Iodine and Potassium Iodide

[Persej]

Update: With my new batches I started having stomach problems. Which is interesting considering that neither Mohnach nor Buchanan reported any such problems. In fact, Mohnach was even saying how good the blue iodine is for the intestinal issues.

After further research, which is confirmed by my experimentation, it seems that with my new batches I was making a purple iodine, not blue.

So it seems that blue is good, brown not so good, and purple very bad.

Mohnach never talked about this version, but I don't think that he was even aware of it, since he was using the iodine tincture and not Lugol. With Lugol you can produce purple version because the iodine/iodide ratio is different compared with tincture, which is important when you make amylo-iodine.

So it seems that this amylo-iodine can be a very good thing or a very bad thing, if you don't know what you are doing.

I ordered iodine tincture for my future experiments, and in the meantime I will try to reproduce what I did with my first batch with Lugol.

 

[nature]

Hi Persej!
I tried my blue iodine only 3 days, so I can't judge about its effects. I didn't continue because of lack of time (or bad organisation?)
My short experience:
- Lugol dropped on bread: black purple. No effect after 2-3 weeks
_ Lugol dropped in hot bone broth: orange. I didn't continue it.
- Lugol dropped on vit C water: cleared
_ Lugol dropped in hot water+ cassava flour previously boiled: very beautiful sea blue
My Lugol solution is 1/3 iodine I2 + 2/3 potassium iodide (KI). Do you know what are the proportions in tincture used by Mohnach?

 

[Persej]

Lugol dropped on bread: black purple.

It's purple because there is no water around to dilute the iodide. When there is too much iodide around amylose you get purple amylo-iodine.

Lugol dropped in hot water+ cassava flour previously boiled: very beautiful sea blue

Yes. It's blue because there is a lot of water around amylose molecules to dilute iodide concentration.

My Lugol solution is 1/3 iodine I2 + 2/3 potassium iodide (KI). Do you know what are the proportions in tincture used by Mohnach?

He didn't talk about that because he probably didn't think that that was important factor. I found about that in the research paper from 1996.

The Russians are using the version which has 5% of iodine and 2% of iodide. That is exactly what I ordered.

Last night was interesting. I tried several times to make blue iodine, and I failed every time. It was always purple. If I haven't kept one of my older batches which is still blue, I would have thought that I'm going crazy. Because I haven't change anything in my ingredients in the meantime.

So I pondered about this, thinking about how the iodine/iodide ratio can change the color of the starch, and finally came to the conclusion that seem most logical to me at this point.

The thing is that prior to these experiments with starch I kept my Lugol bottle, which is now 3 years old, in the other room which is not heated. But after I started these experiments, I moved the Lugol into my room which is warm. And I think that it is possible that in the meantime enough of the iodine escaped from the bottle so that I am now unable to make blue iodine with my Lugol, because there is too much iodide in it. Because every time the iodine escapes, one on the molecules of triiodide decomposes into one molecule od iodide. So not only the iodine escapes, but the amount of iodide rises. And that is why I don't recommend using Lugol for making blue iodine. Because even at the start the ratio is not very good, and it can only get worse as time progresses.

So either use tincture or try to put iodine crystals in a tea bag and wait until dissolved amylose turns blue. That is what scientist did in one of the experiments. Although, it might take a couple of days for that. So keeping it in a warm place would be a good way to make the process faster.

 

[Persej]

I have a strong reaction to iodine and i noticed the similar pattern. Only that that anxiety in my case is manifested with strong heart beating , body tremor and hand shaking.

For almost 2 months i have a constant cold symptoms also. Like sore throat, congested sinuses . Its probably related to some detox reaction of the body.

As each day is passing heavy heart beating is little easier or i have used to it. Shaking and tremor is reduced over time. Nothing helps to really stop this symptoms. Sometimes salted water and later Vit C helps to easy this symptoms.

Something interesting happened to me that I think might explain what happened to you when you started taking iodine.

About two weeks ago I decided to try to add some potassium chloride in my salted water. I was taking PC for a short period before I was on iodine protocol. I haven't felt either positive or negative reactions on it so I stopped using it.

However, after just a small sip of my salted water with potassium chloride I got a strong reaction - very fast heart beat with palms sweating and shaking and a heat in my body. Immediately I took another glass of just salted water and did vagus stimulation and the condition slowly reduced.

The next days my heart rate got reduced but I would still get other symptoms - hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness on my skin. I thought that the potassium would be naturally removed from my body but two weeks passed and I'm still getting those symptoms.

I also stopped taking any iodine in this period and was only taking salted water each day with a lot of salty foods.

