functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...

AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS
the prostate gland—and has anti-cancer effects in
these tissues.
Is it any wonder that thyroid, breast, ovarian,
uterine, and probably prostate problems are occurring
at epidemic rates when we are so toxic in bromine
and deficient in iodine? Remember, iodine and
bromine compete with one another. If we have too
much bromine, iodine will be released from the
body. The receptors that are supposed to bind
iodine will now bind bromine. The hormones that are
supposed to contain iodine will now contain bromine.
For example, the thyroid gland produces thyroxine,
or T4. The ‘4’ refers to the number of iodine
molecules on the thyroxine molecule. In the case of
T4, there are four iodine molecules attached to it. If
we ingest too much bromine and too little iodine,
there is a good chance that our thyroid hormone will
not contain iodine, but instead be brominated with
bromine. Regular thyroid blood tests cannot
distinguish between the two.
What are the consequences of bromine toxicity?
Bromine has been shown to cause delirium, psycho-
motor retardation, schizophrenia and hallucination.
Bromine can make subjects feel dull and apathetic
and have difficulty concentrating. Bromine can also
cause depression, headaches and irritability. There
are multiple sources of bromine exposure in our
toxic environment: hot tubs and pools, as a fumigant
for agriculture, fire retardant in carpets, clothing,
curtains, etc., brominated vegetable oil (in many
sodas), and a constituent of most computer and
electronic equipment. The U.S. produces the most
bromine in the world.
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My experience has clearly shown bromine toxicity to
be a huge problem. In fact, every one of the 150
patients that I have tested for bromine has shown
high levels. Those with chronic illness, especially
cancer of the breast have higher levels as compared
to healthy people.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? It is important to ensure
that you have adequate iodine levels in your body.
Urinary testing is the easiest way to do this. I
recommend three labs for iodine testing:
FFP Labs
Hakala Reserch Labs
Doctor’s Data
To get the best results, I suggest working with a
health care provider knowledgeable about iodine
deficiency. Two organizations that train doctors about
the use of natural items that have lists of doctors
include the following:
Broda O. Barnes, M.D. Research Foundation: www.
Brodabarnes.org or 203.261.2101
Am erican College for the Advancement in Medicine:
www.acam.org or 949.309.3520
When supplementing with iodine, I recommend using
iodine supplements that contain both forms of
iodine—iodide and iodine. Lugol’s iodine and its
tableted form Iodoral® have proven effective. Lugol’s
iodine contains 6.25mg of iodine/iodide per drop.
Iodoral® contains 12.5mg of iodine/iodide (or 2
drops of Lugol’s) per capsule. My clinical
experience has shown that the most effective doses
of iodine vary between 6.25 and 50mg/day.
Generally, sicker patients including tho se with cancer
of the breast, prostate, uterus, ovaries and thyroid
require larger amounts of iodine.
David Brownstein is a family physician who utilizes
the best of conventional and alternative therapies.
He is the Medical Director for the Center for Holistic
Medicine in West Bloomfield, MI. Dr. Brownstein is
a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne
State University School of Medicine. He is Board-
Certified by The American Academy of FamilPractice.
Dr. Brownstein is a member of the American
Academy of Family Physicians and the American
College for the Advancement in Medicine. He is
the father of two wonderful girls, Hailey and Jessica.
2012