Though it kills 90 percent of bacteria on the skin within 90 seconds its use as an antibiotic has been tragically ignored. Iodine exhibits activity against bacteria, molds, yeasts, protozoa, and many viruses; indeed, of all antiseptic preparations suitable for direct use on humans and animals and upon tissues, only iodine is capable of killing all classes of pathogens: gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, mycobacteria, yeasts, and protozoa. Most bacteria are killed within 15 to 30 seconds of contact.
In the beginning of 2017, nearly three dozen people in the United States have been diagnosed with a deadly and highly drug-resistant fungal infection that has been rapidly spreading around the world.
The fungus, a strain of a kind of yeast known as Candida auris. Unlike garden-variety yeast infections, this one causes serious bloodstream infections, spreads easily from person to person in health-care settings, and survives for months on skin and for weeks on bed rails, chairs and other hospital equipment. Some strains are resistant to all three major classes of antifungal drugs. Up to 60 percent of people with these infections have died. Candida auris is not resistant to iodine.
Viral infections always have doctors scrambling because they have forgotten how effective iodine is against them. Dr. Richard Kunin, after fifty years of practice concluded that iodide destroys the virus of herpes. Both oral and genital lesions are treatable this way.
Dr. Eliot Dick observed a 50 percent reduction in respiratory illnesses when using iodine. Many reports by patients find that a gargle of ten drops of potassium iodide in a glass of water, with or without additional vitamin C, relieved sore throat in a matter of hours.
Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital tells us, "HIV was completely inactivated and could no longer replicate after exposure to the povidone-iodine preparations even at very low concentrations."
The second is its importance with prevention and treatment of cancer. Iodine is indispensable in protecting against thyroid cancer, breast cancer, ovarium cancer as well as prostate cancer because all of these glands concentrate iodine more than other tissues. Deficiencies in iodine leave these glands vulnerable. Iodine also is indispensable for treating anything on the skin, even skin cancer mainly because it kills everything on contact that does not belong.
Breast tissue contains the body’s third highest concentrations of this essential mineral, so shortfalls in iodine needs have a highly negative impact on breast tissue. Iodine shortfalls coupled with bromine and other toxic halogens cause fibrocystic breast disease and breast cancer.
High intake of iodine is associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. Low iodine intake is associated with liver cancer. Iodine is ideal for treating skin cancer. These are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how important iodine is for cancer patients.
The third is iodine is protective against radioactive iodine. We cannot begin to understand how important this is until we also learn how dire the threat is of radiation.
Dr. John W. Gofman, Professor Emeritus of Molecular and Cell Biology in the University of California at Berkeley, has written extensively about the effort to belittle the menace of low-level radiation. People associated with the nuclear and medical industries assert falsely, “there is no evidence that exposure to low-dose radiation causes any cancer—the risk is only theoretical,” or “the risk is utterly negligible,” or “the accidental exposures were below the safe level,” and even “there is reasonably good evidence that exposure to low-dose radiation is beneficial and lowers the cancer rate.” By any reasonable standard of scientific proof, the weight of the human evidence shows decisively that cancer is inducible by ionizing radiation even at the lowest possible dose and dose-rate—which means that the risk is never theoretical.
Different isotopes of radioactive iodine, one with an incredibly long half-life, have been dumped into the environment by the Fukushima meltdown. Iodine deficient adults and children are sitting ducks to their radioactive cousins especially if they are eating milk and cheese because radioactive iodine gets into the grass that the cattle eat and it just goes up the food chain to your door.
Fourth is the absolute necessity of iodine in metabolism. Human life is not possible without iodine. That truth is important to every cell in our bodies.
Fifth is its role in the production of hormones. Iodine helps synthesize thyroid hormones and prevents both hypo- and hyperthyroidism. Iodine sufficiency reverses hypo- and hyperthyroidism. Iodine’s ability to revive hormonal sensitivity seems to significantly improve insulin sensitivity. Iodine attaches to insulin receptors and improves glucose metabolism. Iodine
