HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 20, 4 September 1946, Page 3

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

lODINE AND GOITRE (By the Department of Health) The element iodine was discovered in 1811 by Courtois. He experimented with salts of the element,-giving them to human beings. It was noticed that goitres sometimes grew less in size, or stopped causing symptoms. The ancient Greeks many centuries before had used burst sponges as a treatment for goitre. It is now known these contained iodine. In 1895 Baumann demonstrated that iodine was present normally in the body and particularly in the thyroid gland, and that there was less iodine than usual in the thyroid gland when there was a simple goitre. In 1915 Kendall isolated thyroxine from the thyroid gland; this chemical contains 60 per cent, of iodine. Since then these facts are established. The body needs every day a tiny quantity of iodine if life is to be maintained. If we get some but not enough iodine, an enlargement of the thyroid gland, called a goitre, occurs. If we get too much iodine every day, the goitre will cause symptoms and become toxic in type, or we will get iodine poisoning—a ’flu-like attack, headaches, wasting, skin rashes. lodine is essential to health, but too much is harmful. In New Zealand our soils vary in the amount of iodine, and foodstuffs produced thereon differ accordingly in iodine content. Our general average of soil iodine is low and hence our food shows a poor general average of iodine. Working on these facts it was nationally agreed to iodise our salt and supply the average deficiency that way, and at the same time advocate the use of as much sea food as possible, and cod liver oil. The result seems good. The importation of iodised salt is rising and the amount of simple goitre is falling. So it seems wise and safe to urge you to use iodised salt—about a teaspoon for all purposes —each day, or two teaspoons of seameal if you will not use iodised salt. You should use one or the other to prevent simple goitre: