Plaque is the stuff of coronary heart disease. It is CONTROLLABLE, it is STOPPABLE, it is REVERSIBLE.
But you must be equipped with the right information on diet, nutritional supplements, and hopefully the avoidance of medication.
This is the blog that accompanies the 
Like many health-conscious people, Kurt avoids salt. In fact, he has assiduously avoided salt ever since his heart attack back in 1995.
Lately, Kurt had become tired, often for little or no reason. His thyroid panel:
TSH 4.2 mIU/L (0.27-4.20)
Free T3 1.74 pg/ml (2.50-4.30)
Free T4 1.05 ng/dl (0.9-1.7)
Kurt’s TSH of 4.2 mIU/L is sufficient to increase LDL cholesterol by 20-30% and increase the (relative) risk for heart attack 3-fold.
Kurt’s thyroid was also palpably enlarged. While it was just barely visible–just a minor bulge in the neck (in the shape of a bowtie), it could be clearly felt when I examined him.
I asked Kurt to add 500 mcg of iodine every day. Three months later, another thyroid panel showed:
TSH 0.14 mIU/L (0.27-4.20)
Free T3 2.50 pg/ml (2.50-4.30)
Free T4 1.1 ng/dl (0.9-1.7)
Kurt’s thyroid function normalized to nearly ideal levels just with iodine replacement. (The free T3, while improved, remains low; an issue for another day!)
I see this response with some frequency: low-grade goiter and apparent hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) that responds, at least partially, to iodine replacement. In Kurt’s case, iodine replacement alone normalized his thyroid measures completely.
With improved thyroid measures, Kurt also felt better with renewed energy and a 22 mg/dl reduction in LDL cholesterol.
Make no mistake: Iodine deficiency is real. While most of my colleagues have dismissed iodine deficiency as a relic of the early 20th century and third world countries, you can also find it in your neighborhood.
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My take on Nori: It is basically a potatoe chip from the sea. So it has iodine in it, so the arsenic may not be harmful. So…..what oil did they use? Sesame oil is not that good for you. Did they keep the oil below it's smoke point? How often do they change it? Where did the seaweed come from? Downstream from the Chinese Drywall factory? Even sushi grade Nori smells rancid to me. No thanks, I just don't think it is a health food.
This site info is great ! Thanx all. In case you plan to make your own mixture (I do, eventually), people may think you are actually a trouble maker and not a health nut: I learned that Iodine is use illegally to make d-methamphetamine. Here is a govt site telling of that issue. Who'd have guessed !
Smile.
You can buy "wild crafted" seaweed from domestic sources in remote California or Maine sources if you want to avoid unknown sources from overseas.
I have a variety of hand harvested and naturally dried seaweed products from Mendocino Sea Veggetable Company (www.seaweed.net). They sell a small booklet with recipes, too.
We especially love the Mendocino Miracle Mix (ground mixed seaweeds) sprinkled over our morning eggs. I put MMM in everything from homemade condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and salsa) to soups. MMM is also great mixed 30/30/30% with coarse Mendocino or Atlantic sea salt and sesame seeds for a great seasoning shake.
There is another company I haven't yet tried, but it is also recommended by a Mendocino friend, Ocean Harvest Sea Vegetable Company http://www.ohsv.net/ .
I add some kombu to my homemade bone broths and often add crunchy dried seaweed to salads instead of croutons. Some seaweeds can be soaked a few minutes to plump back up and tossed into a salad. When I make sashimi I also serve a salad of just seaweed with a ginger-(wheat-free) raw tamari vinaigrette. Once you get over the unfamiliarity with sea vegetable it becomes quite ordinary and not much different to eat than land vegetables.
I ended up with hypotension from cutting out salt in my paleo diet and it was not fun. I now eat seaweed, but you have to be careful with that too. A seaweed-loving friend of mine now has hyperthyroidism!
Yeah, thanx Melissa — everyone is tempted to recommend a "one-size-fits-all" diet but I bet it is more complicated than that.
All this feedback is very helpful.
One person says take tons of iodine, the next says it can cause thyroid disorders, we must be very careful when taking advice on the internet (or anywhere else, for that matter).
Thanks for the reminder, I've been trying various seaweeds and sea vegetables but ran out while the local samphire was in season (I think it was a previous post by Anna that turned me on to these), I just put them on tomorrow's shopping list.
Dr. Davis,
I dont know where to put this article, which is helpfull in the times of H1N1. I am just going to copy it here and leave it for you to decide the place for this please.
Vitamin D is also is major immune system booster.
http://www.starfireresearch.com/health/topics/swineflu.html
Iodine: the Forgotten Weapon
Against Influenza Viruses
David Derry, MD, PhD
332 – 425 Simcoe Street
Victoria BC V8V 4T3
Correspondence: Dr. David Derry dderry@shaw.ca
Background: After the 1918 Influenza Pandemic which killed an estimated 30 million people, governments financed research on the Pandemic’s causes. Over 25 years, influenza viruses were isolated and methods for killing them with various agents discovered. Iodine was the most effective agent for killing viruses, especially influenza viruses. Aerosol iodine was found to kill viruses in sprayed mists, and solutions of iodine were equally effective. In 1945, Burnet and Stone found that putting iodine on mice snouts prevented the mice from being infected with live influenza virus in mists. They suggested that impregnating masks with iodine would help stop viral spread. They also recommended that medical personnel have iodine-aerosol-treated rooms for examination and treatment of highly infected patients. Current methods of dealing with influenza infection are isolation, hand washing, antiviral drugs, and vaccinations. All of these methods can be improved by incorporating iodine into them. When impregnated with iodine, masks become much more effective, and hand washing is more effect when done with mild iodine solutions. Isolation techniques coupled with aerosol iodine would make them safer for patients, medical personnel, and all persons working with the public. Public health authorities could organize the distribution of iodine and at the same time educate the public in the effective use of iodine. Oral iodine might also boost body defense mechanisms in the upper oral and respiratory mucus. Conclusion: Iodine incorporated into masks, solutions, aerosols, and oral preparations could help to kill influenza viruses and fight off an H1N1 Pandemic.
Keywords. H1N1 • Influenza virus • iodine • aerosols • immunization • isolations • masks • prevention
Derry, D.: Iodine: the Forgotten Weapon Against Influenza Viruses.
I wonder if eliminating gluten would clean up that T3 issue. Yesterday I read that Celiac Disease can cause hypothyroidism.
Kurt's thyroid function normalized to nearly ideal levels just with iodine replacement. (The free T3, while improved, remains low; an issue for another day!)