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The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

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Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#271

Post by jhoho »

The soil in the Austrian Country of Styria has notoriously low iodine levels. When visiting Styria in 1748, David Hume wrote:

'But as much as the country is agreeable in its wildness, as much are the inhabitants savage, and deformed, and monstrous in their appearance. Very many of them have ugly swelled throats; idiots and deaf people swarm in every village; and the general aspect of the people is the most shocking I ever saw.' [1]

That's why some traditional costumes in that region include a so called "Kropfband" (goitre bound). [2]

It's fascinating how much one's place of birth used to influence a life and medical biography and in many countries still does.

[1] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42843/42843-h/42843-h.htm

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kropfband

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#272

Post by philwelch »

phkahler wrote: post #260
philwelch wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this were true, it would mean that people with hypothyroidism could simply supplement iodine rather than needing to replace the hormones.

For some symptoms it may be true, for others not? Some hypothyroidism can be fixed by supplementing iodine. Some are due to other causes. Also, some of the things thyroid hormone seems to do can also be achieved by iodine supplements, and some not. It's very complicated.

In that case the thyroid is not, in fact, “simply” a mechanism to store and distribute iodine, is it?

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#273

Post by Cockbrand »

xp84 wrote: post #201
naremu wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that taste chlorine from the sanitation process? Either way I actually do assume water filter companies lobby to keep public water as subpar an option as possible, there's certainly no incentive not to.

Somehow I doubt “Big Filter” has the kind of money and clout they would need to pull that off. I’d accept being proven wrong, but I just doubt it in the absence of seeing proof. Most of the taste problem that’s in our water “on purpose” is chlorine and it’s not added out of spite, it’s added for sanitary reasons.

Apart from me mixing up chlorine and fluoride, my comment was a bit hyperbolic - of course, there's no Big Filter industrial complex :)

I haven't done a lot of research on how to clean water, but e.g. in Germany, tap water isn't chlorinated and thus has a much more neutral taste. And it's very much regulated to a high standard.

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#275

Post by voidee »

oivey wrote: post #53
mytailorisrich wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that in general there no need for supplements with a normal, balanced diet, especially with eggs, dairy products, grains, and others if iodine is naturally present in the environment. So if Switzerland imports a lot of those, raw, or in prepared/processed food, or even the animal feed for its hens and cows the Swiss today probably already get much more iodine in their diet than 100 years ago.

People have been struggling to get enough iodine for a hundred+ years. That’s why it’s added to salt. This isn’t a 21st century problem.

Definitely if they live in an inland region. Seaweed and fish have abundant iodine.

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#276

Post by jdjdjdkdksmdnd »

bequanna wrote: post #252
hankman86 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if sensible people continue to run the public health authorities. You now have people that refuse to vaccinate their children against measles, COVID vaccine hesitancy is a widespread phenomenon with some people resorting to heresay remedies like horse dewormers instead, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist is running for US president and polling with double digit numbers. Health-related insights are particularly…

A large number of people have refused the COVID vaccine for completely valid reasons. The vast majority of that group absolutely vaccinates their children against polio, measles, etc. They aren’t the anti science luddites your comment paints them as. They are (rightly) skeptical of “the science” which often isn’t very scientific at all. As we’ve seen, the medical science community is heavily motivated by profit and p…

[flagged]

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#277

Post by rldjbpin »

fuzztester wrote: post #186

In India iodized salt is common these days, in such table salts as Tata Salt. Salt started being iodized only around 15 or so years back, IIRC.

the regular table salt has been iodized for a long time, as pointed out by another comment.

although the rock salts of the world don't seem to be iodized iirc.

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#278

Post by EdwardDiego »

wouldbecouldbe wrote: post #114
EdwardDiego wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You hate sand, huh.

Most common one used here is Sodium Ferrocyanide : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_ferrocyanide Also used as a coating in welding among other things. And like other commentor said, a nephew of cyanide. Now Im sure most of us will be fine, but I prefer not to eat that a few times a day. If you think that makes me foolish, be my guest. It's also not needed, there are plenty of other sources of Iodine, and sea salt…

Huh, why do they use that in the EU over silicates? (That was why I referenced sand btw).

Also, not sure what the relevance to iodine is?

Incidentally, iodine isn't easily sourced in some countries, due to soils that contain very little of it. My country (NZ) used to have a very real goitre problem until the introduction of iodised salt in the 1920s.

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#279

Post by EdwardDiego »

vGPU wrote: post #232
brilee wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure you're aware that ferrocyanide is not the same thing as cyanide - the cyanide is bound so tightly to the iron center that it is nontoxic.

> However, like all ferrocyanide salt solutions, addition of an acid or exposure to UV light can result in the production of hydrogen cyanide gas, which is extremely toxic. Now that does seem like a bit of a concern, doesn’t it?

It's a matter of quantity, like all things toxicity.

Re: The curse of the goitre in Switzerland

#280

Post by Solortho »

ufo wrote: post #227
Solortho wrote: post #190

I take Lugol's iodine almost everyday (with Selenium). It dramatically upgraded my life. The first week could be wild (fever is expected) but people should know how this cheap supplement can help them.

Lugol's iodine is usually not recommended because a single drop has dozens of times the daily recommended dose of iodine. That can cause bad side effects (as discussed in the article)

Not dozens but thousands!
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