It seems to me that most of the posts on this Forum concentrate on the bad effects of excessive Fluor/Bromides intake and the generally accepted view is that this is the main cause of Iodine Deficiency.

Whilst I entirely accept the data that indicate that Fluor and other halogens are detrimental to the level of Iodine in the body, I would like to point out that this Iodine deficiency seems to be a worldwide problem, and severely on the rise.
We might well find out that the diabetes epidemic (worldwide too) might be a consequence of Iodine deficiency.

I have stayed in several countries where Fluor is not added to the water and never has been. Even in France, where Fluor has been added to salt in some instances, this is a very recent development (not implemented before 1987 and not even on half the salt for sale today). I have stayed in countries where the possession of a Teflon pan is a proof of high status/wealth. In some places there are very few cars so forget about exhaust fumes and halogens.
In Europe people blame the surge of thyroid problems on Chernobyl. But Chernobyl is far from the USA and far from Hong-Kong or Johannesburg. And everywhere thyroid problems multiply.

Everywhere, I notice more and more hypothyroidism signs. Clearly something else is afoot. Something VERY dangerous because unindentified.
I do not think avoiding halogens (apart from iodine :) of course) is enough.
I do not think adding iodine is enough.

From my personal experience I point the finger to MSG.

MSG has been around in Asia since the 1910s. There is no place on earth now where it is not added liberally to food. Even in very poor countries (no Teflon ones with no cars) it is used by the housewife because it is cheaper that spices. In India and some other places Aspartame (same problems in the end as Mono-Sodium-Glutamat (Natrium Glutamat) but starts in a different form) is mixed with Sugar because it is cheaper than sugar. I know a family in Calcutta where several women have thyroid problems while the men go blind with macular degeneration. They have been using this cheap sugar. Because they are poor. And in the rich world people who want to loose weight are using it too!


Thailand in the very early days of Mono-Sodium-Glutamat (Natrium Glutamat) has marketed an "antidote" in the form of what became known as Red Bull. Mono-Sodium-Glutamat (Natrium Glutamat) was used in the Japanese army at first. Thais at that times were chummy with the Japanese. A Japanese chemist came to Thailand with a recipe for what became known later as "Lipovitan", one can imagine a Japanese antidote to their MSG. I could not do more research on this army/antidote link because I do not speak Japanese.
This "Lipovitan" gave birth in 1962 to "Krating Daeng", which translates as "Red Bull". Then Austrians took this to the West in the form of "Red Bull".
The fact that Far Eastern countries are drenched with MSG with no mass problems as a consequence is often cited as a proof that MSG is innocuous.
But these Asians countries have devised a counter-poison which partially shelters them from the consequences of ingesting MSG. How many people there drink "Red Bull" in any form? Just take a look at this, to get a commercial perspective :


http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/archive/index.php/t-701.html

You could well imagine that the rise in MSG intake in the East has been followed by a similar rise in energy drinks intake.

And keep in mind that MSG fed Japan not only drinks "Red Bull", "Lipovitan" etc in their many forms, but swallows quite a lot of iodine on top of that!

Now the interesting part is : what is this "Krating Daeng" made of? Surprise! A high amount of TAURINE and B vitamins.
MSG ingestion causes Taurine deficiency.
This is multiplied in case of Mercury toxicity, which impedes Taurine absorption.

Not enough Taurine implies thyroid problems! The amino acid Taurine is an essential nutrient for the production of thyroid hormones.

MSG is starving the body of its Taurine. MSG intake is in my opinion a direct cause of not only thyroid imbalance, but of Polyglandular Autoimmune Syndrome (APS or PAS).
This is not obvious to most because most people ingest MSG unaware that they are doing so.

Apart from this Taurine-MSG link, I would like to point to another link : MSG-Iodine
It may be that MSG inhibits the uptake or efficiency of Iodine. Maybe just through this MSG-TAURINE link, I do not know. I am not a scientifically trained person. Maybe this is a MSG-Taurine-Iodine link.

Iodine as kelp is used in Japan to conteract the effects of MSG. One Japanese friend, when asked, confirmed this. In fact MSG was at first produced boiling kombu, a kind of kelp, which included both MSG and its "antidote", iodine!
When MSG was produced fermenting soy and other proteins, the iodine intake disappeared. AND the MSG produced is different.
It seems that not only the Japanese, but also Russian Science knows of this. Anyone who could do a search on Russian forums? I spoke to a Greek doctor who had studied in Russia and he confirmed this.

Sorry I could not put all this better, I struggle writing in English and find it hard to expose my thoughts elegantly.
But I do think this deserves more research.