The Australian Consumers Association, Choice Online, have released a report on chocolate just in time for Easter. They tested 12 brands of milk chocolate on participants and found that local Australian brands fared just as well, if not better than imported chocolate. Click here to find out more. Research Updates Iodine Deficiency Update Professor Basil Hetzel from the University of Adelaide recently appeared on Radio National's Science show. He was talking about iodine deficiency which recent studies have shown can result in a mean reduction in IQ of 13.5 points.
Iodine deficiency is the most common form of preventable brain damage in the world today.
Professor Hetzel has carried out a lot of work in developing countries to increase the amount of iodine in the soil as well as in salt in an attempt to reduce the occurrence of iodine deficiency. Professor Hetzel is now encouraging the introduction of legislation in Australia to ensure that all salt is iodised to protect our future children from iodine deficiency. To read more about this interview, visit the Radio National web site. This is of interest for obvious aesthetic reasons, but it also has implications for protection against skin cancer through diet. This is the first cross-sectional epidemiological study to investigate the relationship between food intake and actinic skin damage.