberates and dissipates rather quickly, and if left on shelves too long without using, iodized salt looses most of its added iodine to sublimation (i.e., liberating as a vapor).
Some claim to be 'allergic' to iodine because they cannot eat shellfish that causes reactions. Well... an allergy is caused by a 'protein,' not a mineral. One cannot be allergic to a mineral because a mineral is not a protein, this includes iodine. The shellfish contains a protein that is causing an allergy, not the iodine.
Iodine is also consumed as a dietary supplement. Many live in places where the soil does not have enough iodine traces, which is now found across most of the landmass of the planet, which makes iodine supplementation necessary. Iodine supplements can be found in liquid, tablet, capsules, and as mentioned before, iodized table salt. In most of these instances, the iodine is in the form of a manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt of iodide, the most common being potassium iodide or variants thereof, and that is problematic as you will see in the next section..
Cedar Bear® Triiodide of 'Fixed’ Iodine
Cedar Bear's Pureodine™ made Iodine is a non-mineral salts triiodide of fixed iodine made using pure iodine, in its mono element form, that has been naturally sourced, and it is never bound to or in combination with other mineral elements like other mineral iodide salts such as potassium, sodium, etc.
For instance, Lugol’s solution of iodine is bound to potassium, and Iosol™ iodine is bound to sodium. Both of these manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt iodides can easily get in the way of the body’s absorption of iodine, making them less effective for absorption into the thyroid and tissues througout the body as an iodine supplement. Yes! That sounds contrary, taking a manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt of iodide for iodine supplementation, that in fact turns around and suppresses iodine uptake into the thyroid and tissues of the body. But that's what happens with this kind of iodine/iodide. In science this phenomenon of manufactured chemically reduced mineral salts of iodides blocking iodine uptake and absorption into the thyroid and tissues of the body is called the Wolff-Chikoff (W-C) Effect that causes this potential blockage of manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt iodides into thyroid tissues and other tissues throughout the body.
Given these scientifically ascertained and well proven facts, it is apparent that manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt of iodides are NOT a good source of iodine supplementation, and are considered 'Not Fit for Use' for iodine supplemental purposes. The aforementioned W-C Effect of this kind of iodine is why this kind of iodine is such a good go-to prophylactic for staunching the uptake and effects of radio-isotope bound iodine and affected heavy metal incursions from a nuclear event and its radiation fallout, because it simply stops the thyroid and tissues of the body from receiving and up-taking radiation laden iodine, and all other kinds of iodine as well.
It's surprising that the proven and well elucidated W-C Effect of manufactured chemically reduced mineral salt of iodides, with this form of iodine being a 'Not Fit for Use' form of iodine supplementation, is missed, passed over, or ignored by most doctors, practitioners, dieticians/nutritionists and even many holistic oriented practitioners. Cedar Bear® founder, L. Carl Robinson, MH, TT, CCHt, RH (AHG), became aware of the W-C Effect through his studies and research on IDD (Iodine Deficiency Disorders) that led to a deep dive search into what he called the 'iodine conundrum,' and as a result resolved to develop an alcohol-free solution to the problem with the development of a glycerite of mono element triiodide of fixed iodine.
Cedar Bear® iodine is NOT a manufactured chemically reduced minerals salt of iodide but is a mono element triiodide of fixed iodine, meaning the only mineral element present in our product is iodine and no other mineral. It's a form of iodine that appears to work more hand-in-hand with the body's metabolism and thyroid needs, since it possesses no W-C Effect.
Unlike other mono element based iodines (popularly called ‘nascent’ iodines), Cedar Bear® triiodide of fixed iodine contains glycerin instead of alcohol or other solvents, such as gasses. No alcohol or other solvents are used in its making, only glycerin and water. Carl, as lead developer, with a small team of co-developer specialists, created the proprietary 'transformative' liquid iodine processing method called the Pureodine™ process to create our innovative and revolutionary high-quality stable mono element based triiodide iodine supplements without alcohol or other mineral salts in a way never before thought possible. This was an industry first for an iodine product and the first of its kind introduced into the marketplace.
Glycerin is much easier on the body than alcohol or residual gases and, unlike iodine bound to other mineral salts, it assists the body to quickly and easily absorb the iodine for conversion into the endogenous mono iodide of I1, which is the only form of iodine trapped in the iodine receptors of a cell and utilized at the cell level and for all of the body's biological needs. In fact, Cedar Bear® mono element triiodide of fixed iodine begins to be absorbed by the body as soon as it comes into contact with soft tissue.
To use Cedar Bear® Pureodine™ made mono element triiodide of fixed Iodine, all it takes are a daily dose of six drops in a glass of purified or distilled water. Drink the water for a light tasting, alcohol-free 'Fit for Use' iodine supplement that can help you provide the support that your body and immune system need.