After the birth of my third child, I was diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid, and my gland was removed forty years ago. Now I am troubled by many symptoms of 'hypo'. The information provided by you and some fellow sufferers (albeit 30 years too late) has lifted a weight of worry from my shoulders.

Being on the land, I am deeply concerned with the prevention of thyroid disease at grassroot levels. Even in the fifties, it was known, that because I had drunk milk from our cows, who had been fed with choumoellier (member of the Brassica family), which contains a chemical, which prevents absorption of iodine, I had set in motion this illness, which runs in my family.

I was told, the practice to be self-sufficient on the farm in hilly, leached-out country makes things worse. We grew our own meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fruit and vegetables and the water was rain. The advice was to eat many different foods from all corners of the country.

Now I read the agricultural publications like "The Weekly Times", "Grassroots" etc., and regularly find appeals for help with illnesses of thyroidic origin. One person writes of visits by three unwanted gentlemen: Messrs. Sjögren, Graves and Hashimoto. I also notice that iodine-deficient South Gippsland, where I live, is gradually divided up and settled by 'alternative (self-sufficient) lifestyle' people, who are ignorant of the facts outlined above. After a while they wonder why country life and all that fresh air and 'good' food makes them sicker than ever, when the simple reason might be a lack of a range of trace elements, headed by iodine. A lack of experienced GPs in the country adds to all sorts of mis-diagnoses and untold misery.

Educating every new generation to these pitfalls, seems of utmost importance to me, as it has far reaching social consequences.

Editor's Note:

Brassica is a group of plants belonging to the Mustard family, Cruciferae. It includes vegetables that are commonly grown and known as Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustard, Rape (Canola), Rutabaga and Turnip.

Thyroid Disease Manager, Chapter 5a: Effects of the Environment, Chemicals and Drugs on Thyroid Function, Revised by David Sarne, 1 January 2001, http://www.thyroidmanager.org/chapter5/5a%2D2.htm has the following information on choumoellier and its effects: