Very interesting connection between neanderthals and thyroid / iodine

[Not dead yet!]

So it look like I'm failing on my 3rd thyroid hormone type. My thyroid simply does NOT want to be "normal." On a hunch I googled neanderthal and thyroid and huh... there does indeed seem to be a mystery there:

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/01/science/neanderthal-or-cretin-a-debate-over-iodine.html

The mystery is made more opaque because for decades people with maternal hypothyroidism that affected their health were called "cretins" and treated with derision, or outright exploited by sideshows.

Another article:

Commentary: Thyroid Hormone in Neandertal Evolution: A Natural or a Pathological Role?
Susan J. Crockford
Geographical Review
Vol. 92, No. 1 (Jan., 2002), pp. 73-88

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4140952?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Wow... I think I'm turning Japanese...
https://paleoleap.com/iodine-much-much/
... scroll down to the part where they say "but the Japanese do it"

I think I really will try the Japanese method next. As well as dust off the Michio Kushi books.

 

[Not dead yet!]

On the subject of how much iodine is "too much" there is also this:

[article=https://www.biocoherence.eu/en/do-it-yourself-tests/iodine-and-bromine-health/]A challenge towards the reigning attitudes to iodine compounds came in 1997, when Dr. Guy Abraham, a former professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA, mounted what he calls the Iodine Project. He had his company, Optimox Corporation, make Iodoral, the tablet form of Lugol’s solution (which combines iodine and potassium iodide), and he engaged two family practice physicians, Dr. Jorge Flechas (in 2000) in North Carolina and Dr. David Brownstein (in 2003) in Michigan to carry out clinical studies with high doses of the iodine compound. The project’s hypothesis is that maintaining whole body sufficiency of iodine requires 12.5 mg a day, an amount similar to what the Japanese consume and over eighty times the RDI of 150 mcg. The conventional view is that the body contains 25-50 mg of iodine, of which 70-80 percent resides in the thyroid gland. Dr. Abraham concluded that whole body sufficiency exists when a person excretes 90 percent of the iodine ingested. He devised an iodine-loading test where one takes 50 mg iodine/potassium iodide and measures the amount excreted in the urine over the next twenty-four hours. He found that the vast majority of people retain a substantial amount of the 50 mg dose. Many require 50 mg per day for several months before they will excrete 90 percent of it. His studies indicate that, given a sufficient amount, the body will retain much more iodine than originally thought, 1,500 mg, with only 3 percent of that amount held in the thyroid gland.[/article]

At this time I'm not really up to researching this doctor or locating his research. I 'd appreciate a heads up if this has been disproven with good evidence. The past few days have been a rollercoaster. But I hope to look at it more closely. What do you guys think? It sounds to me like more of the "oops we made a math error and caused widespread Vitamin D deficiency" saga.

Later note: Aveline Kushi, who helped bring the "Macrobiotic" diet to the USA from Japan, tells a poignant story of her pregnancy and how she craved seaweed which she ate a lot in her youth. It's in the "Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking" in the Seaweeds section. I wouldn't be surprised if what women are seeking with the classic ice cream and pickles is alginate and salt (which the body hopes has iodine in it).