Last night I wanted to try taking Lugol, but I was afraid to drink it, so I put one drop on each sole. And in less than a minute I got the same reaction when I took potassium chloride!

So it seems that, for some reason, combining potassium chloride with iodine is a bad idea. And perhaps that is the reason why some people have a bad reaction on iodine. Perhaps they have too much potassium in their body which somehow reacts with iodine.

I think that this might also be a case with you because you said that prior to starting the iodine supplementation you were on ketogenic diet. And it is known that on ketogenic diet you can have electrolyte disbalance - too little sodium and too much potassium. And that is why people on ketogenic diet need extra salt.

Some people recommend taking baking soda for elevated potassium, so maybe I will try that. Or perhaps I should continue with iodine but with just one drop on my heel. I never had any bad reaction to iodine before, but now I have to be careful until I remove excess potassium.

 

[Konstantin]

Something interesting happened to me that I think might explain what happened to you when you started taking iodine.

About two weeks ago I decided to try to add some potassium chloride in my salted water. I was taking PC for a short period before I was on iodine protocol. I haven't felt either positive or negative reactions on it so I stopped using it.

However, after just a small sip of my salted water with potassium chloride I got a strong reaction - very fast heart beat with palms sweating and shaking and a heat in my body. Immediately I took another glass of just salted water and did vagus stimulation and the condition slowly reduced.

The next days my heart rate got reduced but I would still get other symptoms - hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness on my skin. I thought that the potassium would be naturally removed from my body but two weeks passed and I'm still getting those symptoms.

I also stopped taking any iodine in this period and was only taking salted water each day with a lot of salty foods.

Last night I wanted to try taking Lugol, but I was afraid to drink it, so I put one drop on each sole. And in less than a minute I got the same reaction when I took potassium chloride!

So it seems that, for some reason, combining potassium chloride with iodine is a bad idea. And perhaps that is the reason why some people have a bad reaction on iodine. Perhaps they have too much potassium in their body which somehow reacts with iodine.

I think that this might also be a case with you because you said that prior to starting the iodine supplementation you were on ketogenic diet. And it is known that on ketogenic diet you can have electrolyte disbalance - too little sodium and too much potassium. And that is why people on ketogenic diet need extra salt.

Some people recommend taking baking soda for elevated potassium, so maybe I will try that. Or perhaps I should continue with iodine but with just one drop on my heel. I never had any bad reaction to iodine before, but now I have to be careful until I remove excess potassium.

I guess that it will be the best for you to just stop any form of iodine for 2-3 months, take regularly salted water so you can help detox and something to help your liver in this detox process. I have read all your previous posts and sometimes it is too much iodine. Just take a little break.

 

[Persej]

I guess that it will be the best for you to just stop any form of iodine for 2-3 months, take regularly salted water so you can help detox and something to help your liver in this detox process. I have read all your previous posts and sometimes it is too much iodine. Just take a little break.

In the last year I was taking one drop of 5% Lugol three times per week or less, so I don't think that my recent problems are caused by iodine. And like I said, I never had this kind of symptoms with iodine, not even with the blue version.

But the research about sodium bicarbonate led me to this article that talks about metabolic acidosis: Sodium Bicarbonate as a Therapy for Chronic Kidney Disease - Life Extension

And one of the symptoms is this:

Abnormal heart rhythms (e.g., ventricular tachycardia) and decreased response to epinephrine, both leading to low blood pressure

Metabolic acidosis - Wikipedia

Which is exactly what I have since 2013 but nobody could tell me why. Perhaps that could explain my mysterious heart problems?

Today I added sodium bicarbonate to my salted water and I had no bad reaction, so I will try taking that combination in the next days, without taking iodine, and see how I feel.

 

[Anthony]

Something interesting happened to me that I think might explain what happened to you when you started taking iodine.

About two weeks ago I decided to try to add some potassium chloride in my salted water. I was taking PC for a short period before I was on iodine protocol. I haven't felt either positive or negative reactions on it so I stopped using it.

However, after just a small sip of my salted water with potassium chloride I got a strong reaction - very fast heart beat with palms sweating and shaking and a heat in my body. Immediately I took another glass of just salted water and did vagus stimulation and the condition slowly reduced.

The next days my heart rate got reduced but I would still get other symptoms - hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness on my skin. I thought that the potassium would be naturally removed from my body but two weeks passed and I'm still getting those symptoms.

I also stopped taking any iodine in this period and was only taking salted water each day with a lot of salty foods.

Last night I wanted to try taking Lugol, but I was afraid to drink it, so I put one drop on each sole. And in less than a minute I got the same reaction when I took potassium chloride!

