Rocket Fuel & Perchlorates: The Antidote

When you do a Google search for Rocket fuel, you find lots of interesting information and a few unexpected little gems. Apparently there are recipes for Rocket fuel chicken that can be spiced up to be Mexican or Thai. In case you're wondering, they don't add rocket fuel, that's just the catchy and fun name for the culinary masterpieces out there.

Some of my friends call their favorite energy drink, Red Bull, "Rocket fuel". In fact, one of them is an engineer who works for the Department of defense on missiles and rockets. No, we're not talking about Red Bull, but coincidentally, we are talking about real rocket fuel.

Perchlorate, aka Rocket Fuel, is a component of fireworks, munitions and yes, rocket fuel. It can also be found in certain fertilizers from Chile. Back in 2004, and 2005, researchers began to develop more sensitive tests to detect tiny and minute amounts of perchlorate in drinking water and guess what, this stuff is everywhere. Holy, guacamole. Read on, because it's an interesting reminder of how interconnected everything is.

Drinking water, milk and lettuce were tested, as was human breast milk. What was surprising was that in some cases the levels of perchlorates in breast milk was 5 times that seen in the milk you could by off the shelf in the dairy section.

Some areas of the country had very high levels of perchlorates in the water supply and in the soil. Areas of the country, where rockets get recycled, whatever that means, or areas where rocket fuel is manufactured, had higher levels, as you might expect. The problem is, some of those areas are out west where lots of people live. And, this stuff seeps into the ground water and into the grass that the cows eat. As I read more, it became apparent, that milk and water from every part of the country was affected, and it started to dawn on me that this stuff is everywhere.

How dangerous is it? Well, perchlorates can interfere with how our thyroid glands function. Here's the key, IF and it's a big IF, we don't get enough iodine in our diets, then perchlorates can be dangerous. Thankfully, if people have adequate iodine in their diets, from getting iodized salt or from eating the seaweed wrappers on sushi, or eating fish or shellfish they should have plenty of iodine to counteract any potential effect of perchlorates on their thyroid glands. As a reminder, pregnant women should avoid eating all raw fish or fish that could be high in mercury, Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel and Tilefish. The iodine counteracts the perchlorates, which is a big relief.

Recently a report was issued by the CDC. Samples they took of baby formula from back in 2006 were found to have detectable levels of perchlorate. I don't know why, but they waited until last week to announce it. Go figure? Thanks guys, love the scary headlines that make my patients run to the phones in panic. Some of my patients found out that perchlorates were also found in breast milk. Was anything safe?

What wasn't said, and this is why it's good to read beyond the scary, provocative headlines, is that the key here is to get adequate iodine. You knew that, because it's up there in the 5th paragraph. So, because perchlorates are everywhere, and until we can convince the lawmakers to disclose how much is where and what are safe amounts, make sure you and your family get adequate iodine to protect your thyroid gland from any harmful effects of this component of rocket fuel.

Get the sushi roll, and if you're pregnant, go for the cooked sushi, use iodized salt, and check your multivitamin to make sure it has iodine in it. (The salt in and on packaged foods, like chips and pretzels isn't iodized.)

I hope this helps put the current scary headlines in perspective. These chemicals can be found in tap water, in milk, in breast milk and in formula. Luckily, infant formulas contain iodine already, which protects babies and their developing thyroid glands. Mothers who are breastfeeding should make sure that their prenatal vitamin has iodine in it, and get iodized salt. For parents of older kids, make sure you're using iodized salt at home and look for a vitamin, like Flintstone gummies with iodine in it. That's what I take.

Comments

[ohiostate]

Finally a balanced view! I am so tired of the sensationalized headlines that the media uses to create a frenzy. Is perchlorate something we should look at and potentially be concerned with – absolutely. However, I think the media did a disservice to the public with the handling of this issue. Creating panic in order to sell news is irresponsible. Thank you Barb!

