iodized salt

[Guest guest]

dear Jagannath and

this issue is the prevalence of goiter (euthyroid) in India (55

million, 150 million at risk), which is related to a deficiency of

iodine - iodine of course is the most important rate-limiting factor in

thyroxine synthesis - as a result of a thyroxine deficiency a feedback

loop stimulates thyroid activity, eventually causing it to swell in

size, which of course doesn't correct the underlying problem - a good

example of how homeostatic mechanisms sometimes don't work despite

themselves...

 

people that live inland and don't eat fish or sea vegetables or go

swimming in the sea are at risk of an iodine deficiency because iodine

is not found in significant amounts in non-coastal regions

 

it is thought that primarily vegetarian groups eating an unrefined diet

(w/o iodization), with an emphasis upon legumes and cruciferous

vegetables (especially in in-land regions) are at a dramatically higher

risk for iodine deficiencies and goiter

 

see: Ikeda T, Nishikawa A, Imazawa T, Kimura S, Hirose M 2000. Dramatic

synergism between excess soybean intake and iodine deficiency on the

development of rat thyroid hyperplasia. Carcinogenesis 2000

Apr;21(4):707-13

 

iodine deficiencies cause a decrease in the basal metabolic rate,

promote goiter, and in pregnant and lactating women cause cretinism in

infants, a condition marked by irreversible mental retardation

 

this is a serious health issue that can't be explained away according

to conspiracy theories

 

the problem is that the Indian government has chosen to take a

paternalistic attitude to the problem - social engineering on a mass

scale, albeit for altruistic reasons

 

a more holistic solution would be to increase the consumption of not

just sea salt, of which you would have to consume an unrealistic amount

to get sufficient iodine, but to introduce the practice of eating

various sea foods - however, there are obvious logistical problems, and

how are you going to communicate this effectively to simple rural

people that have never really eaten sea foods and probably aren't going

to start all that soon - thus, the solution of iodizing the salt

 

of course there are issues related to iodized salt, namely, its

overconsumption, which can paradoxically suppress thyroid function as

well (fast foods are notorious sources of excess salt and as a result

excess iodine) - further, some critics complain that inorganic iodine

is metabolized differently than organic sources

 

but there is no easy solution, and we cannot dismiss out of hand the

reasons for iodizing salt (an iodized sea salt would be a better

choice...)

 

 

best... todd caldecott (who does not eat iodized salt, but regularly

consumes seafood...)

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

hi Jagannath

 

i am not sure where you are getting your information on this, but there

are many examples of medicaments that are generally given to healthy

people to prevent disease in ayurveda, e.g. taking haritkaki with

different anupana for each season to cleanse the dhatus, enhance agni

and support ojas - this is because there is an overlap between food

and medicine, e.g. some may find mulligatawny soup quite tasty, but

obviously has medicinal properties too when you have excess kapha or

agni is weak

 

as far as the medical profession and their opinion of iodized salt, i

would say the vast majority support iodization of salt, and they have

good data on their side simply by pointing to the prevalence of goiter

and cretinism in places where iodization is mandatory

 

i am not convinced that iodized salt causes autoimmune thyroiditis -

but i still don't think its good for you and prefer natural, organic

iodine sources - but we need to counter the arguments logically, and

come up with workable ideas that benefit everybody instead of just

argument - an activist also needs to have a solution borne out of their

love and respect of their fellow humans - to live in the heart and not

just the mind - how would you defend your stance to a mother whose baby

is brain damaged because she didn't get enough iodine?

 

anyway, i would like to hear thoughts on why iodine deficiency has

become so acute in certain regions of India like the himalayas? (i read

upwards of 66% in some locales)

 

is it a loss of traditional trade practices with coastal peoples? has

it always existed but now is more evident because of a proportionate

increase in population? are there local iodine-rich foods that are no

longer being consumed? i would investigate it myself but am too busy

currently and am hoping somebody might shed some light on this

 

best... todd

 

On 22-Sep-05, at 5:53 AM, ayurveda wrote:

 

> Dear Dr Durgesh,

>

> Namaste. In holistic systems of medicine such as ayurveda it is not

> the method to give medicines to healthy people. Nor does it advocate

> a mass method of treatment preferring to judge each patient on

> individual merit. So the principle of introducing mass use of iodised

> salt, or iron fortified salt, or even antibiotic laced salt

> is not an ayurvedic method of treatment. If you are so aware on the

> subject then you must also know that iodised salt can cause deep

> distress to many patients with thyroid disorders and that modern

> medical practitioners have themselves cautioned against this. Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

Dear

 

The way it is made out in the media, you would expect every othe

Indian to have goitre. However that is not the case. You find goitre

cases only among villagers battling severe malnutrition problems thus

indicting that they are not receiving iodine naturally from food.

