Iodine v. Flouride

[kmortis]

Recently, my St. Bernard was diagnosed with a malfunctioning thyroid gland. The vet prescribed some pills and told us to come back in six weeks for a follow-up blood test. Mama Mortis got a bit perturbed because the vet never mentioned iodine (shown to help regulate the thyroid in humans, I have no idea if it does the same in dogs, but I'd assume so).

My issue here isn't whether or not the DVM should or should not have mentioned it. Mama's comments got my mind a thinkin'. Most of us get our iodine via our salt. Almost all of use use iodized salt. So, why isn't there a hue and cry from the woo crowd over the addition of a known poison into our salt? There are plenty of people willing to make fools of themselves over the floride in the water, but no one ever complains about the iodine.

Or was there when it was first introduced?

Anyhoo, it was just a curious thought.

 

[Melendwyr]

Iodine is a necessary nutrient, in appropriate amounts. Aside from its supposed beneficial effects on developing teeth, I'm not aware of any positive biological role fluoride plays in our biology.

That's probably why.

 

[kmortis]

But that's appling too much logic, isn't it? And I think having a good set of teeth is important to good health, eh? Makes it easier to chew.

You could be right, tho.

 

[John Jackson]

Iodised salt created a big fuss in India: Iodised salt

Not quite the same kind of conspiracy as the anti-fluoridation crowd, but this time the government bowed down to pressure at the expense of its people's health.

Iodine seems as legitimate (and completely pointless) a target as fluoride, aspartame, MSG, etc., so it's surprising that there isn't an anti-iodisation campaign going on.

Now that you've mentioned it though, there probably soon will be.

 

[kmortis]

Gee, Thanks John. Hold me responsible for starting a world wide panic.

 

[Starthinker]

Omigod! How do I get it out of my salt? If I wash it really good will that do? Or will it then have flouride in it? I'm so confused.

 

[kmortis]

Omigod! How do I get it out of my salt? If I wash it really good will that do? Or will it then have flouride in it? I'm so confused.

You can remove it by the proper application of pryamids, crystals, reiki and a rubber chicken. Here's how you do it:
1) Get the largest pyramid you can get.
2) Crush the crystals with the pyramid
CENSORED IN ACCORDANCE WITH US CODE 47 CFR PART 15 SUBPART J
138) Enjoy your newly di-iodined salt.

 

[Beth]

Iodine seems as legitimate (and completely pointless) a target as fluoride, aspartame, MSG, etc., so it's surprising that there isn't an anti-iodisation campaign going on.

Now that you've mentioned it though, there probably soon will be.

You can buy salt with or without iodine, according to your preference. No reason to protest it because you don't have to ingest it. Floridation is different in that in goes into the water supply and is basically unavoidable without going to a great deal of trouble and expense to filter it out.

 

[John Jackson]

Floridation is different in that in goes into the water supply and is basically unavoidable without going to a great deal of trouble and expense to filter it out.

Why would anyone want to?

These "anti" campaigns can't simply be due to a lack of choice. Look at the anti-aspartame crowd for example.

 

[kmortis]

You can buy salt with or without iodine, according to your preference. No reason to protest it because you don't have to ingest it. Floridation is different in that in goes into the water supply and is basically unavoidable without going to a great deal of trouble and expense to filter it out.

Ahh...but if you eat regularly at Fast Food resturants, they distribute the Evil Iodized version. Once again proving that they are a scourge on society.

Actually, in seriousness, what kind of salt does the food industry use in processing? Does my can of green beans contain iodine? This is a more serious question than it my first appear, some people have an allergy to iodine.

 

[glsunder]

I can get floride for my teeth from my toothpaste. Since there's no proof that it actually helps prevent cavities, I have no problem keeping it optional for people by not putting it in the drinking water. However, there is proof of the benifits of iodine.

 

[drkitten]

Since there's no proof that it actually helps prevent cavities, I have no problem keeping it optional for people by not putting it in the drinking water.

My understanding is that the statement above is, ahem, counterfactual.

