Nascent Iodine is a scientific term for iodine where the iodine molecule has the diatomic bond broken and has a high amount of electromagnetic energy associated with it.  During the two to three hours of activation time (within the human body, once diluted in water and consumed), the Nascent Iodine atom has the ability to be of assistance to the body.

This form of iodine is produced by subjection of a 1 percent tincture of iodine to a high electromagnetic field for a given time in order to produce the Nascent Iodine state.  This atomic state and electromagnetic charge is held by the atom until diluted in water and consumed. 

Once diluted and inside the body, this atom is readily absorbed and utilized by the body.  This charged atom of iodine starts a process where it gradually loses its energy over two to three hours.  During this time, the body recognizes this atom as the same Nascent Iodine it produces in the thyroid in order to make the T3 and T4 hormones.

The atomic iodine is perhaps the least toxic and least irritating of all the iodine formulas available.

The quality that separates Nascent Iodine from all other iodine products is that the diatomic bond is broken with each atom, keeping one of the two electrons that had made up the covalent bond.  This is known as homolytic cleavage, and it causes the iodine atom to be subject to magnetic charging.  The iodine being in the atomic state was the reason it was called Atomidine, for Atomic Iodine (1926 to 1935).  This atomic state and large electromagnetic charge is held by the atom until it is diluted in water, where it then rapidly loses its charge.

Nascent Iodine is a complete atom—no extra electrons, none missing.

It was the famous psychic Edgar Cayce who suggested iodine for all sorts of thyroid problems, and who advised that it would be necessary to electrically charge the iodine to change it into its "atomic" form.  This charging converts the iodine into a form that the body can most fully recognize and assimilate.  (Iodine trichlorite claims to be atomic iodine, but it’s not.)  A true atomic iodine is the best kind to bring the thyroid to its optimal function, because it supports and saturates the thyroid without any toxic buildup.

Iodine is a well-known topical germicidal agent that is effective against a wide spectrum of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa.  Iodine is normally available as solutions, alcoholic tinctures, and iodophors.  Iodophors were developed because iodine tinctures caused skin irritation, severe hypersensitivity reactions, and systemic absorption of iodine.  Iodophors are compounds of iodine linked to carriers for iodine.  Only a small amount of iodine is released, minimizing toxicity, which is not really a problem at all when iodine is administered in its pure atomic form.

Iodine has bactericidal activity;  that is, a 1 percent tincture will effect 90 percent of bacteria in 90 seconds;  a 5 percent tincture in 60 seconds;  and a 7 percent tincture in 15 seconds.  Source: Gershenfeld, 1968

Iodide uptake by the thyroid is an active process.[i]  So much of the information on iodine insists that iodine should be taken in its two major forms, Iodide and iodine.  An iodide ion is an iodine atom with a −1 charge.  Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides.  Dr. David Brownstein wrote that "it is very difficult to get iodine into a solution that uses water as a solvent.  Therefore, as Dr. Lugol discovered, using the reduced form of iodine (iodide) increases the solubility of iodine."

Atomic or Nascent Iodine is not dissolved in water, but in alcohol.
 

Dr. David Brownstein

Iodized salt and the iodine supplements usually found in health food stores contain the iodide form of iodine, but Dr. Brownstein, one of the world’s iodine experts, has had little success treating patients with only iodide.  The supplement Iodoral contains both the iodide (reduced) and iodine (oxidized) forms of iodine.

The U.S. RDA for iodine is 150 mcg.  Iodoral contains 100 times (12.5 milligrams) the RDA requirement of iodine/iodide.  One drop of Nascent Iodine has an RDA of 0.2 mg.  If using it for additional energy and general improved health, take up to 5 drops daily;  that would mean only one milligram.

We do in fact find that when taking a nascent form of iodine, therapeutic doses are much lower.  If recommended by your healthcare professional for assistance with a chronic health concern, take 5 drops three or four times a day or as instructed by your health care professional.  Thirty drops per day is the equivalent of 6 mg of iodine or 1 drop of Lugol's iodine.  Frequent small doses are more effective than larger amounts at less frequent intervals.  Always take it on an empty stomach.

Most will find that it is important to build up gradually in order to experience the least amount of detoxification reaction.  It is best when using strong chelators, which iodine is, to moderate the amount of detoxification symptoms, or what is called the Herxheimer reaction, which is the experience of poisons being dumped into the bloodstream from the cells or from large scale yeast die-offs.  This is most readily controlled with iodine in the atomic form, simply because it is so easy to control and regulate the dose.

