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Black Walnut Iodine

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posted 1 year ago

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Hello all,

I have heard several herbal reports and blogs repeat that Black Walnut husks can be made into a tincture to utilize their iodine content. Supposedly, it is said that it is used as a means to prevent the utilization of radioactive iodine by the body when exposed to radiation; it is painted on the knee for effective uses.

However, I have never been able to find a single scientific source stating any iodine content at all, even with comprehensive papers listing chemical constituents for the green husks (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6719079/ or https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fsn3.385). Does anyone have any experience with these tinctures or know of any authoritative sources on this matter? I'm guessing that the staining and various sanitization properties of the husks have led to the conclusion that iodine is present, or at least iodine-like properties. Similar to the debate of whether Sphagnum Moss contains iodine.

All the best,
Eric S.

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Douglas Alpenstock

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posted 1 year ago

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This is a tough one.

The sources I find casually cite anecdotal evidence from unknown people, after the Chernobyl radiation release in Ukraine. And then a recipe for black walnut tincture, to be applied on the knee. Hmm. Well I saw it on the intnernet, from multiple sources quoting each other, so it must be true!

It does seem that black walnut husk has all sorts of amazing and useful natural compounds. Incredible potential! And I wouldn't be surprised if there are folk preparations utilitzing this for genuine medical benefits, and it's not all placebo/wishful thinking.

However, my thoughts are that Eric has called it correctly -- the claim that black walnut tincture can protect the thyroid against radioactive iodine from nuclear accidents/weapons is talisman woo-woo.

People in zones where a nuclear accident is possible will have access to proper iodine compounds that flood the thyroid to prevent uptake of radioactive material. These are stockpiled, by law. This because thyroid cancer, absent of a robust medical and pharma supply ecosystem, is essentially fatal. Personally I would not trust a folk remedy from the internet in this situation. My 2c.

Eric Silveira

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posted 1 year ago

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I appreciate the input Douglas!

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Stanley Valinskas

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posted 1 year ago

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I just ate a black walnut that had wet husk bits still on it,it had a very strong iodine taste.had to spit it out,made my teeth hurt a bit also.

Mimi Blender

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posted 10 months ago

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I am an Endocrinologist, here's how it goes: green walnut peel stains your fingers brown. Someone way back noticed it looks like Lugol or betadine.
From here someone else thought IT IS iodine, - but it's not.....

It's an urban legend in Eastern Europe ("snake oil"). How can a 200 yo walnut tree find and pump yearly huge amounts of iodine in an iodine depleted area???

The brown stain is tannins used to process leather, and there is no iodine there.

If you ever find walnut tincture with iodine, someone added it (and it was not in the original walnul peel). As a specialist, I heard this from my Professor in the 90's and maked perfect sense.....

Eino Kenttä

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posted 10 months ago

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Anyways, if you want a herbal product with high iodine content, most any edible seaweed will serve. Iodine was actually first discovered as an element in seaweed ash... Of course, seaweed has the drawback of only being freely available along the coasts.

Eric Silveira

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posted 10 months ago

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I appreciate the input Mimi and Eino. My confusion over how a woodland walnut tree in a standard terrestrial environment could create iodine-containing husks is what prompted me to make this thread. It is good to hear that from a specialist. Also, the mention of seaweed is another fantastic idea, that's generally what I turn to for iodine sources too.

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Blaine Clark

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posted 8 months ago

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Not iodine related. I've made Black Walnut Vinaigrette and Black Walnut Liquor. Vinaigrette was good but I wasted a fifth of good vodka on the Liquor.
Both are made the same. Pick the Walnuts before they harden, wash well and quarter them with a cleaver or hatchet, hull included. Pack the pieces into a jar and cover with either vinegar, not distilled, or vodka. Set aside, out of sunlight at room temperature. Shake well every day for about six weeks. Taste occasionally to see how strong it's getting. Filter the pieces out and let the filtered liquid stand for at least six months in a dark cabinet or pantry.
The vinaigrette is good on salads and some say on ice cream. For me, salad was good but the ice cream ... blech.
The liquor ... as I said, I wasted a good bottle of vodka. It's supposed to be a nice sipping drink. Not for us!!