From Quackwatch:

The Public Health Service then took over to determine precisely what amount of fluoride in the water would prevent decay without causing staining. Years of "shoeleather epidemiology" by Dr. H. Trendley Dean traced the dental status of 7,000 children who drank naturally fluoridated water in 21 cities in four states. In 1943, he reported that the ideal amount of fluoride was one part per million parts of water. This concentration was demonstrated to result in healthy, attractive teeth that had one-third as many cavities as might otherwise be expected -- and no staining.

The next step was to determine whether water engineering could copy nature's amazing dental health benefit. At several test sites, the fluoride concentration of the public water supply was adjusted to one part per million.

One such test was conducted in the neighboring cities of Newburgh and Kingston, New York. First, the children in both cities were examined by dentists and physicians; then fluoride was added to Newburgh's water supply. After ten years, the children of Newburgh had 58% fewer decayed teeth than those of nonfluoridated Kingston. The greatest benefits were obtained by children who had drunk the fluoridated water since birth. Other studies showed that teeth made stronger by fluoride during childhood would remain permanently resistant to decay. As the evidence supporting fluoridation accrued, thousands of communities acted to obtain its benefits.

Recent data have shown that fluoridation has been reducing the incidence of cavities 20% to 40% in children and 15% to 35% in adults. The reduction is less than it used to be, probably due to improved dental hygiene and widespread use of fluoride toothpaste. Currently, more than 140 million Americans live in fluoridated communities. But 80 million others receive public water supplies that are not fluoridated -- thanks largely to the efforts of poisonmongers.

 

[Melendwyr]

Why would anyone want to?

Well, I can't help but wonder how much fluoride is absorbed into our skeletal structure. It may be useful in toothpastes, but it's not at all clear to me that full-body exposure is really necessary for stronger teeth, or that it doesn't have secondary health effects.

If I had a choice between fluoridated tap water and unfluoridated tap water, I'd probably choose unfluoridated.

 

[LTC8K6]

Except that fluoride is often in water anyway, it being a natural component of the Earth's crust.

 

[John Jackson]

Except that fluoride is often in water anyway, it being a natural component of the Earth's crust.

Exactly! That's it.

It's a lack of fluoride that causes problems with teeth. Fluoridating water ensures that everyone gets enough; especially children.

 

[Melendwyr]

Exactly! That's it.

It's a lack of fluoride that causes problems with teeth. Fluoridating water ensures that everyone gets enough; especially children.

Which is more common: water with at least one part per million of dissolved fluoride, or water with less than that?

Why don't our bodies have the ability to collect and utilize fluoride? We do so with plenty of other compounds, including iodine.

I see no reason to conclude that drinking water with that level of fluoride in any way benefits any physiological processes of the human body. The anti-cavity effect is just an incidental benefit of drinking water with an unusually high concentration of a particular ion.

Not receiving such fluoride does not, in itself, cause problems with teeth.

 

[Rolfe]

If your dog is hypothyroid, the pills you've been given will have thyroxine in them, not iodine. Canine hypothyroidism is essentially an autoimmune condition, and has no relation to iodine status.

Interesting thread, but completely irrelevant to the dog issue.

Rolfe.

 

[drkitten]

I see no reason to conclude that drinking water with that level of fluoride in any way benefits any physiological processes of the human body. The anti-cavity effect is just an incidental benefit of drinking water with an unusually high concentration of a particular ion.

You don't see the anti-cavity effect as a benefit? You like getting cavities?

 

[John Jackson]

I see no reason to conclude that drinking water with that level of fluoride in any way benefits any physiological processes of the human body. The anti-cavity effect is just an incidental benefit of drinking water with an unusually high concentration of a particular ion.

Not receiving such fluoride does not, in itself, cause problems with teeth.

There's a good article here: Quackwatch

 

[kmortis]

If your dog is hypothyroid, the pills you've been given will have thyroxine in them, not iodine. Canine hypothyroidism is essentially an autoimmune condition, and has no relation to iodine status.

Interesting thread, but completely irrelevant to the dog issue.

Rolfe.

Actually, the thread is what I intended. I had been musing over the contheories concerning Fl, and I didn't understand why iodine did receive the same treatment.

Although, I thank you for the vetrinary info. It asnwers my back question as to why the vet didn't mention iodine. I do believe that thyoxine is, in factm what i've been giving her all this time now.