Therefore the attention should be on the eradication of poverty and

not on iodised salt.

 

There is a lot of politics too within this. Hoping that the

Government would ban common salt many big industrial houses have

invested heavily in salt processing factories. They are hard hit if

they cannot penetrate rural areas who still buy common salt.

 

Medicines cannot solve all problems, proper education, equitable

distribution of wealth, employment oppurtunities, better family

bonding and support and making available healthy organic food however

can solve many of our problems. This should be our approach. Instead

today we have an industry driven pill popping culture.

 

Regards,

Jagannath.

[Guest guest]

Hi guys just a thought, Could it not be that kelp supplementation could

acheive the desired result instead of the iodized salt.

Often in these salts a free flow agent is added usually a phosphate based

additive which causes its own problems.

I have been enjoying all the different auguments put forth about this salt

issue and find it positive to share all our own views and broaden our

thinking.

Peace

Nathan Coxsen

[Guest guest]

there are quite a few people that are allergic to kelp

and it can react in certain health conditions (my

mother experienced this and as did a few others).

Also rural india doesn't really have kelp accessible,

and the cost of importing it would be very

prohibitive.

 

 

> Could it not be that kelp supplementation could acheive the desired result

instead of the iodized salt.

[Guest guest]

Actually, iodine is more useful in the case of

hypothyroidism and less so in hyperthyroidism. Goitre

is a symptom of hyper...

 

approx 55% of the women are anticipated to deal with

this issue at some point in their lives. Thyroid

related issues tend to go unnoticed, since not very

many doctors/practicioners/vaids tend to look at the

endocrine too easily and even now its harder to find

cures that work on these areas.

[Guest guest]

let us focus on a solution as a group -what can we do as concerned

citizens of the world, of our shared humanity? - how do we address

gross nutrient deficiencies in the Indian population? where are inland

people at risk going to get iodine in their diet? can you suggest an

alternative? seriously - i am not being facetious - i want to know!

could people on the coast trade dried fish and/or seaweed for some

commodity inland? is there the infrastructure to create this? are

their people that can help facilitate this? (on the solution side of

the issue, seaweed and iodine-rich seaweed extracts could be

manufactured and given to cows - much like seaweed is used as a

fertilizer for grass, dramatically increasing the iodine content of the

milk...)

 

the eradication of poverty in India is a very long term project that

won't address immediate health concerns

 

one thing i appreciate about ayurveda is its practicality - if a

patient suffers from a disease the physician doesn't tell them how to

balance their prakriti - they provide relief and treatment to the

disease, and then when this crisis is resolved recommends general and

individual measures to stay healthy based on their constitution

 

iodine deficiency is a crisis by any measure, especially if you and

your family were the ones suffering from it - but what is the cost to a

poor indian family of having a brain damaged child?? if we truly care

about these people we need to act from compassion, and not crush them

under the wheels of our ideology, not matter how beautiful and wise

 

best... todd

www.toddcaldecott.com

 

 

> The way it is made out in the media, you would expect every othe

> Indian to have goitre. However that is not the case. You find goitre cases

only among villagers battling severe malnutrition problems thus

> indicting that they are not receiving iodine naturally from food.

> Therefore the attention should be on the eradication of poverty and

> not on iodised salt.

[Guest guest]

there are different kinds of goiter

we are taking about euthyroid goiter, which has nothing to do with

hyperthyroidism

 

On 25-Sep-05, at 4:22 AM, ayurveda wrote:

 

> Goitre

> is a symptom of hyper...

Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com

[Guest guest]

> there are quite a few people that are allergic to kelp

> and it can react in certain health conditions (my

> mother experienced this and as did a few others).

 

some people are allergic to iodine, (and hence kelp), but this is

uncommon

 

> Also rural india doesn't really have kelp accessible,

> and the cost of importing it would be very

> prohibitive.

 

coastal india i am sure has kelp

Caldecott

todd

www.toddcaldecott.com