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Subject:
From:
Susan Burger <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:48:22 -0400
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Dear all:

My doctoral dissertation topic was supposed to be on interventions for iodine deficiency.  So, 
given the recent post about increases in iodine deficiency I thought I'd put in my 0.02 ml.  on the 
topic.

First, most competitive inhibitors of iodine uptake can be overridden by increasing the intake of 
iodine.  One of the worst was thiocyanate which was metabolized from eating a particular type of 
cassave in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other adjoining counries.  This interfered with 
iodine uptake and exacerbated an existing problem of lack of iodine in the soil.  The area in the 
north east was a basin where the natural content was low.  The midwest also suffers from this 
problem.  Essentially, if the iodine content of the soil had not been a problem, the thiocyanate 
would have had a very minimal impact on the extent of iodine deficiency.  Ditto for most other 
competitive inhibitors. 

On a worldwide scale the more important problem regarding than the usually relatively minor 
impact of competiative inhibitors is the washing out of the iodine in the soil from environmental 
degradation.  The more washing away of the soil, the more likely it is that the natural iodine 
content in the soil will be lost. And in some areas, the iodine content was too low to support 
healthy thyroid function in a proportion of the population even before the degradation occurred.  
Flood plains and mountains used to be the cites of deficiency.  That has now expanded.

I am not surprised that this is being paid attention to in Australia.  Australia has a large group of 
endocrinologists who have studied iodine deficiency in sheep and also in Papua New Guinea and 
other nearby locales where it is endemic.  

Iodine in breast milk is fairly consistent with the iodine levels in mom.

As has already been pointed out, you can have thyroid shutdown and iodine deficiency symptoms 
in those who have been subjected to an excess of iodine as well.  The primary location where this 
occurs is Japan.

The US currently has an overload of iodine in our diet even though soil content is low in the 
MidWest.  Some of the endocrinologists in the US insisted this was due to the use of iodine to 
wash out dairy farm equipment.  I read some pretty strange studies in my day about the 
absorption of iodine from vaginal douches.

Best, Susan Burger

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