Iodine testing for newborns
According to WHO (World Health Organisation) an iodine deficiency can decrease your IQ by 10 - 15 points.Ā So it is a bit alarming that Australia is among 50 countries listed as being deficient.Ā In order to claim this dubious honour more thanĀ 3% of newborns tested have to have high TSH levels.Ā What is even more alarming is recent studies showing that it is in fact getting worse!Ā
When you don't get enough iodine, your body produces more TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) in response.Ā So between 2001 - 2006 a study was done amongst newborns in Victoria, Australia, and found that 26,000 (or 7%)Ā of the 368,000 infants tested had elevated levels of TSH.Ā If you look at it more closely, it showed that in 2001 about 4% of newborns tested high, but by 2006 it was closer to 9%!
Dr. Ashequr Rahman who conducted this research, said:
"We suggest that neonatal TSH concentrations in all states of Australia be analysed as soon as possible, and that this analysis should become a regular part of neonatal screening in Australia."
Might not be a bad idea if we want our future generations to live up to their full potential.