So it seems that, for some reason, combining potassium chloride with iodine is a bad idea. And perhaps that is the reason why some people have a bad reaction on iodine. Perhaps they have too much potassium in their body which somehow reacts with iodine.

I think that this might also be a case with you because you said that prior to starting the iodine supplementation you were on ketogenic diet. And it is known that on ketogenic diet you can have electrolyte disbalance - too little sodium and too much potassium. And that is why people on ketogenic diet need extra salt.

Some people recommend taking baking soda for elevated potassium, so maybe I will try that. Or perhaps I should continue with iodine but with just one drop on my heel. I never had any bad reaction to iodine before, but now I have to be careful until I remove excess potassium.

As far as I know, potassium has a calming effect on the CNS, and as such it probably isn't the cause of your symptoms (hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness). You could actually do more harm by trying to lower potassium. In fact your symptoms sound like bromide detox. Also, it could be that you're body is reacting to the specific form of potassium, that is chloride, and both chloride and iodine can be stimulating for the nervous system.

I've had tremors on and off since starting iodine too, and what helps is magensium citrate, potassium citrate, and avoiding calcium. Other things that should help are chromium, manganese, vitamins B1, B2, B6, and folic acid, though I still haven't tried some of these.

 

[hlat]

Today I added sodium bicarbonate to my salted water and I had no bad reaction, so I will try taking that combination in the next days, without taking iodine, and see how I feel.

Perhaps you could pause experimenting for a while and return to baseline until you feel back to normal.

 

[Persej]

As far as I know, potassium has a calming effect on the CNS, and as such it probably isn't the cause of your symptoms (hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness). You could actually do more harm by trying to lower potassium. In fact your symptoms sound like bromide detox. Also, it could be that you're body is reacting to the specific form of potassium, that is chloride, and both chloride and iodine can be stimulating for the nervous system.

If it's bromide, it is certainly in the form that I haven't experienced before. It is the combination of potassium chloride and iodine that produces these symptoms. I don't know how exactly. Perhaps potassium bromide is formed when you have excess potassium in your blood?

I've had tremors on and off since starting iodine too, and what helps is magensium citrate, potassium citrate, and avoiding calcium. Other things that should help are chromium, manganese, vitamins B1, B2, B6, and folic acid, though I still haven't tried some of these.

This product looks interesting: Basen-Pulver, 250 g

That is actually the only product in my country that contains magnesium in the form other than oxide. I will try to find it when I come back home. Since it has potassium it shouldn't lower my potassium below healthy level. But perhaps it could change my body ph, if I have that problem. In the meantime, I will continue with salted water combined with low dose sodium bicarbonate, which is interesting thing by itself. I don't think that I can do much damage with it, at least not in the short run.

Perhaps you could pause experimenting for a while and return to baseline until you feel back to normal.

That was my plan. But since after two weeks my condition haven't changed much, I decided to try something else. In the meantime, I learned that taking salt doesn't change potassium levels, but sodium bicarbonate can. So I decided to try that to see if it helps.

 

[United Gnosis]

However, after just a small sip of my salted water with potassium chloride I got a strong reaction - very fast heart beat with palms sweating and shaking and a heat in my body. Immediately I took another glass of just salted water and did vagus stimulation and the condition slowly reduced.

The next days my heart rate got reduced but I would still get other symptoms - hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness on my skin. I thought that the potassium would be naturally removed from my body but two weeks passed and I'm still getting those symptoms.

As far as I know, potassium has a calming effect on the CNS, and as such it probably isn't the cause of your symptoms (hands shaking, sweating palms, body heat and itchiness). You could actually do more harm by trying to lower potassium.

I wouldn't dare say it is not potassium overdose without tests. Numbness/tingling/itchiness and heart arrhythmia/palpitations are direct symptoms. Body heat and sweaty palms are not as commonly listed, but I don't find them so far from another main symptom, weakness/nausea - as if it were possibly only a weaker form of that symptom.

I don't know. I'm not a doctor. But even if I were, I know I wouldn't suggest a diagnosis without more data.


Btw, do you still drink coffee? As a diuretic with slight mineral-chelating properties, if you were used to it in your diet/supplementation and then were it eliminated, it is my understanding that mineral buildup might accelerate.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

 

[Persej]

Btw, do you still drink coffee? As a diuretic with slight mineral-chelating properties, if you were used to it in your diet/supplementation and then were it eliminated, it is my understanding that mineral buildup might accelerate.

Yes, I still drink coffee. But I'm also taking beta-blocker (bisoprolol) which could be the cause of my problems with potassium chloride and potassium iodide.

Good luck and please keep us in the loop!

Thank you!

