Thyroid Problems? Check your halogens!

Dr. Weeks Comment:   Halogens  (Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine and Iodine)  are aggressive biologically active agents which intoxicate all human tissue but initially your THYROID:   too much is bad, too little is bad.

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Get balanced.

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At the Weeks Clinic for Corrective Medicine and Psychiatry, we check your halogens.

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BROMIDE DOMINANCE


source:
http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/bromidedominancetheory.html

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    A bromide dominance condition may develop when  bromide,
    acquired through environmental, occupational, iatrogenic or dietary
    exposure, causes bromide levels in the body to rise high enough to
    inhibit iodine enzyme metabolism.

    Iodine supplementation alters the competitive bromide-iodine
    relationship causing bromide excretion. Thus, bromide dominance is
    diminished and proper iodine enzyme metabolism may be restored.

    In the toxic 21st Century, these questions must be raised:

  • Would we have such a severe iodine deficiency without bromide
    dominance?


  • If iodine deficiency is the underlying cause of many diseases,
    is bromide “the underlying cause of the underlying cause?”

  • Is bromide dominance creating a public health crisis?


    Where Does Bromide Dominance Come From?

    Bromide is an insidious, additive used in many common products, and as a
    pesticide.  Because of the sheer amount of bromide-supplemented
    products, exposure to this man-made additive has caused a depletion of
    iodine in human populations. Studies in lab animals provide alarming
    evidence that even small amounts of bromide exposure can be toxic. (1)

    What products contain bromide?

    Currently, bromide is found in pesticides (methyl bromide),  some bread
    products (potassium bromate), brominated vegetable oil that may be
    added to citrus-flavored drinks, hot tub cleansers, certain asthma inhalers
    and prescription drugs, plastic products, some personal care products,
    and some fabric dyes.



    Effects of Bromide on the Organs

    Iodine depletion weakens the thyroid and other organs. (2)(3)(4)(5)(6) In
    individuals where the bromide-iodine ratio is less, bromide may not be
    problematic.

    Thyroid


    Elevated bromide levels have been implicated in every thyroid disease,
    from simple hypothyroidism to auto-immune diseases to thyroid cancer.
    Malenchenko found bromide levels 50 times higher in thyroid cancer than
    normal thyroid tissue. (7)


    Rats fed even the minimal amount of bromine expected to be encountered
    in the environment underwent goiter-like changes (8),  an arguable case of
    bromide dominance. In the FIRE project, exposing rats to the brominated
    flame retardant compound, bromocyclodecane, showed consistent effects
    on the thyroid hormone axis, including decreased T4.  Thyroid gland cells
    have increased size and larger nuclei, indicating increased synthetic
    activity. (9)

    With enhanced intake of bromide, fully one-third of the iodine content in
    the thyroids of rats was replaced by bromide. (10)

    Skin

    Skin biopsied from a woman who had been on bromide-containing
    sedatives for nearly four years  found increased bromide in normal skin
    and three times that in an affected skin lesion. (11)

    An infant administered a syrup containing sodium bromide developed
    vegetative lesions on the face and scalp. (12)

    Technicians exposed to brominated compounds for prolonged periods
    developed multiple cherry angiomas on the trunk and extremities. (12)

    Mental

    The psychiatry literature abounds with cases of elevated bromide levels
    being implicated in mental conditions from depression to schizophrenia.
    (14)(15)(16) As Guy Abraham, MD, asks, “How many people with
    misdiagnosed bromism are currently treated with psychiatric drugs?”(17)
    Bromide was used to suppress women’s sex drive in the 1950s.

    Hearing

    Potassium bromate, a bread additive, is known to cause renal damage and
    permanent deafness in animals and man. (18)  In the FIRE project, the most
    relevant effect on exposing rats to 28 days to the brominated flame
    retardant compound, tetrabromobisphenol-A, was hearing.  Specifically,
    the lower frequency range was affected . (19)

    Kidneys

    The ability of bromate to cause cancer, especially kidney cancer, is a
    significant health concern.  (20)  The gene expression in kidneys in rats
    given a high dose 100-week potassium bromate in their drinking water
    showed marked gene expression difference from the lower non-cancer
    dose.  The high dose kidney gene expression resembled an adenoma-like
    expression pattern. (21)

BROMIDE IN PRODUCTS

    .
    BREAD

    Potassium bromate as an additive to most commercial bread and baked
    goods probably provides the most egregious contribution to bromide
    overload in Western cultures.

    Bromated flour is product “enriched” with potassium bromate. Some
    commercial bakers claim they use bromated flour because it yields
    dependable results, and it makes more elastic dough which can stand up
    to bread hooks and other commercial baking tools.  (22) However,
    Pepperidge Farm manages to use only unbromated flour with excellent
    results.

    NOTE ON BANNING POTASSIUM BROMATE IN BREAD:

    The UK banned bromate in bread in 1990.
    Canada banned bromate in bread in 1994. (23)
    Proposal P230 in Australia: Food Regulation Ministerial Council (FSANZ)
    still has not finalized its July 2007 proposal to mandate iodized salt in
    breads, breakfast cereals and biscuits.

