Jul 2, 2008
Health Benefits of Indium
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Yet another health supplement hits the streets, this time in the form of indium sulfate. Apparently, it “is a rare trace mineral that supports several hormonal systems in the body. Indium may strongly elevate immune activity and reduce the severity and duration of a myriad of human conditions.” That’s according to the NaturalHealthConsult.com website, which goes on to claim that the element will “normalize the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain.”
The site explains, that “As the conductor of various studies on indium, Dr. Schroeder (the scientist best known for inventing the means to take lead out of gasoline) found that possibly the most important function of Indium is to normalize the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain.”
Well, the late Henry A. Schroeder of Dartmouth Medical School, a leading toxicologist, spent years highlighting the problems of lead toxicity, but did not as far as I know despite the wording of the quote above, develop a method for removing lead from gasoline. Why would you need to do that? The petrochemical companies used to add tetraethyl lead as an antiknocking agent, so the simplest method for its “removal” is just not to add it in the first place.
Tetraethyllead was first added to gasoline in 1923 and it quickly became obvious that workers at the three manufacturing plants were becoming psychotic and dying from its toxic effects. The issue was essentially hushed up and “research” between 1926 and 1965 claimed a consensus that lead was only a problem at high exposure levels and atmospheric lead from vehicle exhausts was not a problem at all. We now know different, thanks partly to the efforts of Schroeder.
Meanwhile, back to indium. Elemental discoveries are a boon to any marketeer, especially if you can convince consumers to buy, buy, buy. A document entitled: “Patented Indium Trace Element in Marketing Form Available for License” suggests how this can be so
There are 3 questions that a company should ask when considering the addition of a new product for its product line:
- What is it that I can sell abundantly, at a high profit and worldwide, exclusively?
- Why will my customers want to continue to use it, daily, for the rest of their lives?
- How will my customers be able to afford to use it daily, all of their lives, continuously?
It then tells us how these pertain to indium (In, element 49) and how a clever marketer might exploit the patent on the health benefits of indium.
So, where do the supposed health benefits of indium come from or is it just a marketing scam? What about those claims that it affects the activity of glands in the brain. Well, indium is an element in the same group of the periodic table as boron, aluminium, and gallium, oh and thallium, so one would not expect it to be particularly beneficial or even essential to health. Indeed, aluminium is a neurotoxin.
However, Schroeder, towards the end of his life, wheelchair bound with muscular dystrophy, included indium in some of his last few experiments. He apparently, demonstrated that lab animals, on lifetime indium, had fewer cancers than controls. Other than references to the use of indium in imaging agents, I can find nothing in the medical literature regarding the positive health benefits of daily supplementation with indium, not then, not now.
Yet, the web is littered with so-called health food sites selling indium sulfate to unwitting consumers, presumably, exploiting that marketing guidance I found on at least one site. However, there is one site to which I shall refer you and that is the webelements site from Sheffield University’s Mark Winter. the entry for indium explains that depending on dose (by injection):
All indium compounds should be regarded as highly toxic. Indium compounds damage the heart, kidney and liver, and may be teratogenic
So, who do you trust most, a health website hoping to get repeat sales based on your fears of poor health as you get older, or a well-respected site from a leading research team at a top university? I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be ingesting an indium compound daily for the rest of my life in the vague hope that represents some undiscovered panacea, that would just be bad medicine
This item originally published July 25, 2005, was overhauled and updated on July 2, 2008.
David Bradley
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June 13th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Merck Index – 9th edition (page 655)
4829 – Indium… Indium salts are relatively non-toxic when administered orally; highly toxic when administered subcutaneously or intravenously.
4835 Indium, Sulfate (Indium salt that used in most health supplements)
MLD [Minimum Lethal Dose] in rabbits: 1.8 g / kg orally.
This is approximately 6.3 oz for 220 lbs
Other Indium compounds (e.g. Telluride, Trichloride) are very poisonous.
Typical supplements contain 1 milligram Indium Sulfate per drop.
Dosage of 4 drops per day yields insignificant evidence of dosage beneficial or detrimental effect on the human body.
While Indium Sulfate is relatively harmless the base purity of the Indium used is critical. Indium typically has trace level impurities of lead, cadmium, or nickel.
Indium claims to increase red blood cell oxygenation, increases glandular Manganese, Zinc and Copper. Indium poisoning induce cell necrosis usually involving blood, liver, kidney and heart.
Indium Sulfate has an HMIS rating of 2.
HMIS – Hazardous Materials Identification System
The 2 rating mean: Temporary or minor injury may occur
May 26th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Lucky…I’ve got no interest in quoting the drug cartels, the FDA runs the show in another country as far as I’m concerned, but I’m afraid the so-called “holistic” way of life is a myth. I am all for avoiding unnecessary drugs and for exercising, eating good quality food, and finding plenty of time to relax. If that’s what you mean by holistic, then sure…but I am afraid there is little distinction between taking a herbal remedy or other “alternative” supplement and a pharma drug, except that pharma drugs will have had some degree of toxicology and testing, whereas you’re taking it on trust that a random concoction of herbs and heavy metals is not going to do you harm.
I Googled Stemulite and find all kinds of fanciful ideas about it being a natural alternative to steroids…well…there’s nothing more natural than testosterone, just because a product gets tagged with natural, herbal, and holistic doesn’t mean it’s perfect. There are no panaceas in alt med nor conventional medicine.
My mantra would be to avoid ingesting anything that isn’t food or drink. Supplements, herbals, tonics, tinctures, pharma products, all of it. Unless you’re life depends on it, of course, or the benefits strongly outweigh the risks.
May 26th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I was doing my own research on Stemulite and Indium ( the main ingredient ) when I ran across this site. After reading the last 32 post I have to laugh. Everyone of you that left a post are trying to convince David that Indium is safe to take. Clearly he does NOT believe in the Holistic way of life as he quoted the bi-laws of the drug cartels in his article ( FDA and Pharmaceutical companies ) Find a book titled “The Calling of An Angel” and read it.There you will learn about Essiac Tea and the truth about the FDA. Be advised this book is on the Goverment watch list. As for as Indium the FDA has approved its use in Stemulite. If you want to take it, do your own research then make a decision. Do or Do Not. As for me I am taking it. I am 51 years old and I am a corporate pilot. I take a flight physical every six months and an EKG one a year. I havent lost my medical yet. Need I say more about Indium.
May 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
@Bill What a great rational response…I don’t think I ever advocated anyone taking pharmaceutical drugs for the sake of it. But, people should be warned, that just because they think of something as natural, vitamin or mineral doesn’t mean that there are no side-effects. It’s an ignorant attitude and a stupid stance to take. After all, what’s so natural about a synthetic indium salt compacted into a tablet?
May 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
It´s so toxic !! I think you should see a doctor before you get many side-effect and will end at hospital. Indium will kill you: The only thing thats good for you is pharmaceutical-drugs ,forget vitamins and minerals they will not help you.
Long live Pharmaceutical drugs!!!