Black Walnut Hulls – a Potent Source of Protective Iodine
Iodine is required by almost every living organism to some degree. Although elemental iodine is toxic in large amounts, it has been widely used for centuries for its antiseptic properties. For this reason, kelp and other ocean-faring plants are often consumed as rich organic sources of iodine due to the high concentration of iodine in seawater. Iodine is required to produce the thyroid hormone and a deficiency can result in the onset of goiters, chronic fatigue, depression, and possibly mental impairment. Once in the body, iodine affixes itself to harmful bacteria and reduces the bacteria’s life span.
A rich source of organic iodine
Black walnut hulls have a well-deserved reputation as a potent vermifuge and anti-parasitical remedy, but they are also a rich source of organic iodine, and can provide important nourishment for the thyroid, especially in the interior parts of the country where sea vegetables are hard to come by.
The active principle of the black walnut tree and that of the nuts is Nucin or Juglone. The kernels contain oil, mucilage, albumin, mineral matter, cellulose, and water. Black walnut is a significant source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, sulfur, copper, and silica. The nutmeats are a rich source of essential fatty acids. Iodine is present in all usable parts of the black walnut, but the highest concentration is in the outer hulls of the nuts.
Black walnut is high in bio-assimilable iodide
Black walnut tincture is high in the bio-assimilable plant form of iodide. The iodine contained in black walnut hulls is an oxidizing agent. This means it acts as an electrolyte that upsets the cellular balance of any bacteria or other microbial it comes in contact with.
Black walnut tincture was employed therapeutically during the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown. Patients were wiped down with iodine tincture or black walnut tincture. The iodine in the two tinctures was absorbed into the body through the skin. Testing later showed that the patients who had been “painted” with black walnut or iodine tinctures were just as protected against radiation exposure as the patients who took potassium iodide (SSKI).
References
Discovery News.com, “Radiation From Japan Plant is Seeping Into Pacific”
http://news.discovery.com/earth/
United States Department of Energy.gov, “Iodine As an Antiseptic” http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/