    Back in 1999, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the
    FDA to prohibit the use of potassium bromate, charging that the FDA has
    known for years that bromate causes cancer in lab animals, but has failed
    to ban it. (24)  As of September 2007, the US FDA responded to Breast
    Cancer Choices inquiry with the statement, “ Potassium Bromate is still
    listed as a safe additive.

    WATER
    When drinking water containing bromide is exposed to ozone, bromate
    ion, a powerful oxidizing agent, is formed.  Two significant recalls of
    drinking water involving bromate have occurred:  Wegmanns Food You
    Feel Good About Spring Water Recall in 2006, and Coca-Cola’s Dasani in
    2004. (25)

    TOOTHPASTE, MOUTHWASH AND GARGLES
    Potassium bromate is an antiseptic and astringent in toothpaste, mouth
    and gargles.  Very toxic if taken internally.  May cause bleeding and
    inflammation of gums in toothpaste.  (26)

    BROMIDE IN FLAME RETARDANTS
    Flame retardants reduce the flammability of a wide variety of commercial
    and household products.  Some brominated home retardants migrate from
    the products in which they are used and are entering the environment
    and people.  (27)

    PERSONAL PRODUCTS AND SOME COSMETICS
    Sodium bromate in Products: Permanent Waves, Hair Dyes, Textile Dyes
    Sodium bromate is in permanent wave neutralizers, hair dye material, and
    the textile dyeing process. (28) Benzalkonium is used as a preservative
    in some cosmetics. (29)

    References:

    Dr. Weeks is indebted to Breast Cancer Choices who , in turn, is indebted to the pioneering bromide research of Guy E. Abraham, MD, as well as the clinical and intellectual contributions of David Brownstein, MD, and Jorge Flechas, MD.
    http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/bromidedominancetheory.html

    (1)  Vobecky M et al., Interaction of Bromine with Iodine in the Rat Thyroid Gland at Enhanced
    Bromide Intake, Biol Trace Elem Res 1996.
    (2)  Velicky J et al., The Effect of Bromide on the Ultrastructure of Rat Thyrocytes, Ann Anat 2004.
    (3)   Pavelka S et al., Bromide Kinetics and Distribution in the Rat. II Distribution of Bromide in the
    Body, Biol Trace Res 2000.
    (4)   Velicky J et al., Long Term Action of Potassium Bromide on the Rat Thyroid Gland, Acta
    Histochem 1998.
    (5)  Velicky J et al., Potassium Bromide and the Thyroid Gland of the Rat: Morphology and
    Immunochemistry 1997.
    (6) Vobecky M et al., Interaction of Bromine with Iodine in the Rat Thyroid Gland at Enhanced
    Bromide Intake, Biol Trace Elem  Res 1996.
    (7)  Malenchenko AF et al., The Content and Distribution of Iodine, Chlorine and Bromide in the
    Normal and Pathologically Changed Thyroid Tissue, Med Radiol 1984.
    (8).  Velicky J et al., Potassium Bromide and the Thyroid Gland of the Rat: Morphology and
    Immunochemistry, RIA and INAA Analysis, Ann Anat 1997.
    (9)  www.credocluster.info Issue 6, July 2006
    (10) Vobecky M et al., Interaction of Bromine with Iodine in the Rat Thyroid Gland at Enhanced
    Bromide Intake, Biol Trace Elem Res 1996.
    (11)  Hubner K et al., Skin Bromide Content and Bromide Excretion in Bromoderma Tuberosum, Arch Derm
    Res 1976.
    (12)  Bel S et al., Vegetant Bromoderma in an Infant, Pediatric Dermatology 2001.
    (13)  Cohen A et al., Cherry Angiomas Associated with Exposure to Bromides, Dermatology 2001.
    (14) Horowitz BZ et al., Bromism from Excessive Cola Consumption, Clinical Toxicology 1997.
    (15)  Levin M., Transitory Schizophrenia Produced by Bromide Intoxication, Am J Psychiatry 1946.
    (16)  www.gulflink.osd.mil/library/randrep/pb_paper/mr1018.2chap10.html.
    (17) Abraham G., The Combined Measurement of the Four Stable Halides by the Ion-Selective Electrode
    Procedure Following Their Chromatographic Separation on a Strong Anion Exchange Resin: Clinical
    Application, The Original Internist 2006.
    (18)  Morizono T et al., The Effects of Cetrimide and Potassium Bromate on the Potassium Ion
    Concentration in the Inner Ear Fluid of the Guinea Pig, Physiol Bohemoslov 1988.
    (19) www.credocluster.info, Issue 6 2006.
    (20)  www.rtctoc.com/bromate.htm.
    (21)  Geter D et al., Kidney Toxicogenomics of Chronic Potassium Bromate Exposure in F334 Male
    Rats, EIMS Meta Data Report 2006.
    (22) www.wisegeek.com.
    (23)  www.rtctox.com/bromate.htm.
    (24). www.cspinet.org/new/bromide.htm.
    (25)  www.rtctox.com/bromate.htm.
    (26) www.healthy-communications.com/hazards_of_cosmetics_by_carol_barzac95.html.
    (27) www.credocluster.info, Issue 6 2006.
    (28)  www.alibaba.com/catalog/11292709/sodium_bromate_99_5.html.
    (29)  www.gina.antczak.btinternet.co.uk/CU/CUHOME.htm.


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