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Tonight in the NYT:
In Raising the World’s I.Q., the Secret’s in the Salt
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. 17 minutes ago
Kazakhstan’s iodized salt campaign is an example of how a country can achieve a remarkable public health success.
From my 4/4/04 VDARE article:
“The survey notes, for example, that iron shortages are driving down national GNP s by lowering national IQs:
“In most developing countries today, iron deficiency is now estimated to be preventing 40% to 60% of children from growing to their mental potential… In the last 10 to 15 years, iron deficiency has assumed even greater importance as evidence accumulates linking iron deficiency with mental impairment. In various tests of cognitive and psycho-motor skills, for example, lack of iron has been found to be associated with significant levels of disadvantage—affecting IQ scores by as much as 5 to 7 IQ points.”
“Similarly, iodine shortages cause the swelling of the thyroid gland called goiter, which can lead to what the U.N. report calls “cretinism.”
“In the U.S., these two problems were almost completely solved decades ago—by fortifying salt with iodine and flour with iron and other micronutrients. Similar methods should work in the Third World.
“Of course, the expense and organizational challenges are greater. In Pakistan, for example, there are 600 commercial salt producers. Getting each to iodize is a sizable undertaking.
“Yet it can and must be done.
“Even if we all have to start mentioning the dread letters “IQ.””
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Don’t you mean the NYT has caught up to AP and the United Nations? I always find it amusing to see people linking to mainstream liberal media reports on an issue while simultaneously denouncing the mainstream liberal media for being too chicken to report on that issue (you’re by no means the only one who does this).
I think it’s funny that they put “cretinism” in quotes. This is as if to say “Hey, we would never call anyone a ‘cretin’. That’s the official UN term”. Also, the idea that goiter leads to cretinism is wrong. Iodine deficiency in young children can cause cretinism. Iodine deficiency (mostly in adults) causes goiter.
I hope Bill and Linda are tuned in.
I spent some time working in a hospital in Sierra Leone, and iron deficiency is a huge problem there. Most people are loaded with hookworm, which causes intestinal bleeding, the amount varying with parasite load. After years of being infected, and without enough iron in the diet to replace the lost hemoglobin, patients become very anemic, with the listlessness and weakness that goes with it. Of course there’s little decent medical care in Sierra Leone, but when they got to our hospital, iron tablets were prescribed for probably a majority of patients. Some even got iron injections. It’s hard to imagine the difficulty in going to work in the fields every day when burdened with iron deficiency anemia.
Ideally, I’d be against supplementing.
“iodine deficiency is a feature” (2006/10/24) and “[censored]ing Ad Council” (2006/11/25)
but my idle ruminations can’t stack up to mangan’s comment.