 

[Persej]

Interestingly, today I've read an article that says that bananas can be dangerous for people who take beta-blockers, because they are rich with potassium and beta-blockers increase the potassium levels in blood.

On the other hand, coffee can reduce potassium levels. Sodium bicarbonate reduce potassium but only temporary, because potassium is only shifted in the body, not removed.

So I decided to continue with drinking coffee and reduce my beta-blocker intake until my symptoms reduce.

Later on I will try to buy that base powder. I found out that both carbonate and citrate minerals increase the ph level.

 

[Persej]

My condition continued to get worse with even weirder symptoms. I started to burp a lot after I eat something, even drinking water would cause burping, although not coffee. My ears would also sometimes became hot after I eat or drink something.

At one point it got so bad that I decided to try taking iodine again, because nothing else seemed to help. So I drank one drop of my new iodine tincture and I got the same symptom as before - very fast heartbeat - but after a while it slowed down and I was able to fall asleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up I felt again rapid heartbeat so I drank another drop of iodine and that calmed me again. After that I continued to drink one drop per day and that reduced my symptoms, although I am still not symptom free.

I don't know how to explain all of this. Some of these symptoms sound like Candida symptoms (for example, yeasts produces a large amount of CO2 during the fermentation process), and I still have oral thrush, so it's possible that I have Candida overgrowth that somehow increased recently.

But how does this connect with potassium?

I found this article that says that Candida loves potassium. If that's true, and Candida was eating my potassium all these years, that could explain why I had heart problems.

Potassium is one of the elements accumulated in yeast cells to high levels. Its high intracellular concentration is required for many physiological functions, such as the regulation of cell volume and cytosolic pH, the maintenance of stable potential across the plasma membrane, compensation of negative charges in many macromolecules, protein synthesis and enzyme activation (Arino, Ramos and Sychrova 2010; Cyert and Philpott 2013). Cells usually need to use high-affinity specific transporters and expend a lot of energy to acquire the necessary amount of potassium from their environment. Yeast species, including Candida albicans, intracellularly accumulate 200–300 mM potassium to ensure the proper growth and division of cells (Arino, Ramos and Sychrova 2010; Krauke and Sychrova 2010, 2011; Petrezselyova, Ramos and Sychrova 2011).

(...)

Candida albicans is a diploid species, a harmless commensal for healthy individuals and a serious pathogen for immunocompromised patients. It accounts for a large number of fungal infections not only for local mucositides but also for life-threatening organ and bloodstream candidemias. It is also believed to be responsible for most device-associated fungal infections (Motaung et al.2015). Candida albicans grows as a unicellular budding yeast, but under a broad range of conditions it can switch its morphology and form a mycelium of pseudohyphae and hyphae (Kurtzman, Fell and Boekhout 2010). To divide as a yeast or to produce long and rapidly growing hyphae, C. albicans cells must compete with their host cells for the necessary potassium, which is usually present at a few mmol/l in the host extracellular fluids, and to do this they need efficient potassium uptake systems. For example, intracellular potassium concentration was shown to be involved in the yeast-to-hyphae morphological switch of C. albicans (Watanabe et al.2006), and high concentrations of alkali metal cations were shown to affect C. albicans virulence traits such as germ tube formation, adhesion and hydrophobicity (Hermann et al.2003).

Three Candida albicans potassium uptake systems differ in their ability to provide Saccharomyces cerevisiae trk1trk2 mutants with necessary potassium

So it's possible that I fed the Candida with extra potassium and that she lies behind my health problems.

 

[nature]

Persej, in the vit C thread there are interesting infos. I read all the documents attached (especially those provided by Gaby) and learned that vit C cures also Candida. Maybe you can get rid of Candida with vit C protocole? Using various tools can be more effective than using only one

 

[Persej]

Persej, in the vit C thread there are interesting infos. I read all the documents attached (especially those provided by Gaby) and learned that vit C cures also Candida. Maybe you can get rid of Candida with vit C protocole? Using various tools can be more effective than using only one

Which thread, old one or the new one?

I started drinking cinnamon tea, they say it's also good for Candida.

But I also want to test this iodine tincture because experiments show that it is much more potent than Lugol's. At least when it comes to bacteria and viruses. Here is one such experiment on milk bacteria: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2547&context=theses

I've also read US Army study where they also confirmed that the more potassium iodide you have in iodine solution, the less killing effect you will have: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/476804.pdf

So before returning to blue iodine experiments, I'm gonna stay some time on tincture and compare it to Lugol's. It is also interesting to see how it dissolves in water, especially in water with starch. It has quite different movement that Lugol's, much more lively. I don't know if that's because of ethanol or something else.