[Justme11]

Just passing along some info I discovered in my travels.

The element copper is vital to human health. The western diet is deficient in this element, which is necessary for cardiovascular health. I discovered I was very deficient in copper about 6 months ago. It can cause varicose veins, stroke, and hemorrhoids which are all caused by blood vessel weakness. It also makes your hair turn grey prematurely. (mine turned snow white when I was in my 20's.) As farming methods have evolved away from gardens in new fertile flooded farmlands and home gardens fertilized with wood ashes, soils have become depleted of copper. 6 months ago I started taking a copper supplement pill daily and now my hair is getting some color back and have been feeling better in general ).

A lot of people have been having strokes lately and I though it would help if I could pass the info along.

Now a few words about iodine. iodine is essential for proper thyroid function. This was recognized by the medical community and a small amount of iodine was added to table salt. And I emphasize the word SMALL. The amount is insufficient for thyroid health. Just enough to prevent goiter formation. The thyroid is a powerful thing. If it is underactive, you slow down, gain weight, and lack energy. Too active and it kills. There is a balance that must be struck and I contend that the balance point sought by the medical communiity is insufficient. They would have us believe we are fat because we are lazy, but if you compare Americans with Japanese (who get 50 times more iodine than the western diet due to a diet heavy in seafood, the Japanese are more fit even though they exercise less.

I had bought an iodine water purification device a while back (polar pure glass bottle with iodine crystals inside) and decided to try it out since I had continually heard how iodine water tastes bad. Also due to the increased press about iodine supplements after Fukushima. Well, the water tasted GREAT! Very refreshing, and I started feeling better. I drank a 1 liter bottle of iodine treated water daily. (I figure it was around 2 ppm iodine). I figure this still is less iodine than the average Japanese diet, so should be safe. I have since changed to simply taking a drop of Lugol's iodine in a glass of water occasionally.

Anyway, not trying to tell anyone what they should do. Just pointing out a possibility and my opinion that it is helping me. Please do your own research, ask your doctor, I'm not responsible for anyone following this info. Get your thyroid hormone levels tested regularly in any event.
I am not a physician. I'm Just me.

 

[kev1n69]

good to know

 

[Justme11]

thanks. after researching and figuring this out, I searched a bit more and found a Doctor on youtube that explains it pretty well. While that guy may be a bit of a snake oil salesman, I think his treatment of copper deficiency was pretty good and he drew on experiences from his veterinary medicine days. Dr. Wallach is his name. Pretty entertaining as well. But of course he is hawking some rather expensive supplements of his own. Copper and iodine can be bought for just a few dollars.

Apparently the Ayurvedic medicine practiced in India also tells people to consume some copper by putting water into a copper pitcher overnight and drinking it in the morning. I have no idea how much copper that gets into the body, so I simply use copper sebacate pills (sorry if mispelled) from Amazon. they are pretty cheap.

 

[ShellbackBill]

They added iodine to salt, but

In recent decades people have been limiting their salt intake.

Just a little detail to add to the conversation.

I wonder the info on this site is legit.

How to Self-Test for an Iodine Deficiency
http://altmedangel.com/iodine.htm

 

[Justme11]

I have trouble believing that swab test could give meaningful results, (having had some experience with transport phenomena) but that's just my opinion. Routine blood-work usually includes testing the TSH, T3 and T4 hormone levels. Since T3 and T4 have iodine in their molecules, things get really screwed up if you don't have enough iodine. I believe at some point they will redefine what the "normal" range is for these tests.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood test is is the body's signal to request the thyroid gland to make two hormones: triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). T3 and T4 help control your body's metabolism.

Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) are needed for normal growth of the brain, especially during the first 3 years of life. A baby with low T3 and T4 may, in severe cases, suffer from cretinism, causing mental retardation and other physical characteristics of the deficiency.

 

[justintime]

Keep one thing in mind. Taking more iodine does not actually improve thyroid function or T3 and T4 levels linearly. When excess iodine is present, it is simply dumped by the body. Many Americans eating an unhealthy diet will actually get more than their needed iodine because of the high iodine-enriched salt they consume. However, as we watch our health, we definitely are at risk of developing iodine deficiency.

Seaweed is a great source of iodine.

 

[Justme11]

Of course. Supplying a bricklayer with more bricks doesn't always mean he will build the wall faster. But if he runs out of bricks, the wall building stops.

lol.