Iodine is an easily oxidizable substance.  Food that is present in the digestive tract will oxidize iodine to iodide, which is not corrosive to the gastrointestinal tract.  Oral iodine appears to be inactivated by combination with gastrointestinal contents.  Absorption is poor due to rapid conversion of iodine to iodide[ii] and this might explain why one needs to take very high doses of Iodoral or Lugol's compared to Nascent Iodine, which seems to bypass the digestive track altogether, meaning its absorption starts right in the mouth and continues through direct penetration of the stomach tissues.

The Nascent Iodine appears to go into direct use by the body directly as soon as it is exposed to soft tissues.  This is no stretch of the imagination, since we know that iodide is completely and rapidly absorbed throughout all areas of the GI tract.  Dr. Brownstein says that the downside of Lugol’s solution is the taste and the dosing of it.  Lugol’s has a distinct metallic taste that many people find offensive.  The atomic iodine, on the other hand, is like sipping on a heavenly gift;  you can sense in a millisecond its positive nature.

Iodide must be converted back to the nascent form in order to produce T3 and T4.  Would the body not recognize Nascent Iodine as what is needed in the thyroid and take it there to avoid the steps of active transport to produce Nascent Iodine when it already has it available?  This could explain why some people report that they feel the atomic form of iodine in their thyroid within 10 minutes.  Is there really time for the iodine to get into the intestines and be converted into an iodide to be shipped to the thyroid?

Sunkar A. Bisey, a Hindu scientist in the early 1900s, was suffering from malaria and quinine didn't do him any good.  His life was despaired of, and a Hindu doctor, hoping to save the life of India's greatest inventor, sent on a few doses of a Burmese preparation made from seaweed that had proved useful in treating chronic malaria there.  Bisey tried it, and the effect was electrical.  He began to improve at once, and in a month he was a well man.  He set out to research the contents of the seaweed and ended up producing the compound now known as Beslin or atomic iodine.  Atomic iodine is iodine molecules broken down to individual atoms, which is the exact form that the body needs to make thyroid hormones.  If iodine is not in the atomic form, the molecules of iodine first need to be broken down, and that of course takes energy.

Malaria was treated with 20 drops of Nascent Iodine in a half glass of water given 4 or 5 times during the first day, and then going to 10 drops of Nascent Iodine 4 times a day for 3 more days.  A slide study of the blood shows that the malaria is gone from the body.  It is interesting to note that Salem Banajeh, Associate Professor of Child Health at Sana'a University, Sana'a, Yemen, found that case fatality for malaria is four times higher in highlands compared with endemic areas.[iii]  Iodine deficiency would explain this, which would explain why iodine is an effective treatment for malaria.

Dr. A. Regnault, while recognizing the great value of quinine in the treatment of malaria, said in 1901 that it was becoming a matter of general recognition that the quinine series of drugs is of service only during certain developmental periods of the disease.  It is held that the toxins are developed with great rapidity just at the time of the division of the parasites.  In order to eliminate these toxins, Dr. Regnault suggested the use of iodine and potassium iodide, iodine being a body which has a special affinity for bodies of the alkaloid class, and presumably for the supposed analogies of these toxins.  The results obtained were reported as being very striking, in that not only were the attacks aborted, but the action on the fever itself was striking and immediate with chills, vomiting, and malaise disappearing rapidly.  The remedies were employed in the following strength:  Tincture of Iodine and potassium iodide, of each, 1;  and distilled water, 25.[iv]

Iodine has many positive therapeutic actions.  It is a potent anti-infective agent.  "No virus, bacteria, or parasite has been shown to be resistant to iodine therapy," writes Dr. Brownstein.  This is an incredible statement, but one that can easily be backed by hardcore medical science.  It is the reason hospitals use iodine by the gallon, and in reality the only reason hospitals are not like ground-zero sites contaminated in an infectious sense is because of iodine's broad-spectrum anti-infective power.

Few are the doctors who have realized that iodine can be taken internally in large quantities and that it will have the same effect internally as it does on external surfaces.  When we look at the fact that the entire focus of vaccines is antiviral, that bacterial infections are becoming more threatening and more antibiotic-resistant, that cancer is always accompanied by and or is a fungal yeast infection, we might begin to realize how iodine can again become a doctor’s best friend.  Oncologist Dr. Tullio Simoncini in Rome already uses it for skin and breast cancer, but even he has overlooked its potential for internal application for the same action against cancer yeasts and fungi.  The secret to successful application in high enough quantities is provided by Nascent Iodine.

