Dear All
I enquire whether members of the list might have any information as to
whether any hunter gatherers have been documented to consume the thyroid
gland of prey.
Iodine has the most profound effect of any single factor on IQ- iodine
deficiency reduces IQ an average of 13.5 or 15 points depending on which
authority one reads. This is sufficient to triple the number of children
with mild developmental delay and increase 7 fold those with severe
developmental delay (by simple consideration of leftward displacement of the
IQ curve by 15 points). http://www.who.int/nut/idd.htm
Iodine deficiency affects over 740 million people worldwide and it is a
major priority of the WHO http://www.who.int/nut/idd.htm
Unfortunately, none of the studies on IQ and omega 3 have been controlled
for iodine (Simopoulos, A. Personal communication).
Accordingly, identification of dietary sources of evolution during evolution
is important. Iodine has been singled out as a factor that supports the
aquatic ape hypothesis that our evolution occurred on the seashore, see
http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~mvaneech/Cunnane.html (A SHORE-BASED DIET RICH IN
ENERGY AND ‘BRAIN-SPECIFIC’ NUTRIENTS MADE HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION POSSIBLE).
An alternative source of iodine available to carnivores is the thyroid gland
of prey. Indeed under-trained butchers sometimes give exogenous transient
thyrotoxicosis to their customers by including thyroid in their hamburger
mince ("hamburger thyrotoxicosis).
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/180_10_170504/letters_170504_fm-4.html
Other sources come to mind- Weston Price documented the woman from African
highlands who travelled to the Nile to get plants and burn them in order to
keep the ashes and bring them home for her children to eat to prevent goitre
(she had a very large one). I can't find any data on brain's content of
iodine but wouldn't be surprised if this had some too). The coastal treks of
pacific islanders could have provided iodine as well as long chain omega 3
fatty acids.
Ben Balzer
Dr Ben Balzer [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
109 Morgan St
Beverly Hills 2209
NSW Australia
Tel (02) 95023355 Fax (02) 95024243 Int'l prefix(+612)
