A Perspective on High Dose Iodine Supplementation – Part I – Do We Need To Consider More About Scientists Than Just Their Science

AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO “A PERSPECTIVE ON HIGH DOSE IODINE SUPPLEMENTATION:” What you are about to read is the first installment of a newsletter series that is probably the most controversial and, for me, the most interesting I have ever written. Why? There are several reasons. The first is that it deals with a micronutrient that I feel, with all the information now available on vitamin D, stands alone as the one that is most under appreciated and most misunderstood, iodine. However, this misunderstanding and under appreciation, which I do my best to address in this series, only begins to tell the story of why this is the most controversial series I have ever written. The rest of the story has to do with the fact that this series is, for the most part, written as a response to the many papers on iodine nutriture written by Guy Abraham, MD. As you will see, my thoughts on Dr. Abraham’s papers and the ideas and attitudes conveyed are quite complex and took many twists and turns over the course of the series. In part I you will see that, because of Dr. Abraham’s writing style, claims, use of referencing, and direct attacks on anyone who disagrees with his position, I initially took a stance of great skepticism about everything he wrote. However, as you will also see as the series unfolds, my respect for him and his colleagues and their mission to inform clinicians about the great need to pay more attention to iodine nutriture, biochemistry, and physiology grew tremendously. In turn, my respect and gratitude, in terms of bringing attention to the issue of iodine, continues to this day. Nevertheless, as you will also see as this series progresses, I still maintain strong disagreements with Dr. Abraham and his colleagues concerning their position on the safety of daily doses of supplemental iodine that are several milligrams higher than RDA levels. Furthermore, I continue my strong feelings concerning the character judgments made by Dr. Abraham about those published researchers whose position is different from his. With the above in mind, and knowing there is good chance that many of you already maintain strong feelings about milligram dosing of supplemental iodine and the work of Abraham and colleagues, I know there is also a good chance that some of you may react quite positively or negatively to this series. However, whether your reaction is positive or negative, I will take satisfaction that I have succeeded if my reviews of the literature and accompanying comments at least educate, and hopefully stimulate both thoughts and passions. For it is the combination of information, deep thoughts, and passion that has, very often, led to some best and most groundbreaking innovations that have historically occurred not only in clinical nutrition but all of health care.