When the thyroid becomes fully saturated from continued ingestion of detoxified iodine, whatever it doesn’t need is eagerly grabbed by other tissues of the body independent of the form, meaning iodide is not necessary.  After the atomic iodine has made its rounds, whatever then remains and is unable to be used is excreted in the urine.  The urine will turn bright yellow from the excess, similar to what happens with water-soluble B vitamins that the body doesn't need.  And any excess can help the kidneys if there's an infection at that site.

Note:  Even though Nascent Iodine is safe to use, too much taken too late in the day can be stimulating enough to keep you awake.  As with any other supplement, use discretion.

There is a difference between Nascent Iodine and Detoxified Iodine, which itself is a high-quality form of iodine.  Detoxified Iodine is produced at 10 amps of resistance for five minutes.  Nascent Iodine is more difficult to produce.  The time required to get iodine into the nascent state is 15 to 20 minutes at 30 amps, with a very limited quantity of iodine.  The result is that heat is generated, and that must be dissipated in order to have the process continue.  Historians who have speculated as to why this process was never used in the 1930's by Sunkar A. Bisey to improve his product was that it is just to time-consuming and costly to make the Nascent Iodine through this method.  For those who notice the results of Nascent Iodine, it may seem costly to make but well worth it for the results.  (I have had several people who have used different iodine products of these types conclusively claim they can feel the difference immediately when taking a true Nascent iodine.)

To quote the 1930s document by Schieffelin and Company:

"The lethal dose of Atomidine (1926 to 1935) in animals is very large, which accounts for the absence of untoward effects in clinical use.  Due probably to its rapid absorption and its ready combination with organic compounds in the body, iodism very rarely occurs even in sensitive persons."

If the body does recognize both these qualities, it can then use this charged atom in the thyroid or elsewhere in the body as needed.

The body utilizes more or less Nascent Iodine depending on the task being addressed.  To boost the body systems may require very small amounts—a few drops once a day.  The average dose is 5 to 10 drops in one-half glass of cold water, repeated every two or three hours.  Frequent small doses are more effective than larger amounts at less frequent intervals.  When an intensive effect is desired, 20 or more drops may be administered over the critical period and repeated as required.

Recommended Reading:  

Miller, Donald W. Iodine for Health -Excellent and very readable. 

Abraham, GE. The safe and effective implementation of orthoiodo supplementation in medical practice. The Original Internist 2004;11:17-36 Available on line A good introduction to The Iodine Project 

Flechas, JD Orthoiodo supplementation in a primary care practice. The Original Internist 2005; 12(2):89-96 Available online 

Brownstein D. Clinical experience with inorganic, no-radioactive iodine/iodine. The Original Internist 2005 12(3):105-108. Available online 

Derry D. Breast; Candida and Iodine: How to prevent and how to survive breast cancer. Victoria, BC Trafford Publisheing:2002. An eye-opener 

Brownstein D. Iodine: Why you need it why you can't live without it. West Bloomfield, MI: Medical Alternatives Press 2004 Well written.  

Low DE, Ghent WR, Hill LD Diatomic iodine treatment for fibrocystic disease special report of efficacy and safety results. [Submitted to the FDA] 1995:1-38 

Available online. This study makes a strong case for iodine as the preferred treatment for biro cystic disease. 

Thank you very much, Mary, for a great article I really appreciate you taking the time to give us all a better understanding of the importance of iodine in our health. Dennis 

A2Z Iodine Supplement - Notes from Dennis

"Many physicians would be surprised to learn that more than a hundred years ago, iodine was called The Universal Medicine, and was used in several clinical conditions."

Nobel Laureate Albert Szent Gyorgyi, the physician who discovered Vitamin C in 1928

"When I was a medical student, iodine in the form of KI was the universal medicine. Nobody knew what it did, but it did something and did something good.'" Guy E. Abraham, M.D., author of The Universal Nutrient. 

Both, through talking with Mary Cochran and my own recent research, have convinced me most Americans are iodine deficient. Thus, I have been researching the availability of the highest quality iodine supplement for a long time now. They are not all the same.  Some iodine formulas on the market will not meet all the body's needs. Also, one has to be careful taking iodine because too much of it is poisonous as is aspirin along with many other things. 

Historically, for over 100 years, Lugols Iodine has been considered one of the best iodine formulas on the market. It still is, but you need a prescription to obtain a solution higher than 2.2%. After searching all the types of iodine supplements that are available without a prescription, I have found what I believe is the best available.