[Barbara Dehn - Huffpost Blogger]

These comments are a great help. We all need to be better informed about the risks of perchlorate and how to counteract the possible effects.
I'm looking for more guidance from the FDA and EPA about how to advise people who are worried. What kinds of information and advice can you provide? thanks

[Perchlorateguy]

For expecting mothers, especially vegans, there is some reason for immediate concern. Most perchlorate intake is from leafy vegetables, and most iodide intake (and the second-largest source of perchlorate) is from dairy. Pregnant vegans might want to chose iodide and vitamin B12 supplementation. Some perchlorate-rich items: 1. Nopales (opuntia cactus leaves). Iodide = ocean, perchlorate = desert. Yes Mexicans have been eating nopales forever, and yes Hispanics have amongst the highest rates of thyroid birth defects in California. 2. Over at the redneck portion of the ethnic rainbow, a potent source of perchlorate is chewing tobacco grown with Chilean nitrate. OK, you don't swallow the stuff but the perchlorate is a salt that diffuses out into your saliva and stomach. Speaking of redneck, brominated citrus oil used in soft drinks like Mountain Dew, Wink, Fresca etc. have the same competitive inhibition effect on iodide that perchlorate is being criticized for. 3. Green leafy vegetables, especially from Latin America because they are much more likely to be fertilized with Chilean nitrate. Any food high in nitrate is also likely to have perchlorate in it -- lettuce, kale, etc. Fruit-wise cantaloupe is prominent. I'd wager US perchlorate body burdens fluctuate with consumption of off-season winter produce. 4. In the past organic produce was rich in perchlorate, but Chilean nitrate fertilizer has been kicked off the approved organics list.

[ThyroidAdvocate]

Re: Iodine in Prenatal Vitamins

Barbara mentioned taking prenatal vitamins with iodine, and it brings up an important point. Unfortunately, prenatal vitamins -- including prescription prenatal vitamins -- have about a 50-50 chance of not having any iodine at all in them.

And even if they have iodine, it may not be enough, or may not deliver the level of iodine claimed on the label, according to recent studies.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/hormonepregnantmenopause1/a/prenatalvitamin.htm

Pregnant and breastfeeding women need to be very careful to choose a vitamin that has the right type and amount of iodine.

This is especially critical during pregnancy, when, apart from the issue of helping to block perchlorate, iodine is essential for the pregnant woman's ability to product thyroid hormone. Since a baby's developing thyroid is incapable of producing hormone for the first trimester, the mother's thyroid is producing "hormone for two." A deficiency of thyroid hormone during early pregnancy can cause cognitive problems for the developing baby, or even cause miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labor.

-- Mary Shomon
Thyroid Patient Advocate, Author
http://www.thyroid-info.com
http://thyroid.about.com

[ThyroidAdvocate]

While I applaud Barbara's coverage of this subject here on HuffPo, as someone who's written about thyroid and perchlorate for 10+ years, I wanted to clarify and expand on a few topics.

First, perchlorate is not "aka Rocket Fuel" -- they aren't synonymous or equivalent terms. Perchlorate is a byproduct of rocket fuel production, and a chemical found in fertilizers, among other sources.

Second, studies have not shown that iodine fully protects against perchlorate's thyroid-damaging potential. It also depends on the form of iodine. Iodine is best absorbed when it is a combination of iodine and iodide -- a form rarely found in typical vitamins, and certainly not in iodized salt.

Iodine can also have negative health effects. Studies have found that 20% of the US population is iodine deficient, others say the deficiency is more widespread, so it's controversial. But for some, adding iodine can trigger, aggravate or worsen your thyroid condition.

We can start taking more iodine (with its associated risks) as a stopgap measure to try to protect against perchlorate, but we need the EPA and the Administration to finally take the issue of perchlorate contamination -- and the need for mandatory cleanup -- seriously, after years of protecting the defense industry companies that did the contamination in the first place.

-- Mary Shomon
Thyroid Patient Advocate, Author
http://www.thyroid-info.com
http://thyroid.about.com

[Perchlorateguy]

Not so fast on prescribing the iodide, Ms. Dehn. Both perchlorate and iodide are chaotropic anions, i.e. they keep proteins from coagulating. Sometimes you want things to coagulate in your body, like delicate parts of your immune system. The adverse effects of over-consumption of chaotropic anions are well-documented in the medical literature (see iododerma, bromoderma, bromism). Let's allow the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Perchlorate Ingestion to sort these things out before we make the universal assumption that iodide = good, perchlorate = bad.

http://www.perchlorate.org