Iodine

Have you given much thought to iodine? I hadn’t until the other day when my mother called. You see my parents own a restaurant called McAnn’s on 52nd St and 1st Ave in NYC. Not far from the UN. Well it is pretty common for people that work at or are visiting the UN to stop into the restaurant for lunch or dinner. So the other day my mother struck up a conversation with a very interesting man who is a nutritionist and consultant to the UN. His area of expertise is iodine deficiency and the effects it has on the population of developing countries. She found this so interesting she had to call me right away with the man’s website, which is www.iccidd.org. Check it out; there is a ton of information on iodine.

Basically, a body needs iodine. It is an element much like oxygen or hydrogen is; a soluble halogen the thyroid glad needs to be healthy. The thyroid regulates the body’s metabolism, growth, brain development, and healthy organs, basically everything you need to keep your body running smoothly. Very important. Iodine is especially important during pregnancy and lactation for infants’ neurological development. Iodine deficiency results in stunted growth, mental retardation, deformed growth, goiters, poor brain function, neuromuscular problems and poor health due to thyroid problems.

Here in the US we are not suffering from a population wide iodine deficiency, currently. However that was not always the case. After World War II the US population was suffering from a nationwide epidemic of hypothyroidism. It was so bad that the government put into motion a way to help, they iodized salt; yup, increasing the iodine intake of the US population by fortifying table salt with iodine. It worked! Iodized table salt is the primary source of dietary iodine in the Western diet.

Now the bad news:
45% of American households now buy salt without iodine, additionally the consumption of iodized salt has decreased by 65% over the past 3 decades.
Most food processors and restaurants never adopted iodized salt because it wasn’t required. As many Americans have increased their consumption of processed foods and restaurant take out, non-iodized salt has surpassed the consumption of iodized salt.
Iodine was once used as a dough conditioner in commercial bread baking. This practice has been replaced with a more cost effective method.
Iodine was once commonly added to animal feed, this practice has also decreased as we increase our consumption of organically fed animals.

Some researchers believe that this decrease in consumption of iodized salt, coupled with an increased consumption of competing halogens like fluoride and bromide, has created the start of an epidemic of iodine deficiency in America.

Have you jumped on to the band wagon of reduced salt intake, no processed foods, more organics, less dairy? Where have you been getting iodine? Have your children been getting enough for proper development? The best source of iodine is sea vegetables like seaweed or kelp. But really very few parents I know have had luck getting their children to eat these two vegetables on a regular basis. The second best place to get iodine is yogurt, milk, eggs and cheese. I know I was shocked too. Iodine is added to the feed of farm animals. The next best place, Strawberries…I know, another shocker. You can get small amounts iodine from other sources as well, like salt water fish and shell fish and vegetables grown in iodine rich soil.

How much iodine do health authorities say we need to be healthy? Actually a human only needs about 1 teaspoon of iodine for their entire life, yes entire life. However, the human body cannot store iodine so it must ingest it in small amounts over a life time. Below is a table of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) of iodine based on the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences issued in the year 2000. For infants under 1, the levels are Adequate Intakes (AI):

• 0 – 6 months, 110 mcg
• 7 – 12 months, 130 mcg
• 1 – 8 years, 90 mcg
• 9 – 13 years, 120 mcg
• 14+ years, 150 mcg
• Pregnant woman, 220 mcg
• Lactating women, 290 mcg

So, buy a container of iodized salt and use it to cook with, add it to salad dressings or dips, sprinkle a little on potatoes or rice, season your veggies with it. It’s good for you.