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greg mosser

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posted 8 months ago

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there are definitely some bitter notes in the walnuts, and drinks made with them aren’t for everyone…but…it sounds like your recipe was just vodka and unripe walnuts? i’m not surprised that some folks would find that kind of nasty. nocino, the italian liqueur made with unripe walnuts, also usually has things like citrus peel or zest, and importantly, some kind of sugar in it - which makes it a lot more approachable for some.

Brody Ekberg

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posted 5 months ago

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Mimi Blender wrote:I am an Endocrinologist, here's how it goes: green walnut peel stains your fingers brown. Someone way back noticed it looks like Lugol or betadine.
From here someone else thought IT IS iodine, - but it's not.....

It's an urban legend in Eastern Europe ("snake oil"). How can a 200 yo walnut tree find and pump yearly huge amounts of iodine in an iodine depleted area???

The brown stain is tannins used to process leather, and there is no iodine there.

If you ever find walnut tincture with iodine, someone added it (and it was not in the original walnul peel). As a specialist, I heard this from my Professor in the 90's and maked perfect sense.....

This is a bummer! I was just telling my wife i should make more black walnut hull tincture for its anti microbial properties and for iodine. I too struggled to find much solid information on the internet.
I question the anti microbial, antiviral and anti parasitic properties as well. Id love to believe they’re real so I could use the hulls for us and the chickens, but without solid studies who knows!

Anyone have suggestions on what to do with the random small amount of nuts that drop daily before the healthy ones all ripen? We’re picking up a half dozen a day and trying to find a use for them. If we can harvest a bunch at once Ill process and store them but not going to do a few every day. Can i just throw them in a bucket and make a wood stain out of them after they get all nasty?

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Thom Bri

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posted 5 months ago

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Brody Ekberg wrote:

Mimi Blender wrote:

Anyone have suggestions on what to do with the random small amount of nuts that drop daily before the healthy ones all ripen? We’re picking up a half dozen a day and trying to find a use for them. If we can harvest a bunch at once Ill process and store them but not going to do a few every day. Can i just throw them in a bucket and make a wood stain out of them after they get all nasty?

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greg mosser

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posted 5 months ago

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the early drops have pretty hard hulls that don’t break down very quickly, and don’t have nuts that fill out fully. not worth the trouble of messing with them generally.

Brody Ekberg

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posted 5 months ago

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greg mosser wrote:the early drops have pretty hard hulls that don’t break down very quickly, and don’t have nuts that fill out fully. not worth the trouble of messing with them generally.

Not for making a dye or wood stain or anything?

Michael Qulek

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posted 5 months ago

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Intuitively, I have to ask, if this is protection from the fallout of radioative iodine, it seems likely that any iodine coming from a natural source would be contaminated from the same fallout iodine that you are trying to protect yourself from. So, if you are trying to enrich iodine from walnut, you'd be concentrating the same radioactive iodine to put in your system.

Eino Kenttä

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Michael Qulek wrote:Intuitively, I have to ask, if this is protection from the fallout of radioative iodine, it seems likely that any iodine coming from a natural source would be contaminated from the same fallout iodine that you are trying to protect yourself from. So, if you are trying to enrich iodine from walnut, you'd be concentrating the same radioactive iodine to put in your system.

Well, if one was taking iodine to protect oneself from the radiation that's already spread in the wider environment, that would be the case. But I think iodine supplementation for radiation protection is mainly used acutely, in the event of meltdown of nuclear reactors (or nuclear warfare I suppose...) in which case you could save up seaweed or other iodine-rich stuff in advance to prepare. Also, from what I understand quite a lot of people suffer from low-key iodine deficiency, especially in inland areas (surprise, surprise) so radiation protection isn't the only reason to want more iodine.

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