Show mrs RP ram W am T T 60 nat AND W 11 2 if S alo oriton u 4 r discusses the NEED EED FOR IODINE E key substance of the thyroid gland tells how to avoid iodine starvation by C HOUSTON GOUDISS 6 east st new york city THE HE discovery of our vital need for iodine is one of the most thrilling chapters in the long history of scientific research many investigators contributed to our understanding of iodine hunger but special credit is due to dr david marine and his workers coworkers co and to dr E C kendall of the mayo clinics at rochester minn today we know that although it constitutes only about one part in three million parts of the body weight iodine is so essential that its absence from the diet may have the gravest consequences quen ces thyroid tho the gland of glands iodine is necessary for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland situated in the front part ot of the neck the thyroid is so important that it is often regarded as the throttle which governs the human locomotive and when it fails to function normally the body machinery may be thrown out of balance thyroid ld I 1 disturbance du during ri I 1 nj childhood may affect mental and physical development and many children have been accused of laziness who are suffering from thyroid deficiency thyroid disorder may be a complicating factor in obesity and specialists have found that it is associated wit with h many stubborn skin diseases it is also claimed that iodine starvation influences mental makeup make up and emotional tendencies A disfiguring goiter simple goiter is a common disorder of the thyroid gland at one time the very mention of f this disease terrified girls and women who feared the unsightly lump in the neck which disfigures the victim now thanks to dramatic experiments peri ments we know that simple goiter is an iodine deficiency disease animal experiments point the way in 1916 it was estimated that a million young pigs died annually in in wisconsin investigation disclosed that their thyroid glands were abnormally large and abnormally low in iodine when io iodine was administered to the mothers the young pigs were born normal scientists reasoned that if goiter could be prevented in animals it could be prevented in humans and undertook the now famous census in akron ohio A study was made of the thyroid glands of all school girls from the fifth to the twelfth grades almost 50 per cent were found to have enlarged thyroid glands the girls were given small doses of sodium iodide dissolved in drinking water at given periods over 22 years at the end of that time investigators found that of 2000 pupils only 5 developed thyroid enlargement of the same number not treated showed enlargement A danger periods this demonstration aroused t the he interest of the scientific world and gave impetus to additional experiments which increased our knowledge of the iodine requirement the great danger periods are during pregnancy childhood and adolescence the diet of the expectant mother must include an adequate supply to protect herself and avoid the early development of simple goiter in the child it is also essential to provide sufficient iodine for growing children as the incidence of the disease increases steadily up to the eighteenth year in girls in boys it reaches its peak at twelve some investigators also claim that one way to enhance the action of the glands after middle life and so prolong youth is to include in the daily diet some som e foods with a high iodine content nature s storehouse of iodine it is the duty of every homemaker to learn where the necessary iodine can be obtained and to include iodine rich foods in the daily diet but it is especially important for those living in the goiter belt this area stretches along the appalachian mountains as far north as vermont westward through the basin of the great lakes to the state of washington and southward over the rocky Aloun mountain tain and pacific states iodine rich foods the sea is the great storehouse of iodine and hence the most abundant sources are sea food including salmon cod crabmeat crab crali meat and oysters cod liver oil and salt fruits and vegetables grown near the sea contain varying amounts of iodine depending upon the water and soil and the season the iodine content being at a maximum in the autumn and winter in general it may be said that the leaves of plants contain more iodine than the roots and that leafy vegetables and legumes store more than fruits with the exception of cranberries which are a good source when the soil is rich in iodine watercress be have you a question ask C houston goudiss C houston goudiss has put at the disposal of readers of this newspaper all the facilities of his famous experimental peri mental kitchen laboratory in new york city ile fie will gladly answer questions concerning foods and diet it s not necessary to write a letter unless you desire for post card inquiries wilt will receive the same careful af attention address him at 6 fait east street new york city comes a fine source of this substance iodized ionized salt one of the most satisfactory methods for adding iodine to the diet especially in goit erous regions is through the use of iodized ionized salt in detroit a citywide city wide test of iodized ionized salt reduced the prevalence of simple goiter from 36 per cent to 2 per cent similar figures have been cited for other localities cali ties iodized ionized salt costs no more than ordinary table salt and is an excellent safeguard against simple goiter iodine in drinking water wafer even in early times it was believed that there was some relation between goiter and drinking water and recent evidence has disclosed that there was a sound basis for this belief two investigators found that the water in in a large part of the northern half of the united states falls into a low iodine classification several communities have given consideration to the prevention of goiter by the addition of iodine to the water supply this method is commendable but it must be borne in mind that wherever io iodine is taken in forms other than food careful supervision by the physician or the public health authorities ties is necessary to those homemakers interested in planning the best possible diet for their families I 1 shall gladly send lists showing which foods are rich in iodine and which are poor in this substance questions answered mrs al S F I 1 do not approve of the strictly vegetarian diet because it is unbalanced one who desires to omit all animal foods from the diet must also omit the topnotch top notch protective foods milk and eggs it is doubtful if adequate protein could be supplied without milk eggs or meat good health is best maintained on a balanced diet and is such a priceless possession that I 1 cannot understand why anyone should risk the consequences of consuming a one sided diet miss aliss C T agar agar is a nonirritating indigestible carbohydrate As it is not digested its caloric value is zero and it could not possibly be fattening Q C houston goudiss 1938 il 11 |