Did you know that if we didn't iodize salt we'd all have goiters? True. Well, at least those of us living in the "Goiter Belt" (see the red area to the left). Though I've been researching this phenomenon for most of the afternoon, it's still unclear to me whether it was caused by natually low iodine levels in the soil (and therefore the water supply) or if the water purification system stripped the drinking water of soluble iodine. One doctor said: "In the 1930s, approximately 40 percent of the people in Michigan had goiter, due mainly to iodine-deficient soil; glacier melting had washed away the iodine. Areas by oceans or in the vicinity of ocean breezes usually contain enough iodine to prevent goiters." Uh, but duh, I think the West coast is pretty close to the ocean. Anyway. I just want you to be grateful you don't have to walk around looking like (and sourrounded by people who look like) this:
EAT YOUR SALT!
