I see people asking about iodine for their children and animals in iodine groups on FB. And I see a lot of crazy advice. That is why I write this post, I hope I can make people think again. If they already give their children or pets high doses of iodine. Or make them not start if they are thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying, children and pets don’t need iodine. Of course they do. I am not saying, don’t supplement iodine either. What I am saying is, don’t give them HIGH doses. 

This isn’t meant to be a science filled post. You can find a lot of scientific findings in my other 3 posts on iodine, Iodine for beginners, THE IODINE PROTOCOL and Iodine for nerds . I just want to say, iodine is not sugar water. It’s absolutely necessary for life, and millions are deficient. That does not mean, that it’s safe to jump into high doses. It’s not safe for grown ups, so not something we should do to those who can’t say no. Who can’t decide for themselves. High doses of I can damage the thyroid. Both iodine deficiency and iodine excess can cause a goiter. One can become both hyper thyroid and hypo thyroid on high doses of iodine. What  are high doses ? Milligram doses are high doses.

Those who do get thyroid sick from high dose iodine are most probably disposed for autoimmune thyroid disease. Though we don’t know this for sure. The early stages of autoimmune thyroid disease is the most dangerous time to suddenly start taking high doses. The problem is, people often don’t know they are in the early stages. I write about this in the beginners post. And we don’t know if our children or pets are predisposed either. 

Here is one example that I have seen on FB, of a 12 year old boy getting increased blood flow in the thyroid gland. Something one sees in the beginning of an autoimmune thyroid disease.

Don’t let this be your child. Better safe than sorry when it comes to children. His thyroid tissue is not affected as yet. That is what smooth echotexture means. And it may not be. But you don’t want your children to have ANY thyroid issues.

Goiter

It is not true, what people say in the groups. That the goiters one can get when starting high dose I, go away again. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. I have seen many reporting they have gotten goiters on the iodine protocol, chronic goiters.

A goiter may not be a problem, people can have normal hormone production with a goiter. But it is not something one WANTS. And even less for one’s child.  And a goiter is a thyroid disease in itself.

Do children and pets need mg doses?

No, they don’t. The main rationale for the iodine protocol, is for detoxing other halogens, like bromide and fluoride. Do children and pets, who have lived only a short time, have a lot of these toxins? I don’t think so. We do give our children fluoride, so they probably have that in their bodies. But remember that the other halogens are mainly a serious issue if one is iodine deficient. If there is enough iodine in the body, the cells will get enough iodine.  Do we have the right to give them something that might cause a harsh detox?  Not in my opinion. Better to make sure our children and pets are exposed to as little toxins as possible.

The other reason for doing high doses, is to become iodine replete after years of deficiency. These young ones haven’t been deficient for years. Small doses are enough for them. And if they take smallish doses their whole life, they will never be depleted.

What doses do I give my child?

I would never give a child more than microgram doses. I would give a child 200 to 300 mcg/day. Then maybe increase up to 500 mcg as the child grows older/puberty. And make sure their selenium levels are fine. Selenium protects the thyroid. Selenium deficiency is a problem in many places, so it can be good to supplement.

I would make sure to give them iodine that contains molecular iodine, not just iodide. You can find info on the science of the importance of molecular iodine on my “Nerds” post. You will find both forms of iodine in sea weed products. Only buy the ones that says how many micrograms it contains. I know that some admins in iodine groups say, sea weed is very polluted and not good for us. I believe that is  exaggerated. There are still clean waters in this world. And I don’t think a few milligrams of seaweed are our biggest problem when it comes to toxins. But if you believe that, just find other products. You can dilute Lugol’s as well. Just make sure to get it right.

How about our pets? I give my little dog a small dose of seaweed on his food. It’s a product for cats and dogs, to prevent tartar and plaque. It’s pure seaweed. I believe that is enough for him.

I hope this is helpful. And that you at least think things through. And really read up on iodine if you were to give a child high doses. An animal should never be given a high dose. I see people who give their children many mg without any knowledge. That can go very wrong. You want to take care of your children, not cause them harm. The claim that Dr. Brownstein and Dr. Flechas make, that the Japanese get 12.5 mg iodine/day is not true.  I am sure they  believe it and mean well. There was an old study claiming this. But if you scroll down to “Japan” on my “Iodine protocol” post, you will find studies that refute this. The Japanese get between 1 and 3 mg/day.

These are my thoughts. I love iodine, and take it every day. I take 5 mg, that is the dose my kidneys can handle. I have been deficient for years. But I am grown up and can decide for myself. Plus I have very little thyroid tissue to damage.

Please leave a comment if you have something to add or you disagree.