The last part of the 19th century was a period of great achievements in medicine and endocrinology. The thyroid gland evolved from being considered a rudimentary structure to an organ related to specific diseases. The singular importance of iodine became acknowledged. Graves-Basedow's disease was described. Surgical treatment evolved with extraordinary speed. Theodor Kocher observed that the clinical picture in patients after total thyroidectomy was similar to the one seen in cretinism. In 1850, the first case of hypothyroidism or myxedema was described. Less than 50 years later, effective treatment was introduced. Another 50 years later, autoimmune thyroiditis was ascertained as the most frequent cause of hypothyroidism (in areas with no iodine deficiency). This paper gives a short survey of the history of hypothyroidism and its treatment.
Most people won’t have heard of Derbyshire neck as most people get enough iodine in milk or cheese these days .like you don’t get much scurvy or rickets! Now the incidence is more down to auto-immune disease and that’s another story. Why are our bodies turning against themselves?
Thank you helvella, that answered my question perfectly - I'm a bit of a carnivore, and eating a handful of mixed nuts - might add a few more brazils though...so should be OK.
Brazil nuts will only help if they have been grown in selenium rich soil, if they haven't they wont contain any selenium. Then it depends in which area the nuts were grown in because the amount of selenium in soil varies. Eastern Amazon and Central Brazil have the highest amounts:
One member has said that M&S Natural Brazil Nuts say "harvested by hand in the Amazon forest and naturally high in selenium".
Also, check out Aldi's "The Foodie Market" Brazil nuts, the packaging is said to show selenium content as 79mcg per 30g serving.
Another one is 'My Garden of Eden' Brazil nuts from Home Bargains.. They say "High in Selenium and high in vitamin E" on the front of the packet and the Nutritional Information says "one serving (25g) gives 63ug of Selenium".
Too much selenium over time can cause the following:
I grew up hearing about Derbyshire Neck, in the 70's that saying was very well used in our juniour school playground(in Nottingham )as lots of our teachers came from Derbyshire , only it was ..... strong in 'th arm , an thick int 'ed, when we said it. Accompanied by gurning faces for good measure.Limestone is possibly correct Scrumbler, as were told it was to do with the sort of rock that the water goes through in Derbyshire, but as i was usually looking out of the window, daydreaming about going to Derbyshire, instead of paying attention, i've forgotten which rock was blamed.
Don’t think the rock theory stands as limestone is in lots of places S. Wales, Cornwall, Yorkshire Dales etc. Less sea fish consumed historically. Possibly less milk from cows grazing on rich grass. We are after all talking of around 200 years ago when diets very different.
Goitre was not just found in Derbyshire, it was also found in cornwall, yorkshire etc , maybe people are just quicker to think of insulting terms for people from derbyshire .... !There's an interesting1891 map in that link in Scrumblers first reply, which shows the areas with goitre to be similar to goegraphic carbonate rock areas ,
Derbyshire neck isn’t a term I have come across much. Not surprising for a Scot. I read a lot on hypothyroidism in the university library in the 196Os but don’t recall coming across the term. I have seen it a couple of times since then.
We had fish twice a week after moving from Dumbartonshire to Morayshire when I was about ten. The fish was so fresh it was fabulous. I too believe in a Scots education.
Loving this thread. I grew up in Somercotes, Derbyshire, walking distance to South Normanton. I moved to Kirkby in Ashfield when I was 20. I grew up with the saying Derbyshire born Derbyshire bred, strong int arm and thick int ed. We also used it for Yorkshire folk. Kings Mill was my local hospital, I had three of my children there. We referred to Mansfield folk a troglodites because there were a number of cave dwellings, still in use, in the 50's/60's. My parents were from Jacksdale, Notts and Aberdeen. I now live in Scotland and visit Derbys/Notts about 5 or 6 times a year as I have numerous relatives still there. I have discovered that my maternal grandmother had hypo and since I was diagnosed with Myxoedema coma my mother and my sister have also been diagnosed with hypo. And my granddaughter is hyper with Graves.
Ah that explains the 'troglodite' bit , i didn't know about the caves there, Nottingham has loads too under the city streets, and under the castle rock.
i thought we were basing the Trog description more on the behaviour in Mansfield pubs..... apologies to anyone from Mansfield
Sadly not so true. Old school friend taught for years straight from school and there was creeping detrimental change. At one school inspection she was told her classroom was ‘too quiet’. She had slight deafness herself but how someone could make a negative out of a positive??
As newly qualified teachers we were advised we woukd jump a lay band if we chose to teach in Scotland. I didn’t but my husband serving in the RAF meant we saw life in many others parts.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
We had a name for folk that came from there too , but it's too rude to publicise.
Iodine
Iodine 
iodine
Iodine excess and hyperthyroidism
Iodine