My point was that the Japanese diet, heavy in seafood items, provides about 50 times more iodine than the amount in the western diet, and they seem to have better health with less exercise. So the idea is that maybe the RDA of iodine that is published is too low, and that the resulting "normal" published level of TSH is too high, and that the T3 and T4 published normal levels are too low.

I have always salted my food a lot (with iodized salt) and still felt better with the extra iodine. If someone is limiting their salt intake and possibly also using sea salt, they might really be running with very little iodine.

 

[ForestBeekeeper]

I have seen a lot later about iodine shortage in the Western diet.

Lugol solution is available.

Also I get iodine solutions in gallon jugs marketed as a wound spray for real cheap.

 

[America's Patriot]

Isn't this why they sell multi-vitamins?

 

[Justme11]

Isn't this why they sell multi-vitamins?

I don't believe copper and iodine are in most multi-vitamins, hence the reason I posted this.

If you found a good multivitamin that includes them, could you post the name? Thanks.

on edit, I jsut checked my vitamin supply out. There was no Iodine or copper in the supposedly complete multivitamin I had, but I did find copper and Iodine in the "Animal Packs" bodybujilding supplement packs I had. Approx 10 huge vitamin and mineral tablets per dose. Those things have everything in them.

 

[SLACKJAW44]

Interesting, I was talking with my parents the other day about lack of copper in the American diet. We thought back to the late 90s when they had all the copper pipes removed from the house and replaced with pvc. Hindsight is 20/20.

So, keep a copper kettle and drinking from that is enough to supply one with copper requirements?

Good sources of copper are: Asparagus, lentils, cashews, liver, limas, pumpkin and sesame seeds.

I take this supplement daily, http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swan...nic-trace-mineral-drops-8-fl-oz-236-ml-liquid

 

[Justme11]

Those plant sources can have iodine in them if they are grown in soil that has not been depleted of nutrients. Iodine is water soluble, so it ends up in the ocean. The native indians used to bury a fish next to the corn for fertilizer. Farmers don't bury fish in their fields anymore.

I don't know how much copper will go into solution in a small copper container at room temp. My guess is this not a lot, but better than nothing.

 

[Old dude]

Those plant sources can have iodine in them if they are grown in soil that has not been depleted of nutrients.

That's an important and overlooked point. Even those spiffy tables of nutrients in vegetables don't take into account the importance of the soil.

 

[Justme11]

Yup. Modern farmland is pretty much a blank slate, due to continual use. If they don't add the various elements to the soil, they are unlikely to be in the plants.

They add commercial fertilizers such as :
( 10-10-10 or 16-4-8). The first number represents the percentage of Nitrogen in the product; then Phosphorus and third Potassium. The generalized form is N-P-K.
and then Lime for PH adjustment.

Not sure if they are adding the other things needed like iron, copper, zinc, iodine etc or not. If they add manure to the fields as well, then some replenishment of these trace elements may occur. Also not sure if anyone pays attention to these things or not. My guess is, if it doesn't effect yield and the bottom line, it is likely ignored.

 

[ShellbackBill]

I don't believe copper and iodine are in most multi-vitamins, hence the reason I posted this.

If you found a good multivitamin that includes them, could you post the name? Thanks.

on edit, I jsut checked my vitamin supply out. There was no Iodine or copper in the supposedly complete multivitamin I had, but I did find copper and Iodine in the "Animal Packs" bodybujilding supplement packs I had. Approx 10 huge vitamin and mineral tablets per dose. Those things have everything in them.

My knockoff of Centrum Silver shows 100% of RDA for Iodine, and 25% of copper.

Moral of that story is, check the label.

 

[firebirdx]

I don't believe copper and iodine are in most multi-vitamins, hence the reason I posted this.

If you found a good multivitamin that includes them, could you post the name? Thanks.

I had some pretty intense vitamin deficiencies and have since found these:

http://www.naturesway.com/Products/Vitamins/60195-Alive-Womens-Energy.aspx

It seemed to be the most 'complete' I could find and my stomach tolerates it well. I do take extra calcium & magnesium to fill in the blanks as well as an additional 5,000IU Vitamin d daily (severely deficient in that area).

They also have a men's energy as well as men's 50+ and women's 50+.

Gives you energy without making you feel like a chihuahua on crack. :

Found it at wally world.

Hope this helps.

 

[Justme11]

Thank you FireBird. I will pick up some of that Alive stuff. The ingredients seem to have the things I have been missing.

I have always thought reading the label was the last act of desperation. Maybe I should re-examine my philosophy.