https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n23/jonah-goodman/a-nati... is a pretty good article describing how a Swiss doctor showed experimentally that adding iodine was a cure for goitre and the associated mental handicaps (Switzerland is highly deficient in iodine in many areas, because glaciers in the last ice age removed most top soil).
> something our bodies can’t synthesize
Iodine is an element! As such, it cannot be produced by a chemical reaction and so isn't synthesized in any living organism.
It's produced in supernova explosions, by the rapid neutron capture process.
I'd argue that it's not completely unreasonable to claim that stars are living organisms in some sense of this expression
So, what is wrong with the statement?
Burger King continued to use iodized salt consistently, while McDonalds, Wendys etc have switched to flakier salts for their fries which cuts total sodium overall by being flatter instead of grainy, but without any iodine added to it.
The downward trend in fast food began in the 70s, once sodium was seen as bad, so more salty tasting thin crystals were preferred.
[1] - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20634172/ (on researchgate)
I also prefer cooking with the flakier stuff because I can grab a pinch of it and sprinkle it in a controlled way.
I try to use iodized salt when it’s convenient: when salting pasta water, in baking, etc… but I wonder if my family is getting enough.
Saltier tasting salt is likely counterproductive, IMO. People aren't born knowing how much salt taste corresponds to how much salt consumption, so that gets tuned by persistent salt deficits causing upregulation of salty food desire. In other words, homeostatic feedback causes salt consumption to stay about the same by increased consumption of salty-tasting processed food.
Hmm, why don't they make iodized flaky salt?
> downward trend ... sodium was seen as bad
Excess sodium intake is associated with cardiovascular disease and heart failure. Salt is also an opportunistic carrier for iodine supplementation. So to call it good or bad, you'd need to either come up with an epidemiological study of the two diseases relative to each other, or maybe propose an alternative carrier for the iodine supplementation.
i wonder why when you can simply add potassium salt to make it taste saltier without sodium
A significant source of declining iodine levels in humans can also be traced to increased bromide found in food and medications. Most notably potassium iodate was used as a bread conditioner until the 1950s when it was substituted for potassium bromate. [0]
Excess bromide levels displace the iodide stored in the thyroid and is a contributing factor to the described increase of groiter. Bromide also has the added drawback of increased cancer risk and has now been banned in California [1] [2].
[0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3916868/
[1] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml...
[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20131203041405/http://www.oehha....
Further reading from Gwern - https://gwern.net/iodine
> Iodine is a critical micronutrient in the human diet — that is, something our bodies can’t synthesize
For this I am thankful. If your body DOES start synthesizing iodine, you and those around you probably don't have much longer left to live.
Explanation: Iodine is a molecular element, it consists out of only one type of atom. Atoms being synthesized implies some nuclear reaction or decay going on, both would cause radiation.
I long for the day when my liver can also act as a particle accelerator
or you become the main character of a superhero comics
Yeah, from Wikipedia:
> An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal physiological function that cannot be synthesized in the body (...) The nutrients considered essential for humans comprise nine amino acids, two fatty acids, thirteen vitamins, fifteen minerals and choline.
While some of these can be synthesized by other animals, this is not the case of minerals like iodine. I believe only organic compounds can be synthesized by animals.
Iodine is also found in seafood and dairy and eggs, which may have been less common in the American diet a century ago, especially among the poor, but are widespread today. Americans no longer need iodized salt. (Not sure about vegans.)
It's definitely in seafood. Dairy and eggs depend on what the cows and chickens have been fed. In regions with low soil iodine content, you can expect the eggs and milk to also be low in iodine.
Vegetables and grains also have a significant amount of iodine in that sort of soil (it's where the cows and chickens get it).
Vegans should already be extremely watchful of their nutrition, as there's for example B12 in a lot of animal products, where a B12 deficiency means you are getting nerve damage.
In Japan, iodized salt is banned as a food additive. because we can take it from see weeds like kombu.
Why would that be a reason to ban iodized salt?
Too much iodine can lead to thyroid problems, and this has been a problem in some subgroups in Japan: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/107/6/e2634/6516999
Even without iodized salt, Japan is one of the highest consumers of iodine worldwide. [1]
But I agree. Even though iodized salt is pointless in Japan, so is the law banning it (assuming OP is correct, and it is in fact banned).
[1]: https://anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/articles/...
IIUC it's not specifically banned by name in a law, more like not on the whitelist for food additives. Industrialized foodstuffs manufacturing in late 20th century Japan was wild, and additives are managed on approvals basis than bans as the result.
This has me curious on how I would know if my family needs more iodine? We have largely been on kosher salt for a long long time. It is just more pleasant to use while cooking.
I could, I think, just switch a lot of what we do back to iodized salt? Feels pointless if not needed, though.
You likely eat other kosher products that do not use "kosher salt".
Using "kosher salt" is not always a requirement for a product to be kosher. Technically all salt is kosher if it is produced under kosher supervision, even if it's not "kosher salt".
(And some salt labeled as "kosher salt" can also be not actually kosher!)
"Kosher salt" should be rather called "koshering salt", which is the salt you would use for koshering meat.
And like most people, you likely eat more salt than strictly needed because there's salt in everything. So consuming more salt should be of least concern.
Oh, I should have been clear there, I don't do kosher because it is "kosher." I just like the larger flakes and it is easier to cook with from familiarity. I'm assuming with time I could get used to iodized again, but not at all clear if I need to.
And we have actually been doing quite well with not eating out too often. Literally less than 5 times all month. Such that I am not at all worried that we are getting too much salt.
Though, that starts getting at the general question. How often should I get blood work for nutritional analysis? Because.... I don't know that I've ever done that.
I see. Most sea salt also has no iodine if that's a concern.
I was never concerned about iodine. A chef suggested kosher salt as being easier to use and I switched a long time ago. If anything, my concern now would be if I should make sure we are not lacking in iodine.
You can seaweed, another source of iodine.
Yeah, I see there are plenty of other sources. Eggs and dairy are likely what is keeping us covered. I'm still not clear how I would know if I need to make an effort to add more. Seems a blood test is the best way, but that also feels excessive.
In Korea, people often have seaweed soup. Seaweed is very high in iodine, so most people in South Korea doesn't use iodized salt.
Seaweed, man. Buy a bag of dried kombu, plop a piece when you're making soup or broth: it goes well with most flavors, and will give you all the iodine you need.
Disclaimer: not meant to be medical advice, obviously.
Isn’t there a lot of iodine in dairy?
I grew up in Germany where iodized salt and flouridated water aren't the norm. Now I have bad teeth and can't wrap my head around the latest changes in the C++ language...
I wonder if I got my share of iodine growing up, or maybe too much, while playing with nitrogen triiodide?
See also: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3800113/
TL;DR: hookworm eradication in the American South substantially improved school attendance and educational outcomes in children, and may have had a nontrivial positive effect on the overall economy of the region.
(In case you don't see the connection, some children had such severe hookworm infestations that they were too anemic to focus in school, or even to attend at all. Teachers' accounts specifically remark on their students' newly "rosy cheeks" - because they're no longer anemic.)
need to cook food for dog due to medical reasons, and one of ingredients is iodized salt. so i had a quick look at this topic. so, as far as i remember:
- different brands have different amount of iodine
- iodine dissipates from opened salt container, with speed of dissipation been dependant on temperature and humidity
- if you cook with iodized salt, most of it iodine disappears (depends on brand. some retain more )
Iodized salt, sanitary sewers, and shoes are the showcase achievements of public health, aside from vaccines and whatnot that people associate with progress in medicine.
Public health generally works!
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