How do Chlorine, Fluorine, and Bromine Exposure Affect Thyroid Function?
How does the exposure to chlorine affect the thyroid? In order to make thyroid hormone, the thyroid gland must have iodine. T4, T3, T2, T1, are identified by the number of iodine atoms attached to the structure. T4 has 4 iodine atoms attached, T3 has 3 atoms, and so on. The thyroid gland actively grabs onto iodine in the blood and stores it within the gland to make sure it has enough on board to make thyroid hormone when needed by the body. If you remember from your high school chemistry class, elements in the same group (or column) on the periodic table have similar chemical properties. Iodine is in a group called Halogens, along with chlorine, fluorine, and bromine. When these halogens are in the bloodstream the thyroid can’t tell the difference and will take them up and store away. The problem is these other elements can’t make functioning thyroid hormone. When thyroid hormones are made with chlorine, fluorine, or bromine, displacing iodine in the hormone’s structure, it is non-functioning. We wind up with lower thyroid hormone levels, hypothyroidism (or subclinical hypothyroidism) possibly goiters, nodules and cysts in the thyroid gland. So how do we reduce our exposure?
Chlorine
Chlorine is used as a disinfectant in our water and is effective at reducing contaminants which we want, but it has some drawbacks. When chlorine is exposed to other chemicals in the water, chemicals that come from sweat, sunscreens, urine, and other wastes, it reacts and creates chloramines. This is what you smell when you are around a chlorinated pool, or when you fill your tub with water, or get into the shower. This potent gas can cause symptoms like coughing, sinus irritation, throat irritation, skin and eye irritation, and even symptoms like wheezing and asthma. It can even cause the erosion of tooth enamel. According to the CDC, breathing in irritants may increase your sensitivity to other types of irritants such as fungi and bacteria and lead to allergies. So how can we reduce our exposure and the effects of chlorine?
Swimming Pools
Swimming is a great form of exercise and stress relief! Growing up, we spent the summers by the neighborhood pool! Anna was on the swim team and was a lifeguard for several summers in high school and college. I remember how our skin and hair would smell like chlorine all summer. Here are some steps to help reduce exposure and detox the chlorine from the skin and hair.
When possible use salt treated pools. They may still have small amounts of chlorine but not as much.
Wet hair and skin thoroughly before jumping into the pool. This helps prevent or slow down the absorption of chlorine. Your hair and skin act like a sponge for chlorine.
Use a Vitamin C solution on the skin and hair after swimming. Use 1 teaspoon of Sodium Ascorbate powder (vitamin C powder) in a small spray bottle (8oz bottle). Fill it with water and shake to dissolve (distilled water is optimal or use a bottle of water but can use water from the tap if the others are not available). After swimming, spray on the skin and hair and wait a couple of minutes before showering. Use within 24 hours after mixing because it breaks down. It is best to make this as needed. Put a teaspoon of powder in the spray bottle and take to the pool. Sodium Ascorbate if preferred over ascorbic acid of ascorbate. Ascorbic acid produces a lower pH solution which might be a little irritating. There are vitamin C swim solutions already prepared but this can be made cheaply and easily.
Add vitamin C serum to your lotion or make your own lotion with vitamin C powder added. Vitamin C is a great antioxidants for the skin.
Exfoliate your skin regularly. Try dry brushing before showering to help detox the surface of the skin and to get the lymphatic system moving to aid in detoxification of the body.
Bath Water
When chlorinated water is heated, like the hot water that comes from your shower or bath, it creates byproducts that we can inhale and that can be absorbed through the skin. We actually absorb as much chlorine from bathing as from drinking chlorinated water. Sometimes even more! When chlorinated water is heated it vaporizes more quickly and we inhale more of the gas. Byproducts produced are chemicals like Trihalomethanes or THM’s (that would include chloroform that increase free radical production, speed aging, and have been linked to cancer and found in high amounts in women with breast cancer). How do you reduce your exposure in the bath?
Use a shower filter that filters out chlorine. We use a Berkey shower filter. For a bath, fill the tub from the shower head instead of the faucet so the water can be filtered.
Use a teaspoon of vitamin C powder (sodium ascorbate powder) in the bath water if you can’t use filtered shower water to fill the tub. There are also filter balls that can be placed into the bath water that can be swirled around to reduce the chlorine in the water before bathing.
Take shorter, showers and use cooler water.
Drinking Water
Before purchasing a water filter, we researched all options that were available. Reverse osmosis filters remove chlorine, fluoride and other contaminants but also remove beneficial minerals from the water. It wastes lots of water too. Pitcher types are not very effective and are usually made out of plastics and need to be avoided. That’s another blog! We like the Berkey filter and the Berkey shower filter. They are great at removing chlorine and a fluoride filter can also be added to remove fluoride, remember it is a halogen and competes with iodine for space in the thyroid. Use the filtered water to fill your glass or stainless steel water bottles instead of buying bottled water.
Safe Cleaning Products
Avoid using laundry products and cleaning products that contain chlorine. The chlorine gas created, adds to the toxic burden inside your home. The inside of your home can be more polluted than the air outside due in part to the products we use. Choose non-toxic products that clean and kill viruses and bacteria just as well. Use essential oils for cleaning household surfaces. Contact us for our suggestions on how to reduce the toxins inside your home.
Fluorine and Bromine
Fluorine
Fluorine is found in drinking water and in toothpastes in the form of fluoride. A dose of 2 - 5 mg of fluoride was found to be effective in suppressing an overactive thyroid. By drinking 8 glasses of tap water where fluoride has been added, you are inadvertently taking in enough fluoride to suppress your thyroid. Most adults drinking fluorinated drinking water take in between 1.6 - 6.6 mg of fluoride a day. Many bottled waters use tap water and contain fluoride. It can also be found in canned food, rock salt, black tea, green tea, supplements and some medications. Using a fluoride filter that can be found with the Berkey filters helps reduce the amount you are consuming from your drinking water. Use natural fluoride free toothpaste. Change to white tea or herbal teas to reduce your fluoride exposure.
Bromine
Bromine is found in pesticides, plastics, bakery goods, soda, mediations, fire retardants, bromine based hot tub and swimming pool treatments. Brominated vegetable oil is added to citrus drinks to help keep the flavoring suspended in the drink. Strawberries that are not organic have pesticides that use methyl bromide. Potassium bromate is used in baked goods as a dough conditioner. Avoid baked goods that use bromated flour or flour that contains potassium bromate. In 1982, researchers in Japan showed that potassium bromate causes thyroid cancer in mice. Potassium bromate is illegal in Europe, Canada and Brazil but still allowed in the U.S.
Supplements That Can Help
Vitamin C
Methylated B vitamins (methyl folate, methyl cobalamin) avoid the synthetic ones like folic acid and cyanocobalamin.
Eat sea vegetables and wild caught seafood’s to insure you have plenty of iodine in your body. Consider a multivitamin and multimineral with iodine.
Take a supplement that activates the Nrf2 Pathway to increase your own body’s antioxidants like glutathione, SOD and Catalase to help your body detox these halogens. See us for more information on the ones we use.
Eat organic vegetables and organic, pasture raised, wild caught proteins.
Reduce your body’s toxic burden daily in order to allow your body to get rid of the toxins that are present.
Helping your thyroid function optimally is not just about doing one thing. It’s about changing your thinking and cleaning up your diet and lifestyle to become healthier. It is never too late to learn about a new way!! We are here to help!!
