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Studies Show Increasing Iodine Deficiency 5-25-08
Before the 1924 advent of salt iodization, millions of Americans suffered
from iodine deficiency. Now, eight decades after salt iodization virtually
eliminated iodine deficiency in the United States, intake of this essential
mineral has once again declined enough for some scientists to recommend new
measures to ensure Americans get sufficient amounts.
The thyroid gland need iodine in order to produce thyroid hormone, which
regulates body metabolism, growth, and development. Iodine is especially
important during pregnancy and lactation for infants' neurological development.
Maternal iodine deficiency is associated with mental retardation and cretinism
in the newborn.
In the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I),
conducted in the early 1970s, only 1% of pregnant women examined had urinary
iodine levels below 50 µg/L (although this level suggests moderate deficiency,
it is impossible to ascertain deficiency from a single urine sample). By the
time of the 2000–2001 NHANES, 7.3% of pregnant women had urinary iodine values
below 50 µg/L.
Where did all the iodine go? According to the Virginia-based Salt Institute,
only 20% of food salt is iodized today, and most of that is sold at grocery
stores. Salt iodization is voluntary in the United States, and Morton Satin,
president of the Salt Institute, says most food processors and restaurants never
adopted iodized salt because it wasn't required. As Americans have embraced
processed foods and restaurant meals, noniodized salt has supplanted the iodized
type in many people's diets. Satin says his organization has publicly asked the
food and restaurant industries for broader iodization. Iodine was also used at
one time in dairy products and bread, but has been replaced with more effective
alternatives.
Purnendu Dasgupta, a biochemist at The University of Texas at Arlington,
published research in the 15 February 2008 issue of Environmental Science &
Technology showing that 53% of iodized salt samples tested had lower iodine
levels than recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The study also
revealed that exposure to high humidity diminishes iodine in salt.
The possibility of asymptomatic iodine deficiency during pregnancy is raising
concern. "I think it's quite likely we've had subtle neurological deficiencies
in babies born in the U.S. [to mothers with mild iodine deficiencies]," says
Elizabeth Pearce, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School
of Medicine. To protect developing fetuses, Pearce and other scientists are
calling on the government to boost Americans' iodine intake. "I wouldn't endorse
greater salt intake," says thyroid specialist Robert Utiger of Harvard Medical
School, referring to salt's association with hypertension, heart disease, and
stroke. "But the iodine content of salt ought to be increased."
Since 1994, the World Health Organization has recommended universal salt
iodization to combat deficiency. Says Satin, "One approach would be to adopt the
strategy being employed in New Zealand. They are taking measured steps in
specific food categories and can keep adding [iodization to] additional food
categories as monitoring dictates." Kevin Sullivan, an associate professor of
epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta, says that if food processors adopt
iodized salt we should closely monitor iodine levels through ongoing NHANES
studies to see if iodization recommendations need to be adjusted.
Another approach is to require iodine in all prenatal vitamins. Although the
American Thyroid Association has promoted such a measure since 2006, Pearce says
only an estimated 50% of prenatal vitamins contain iodine.
Says Dasgupta: "Some believe that iodine deficiency is a disease of the past
that was 'cured' in the 1930s with the iodization practices. This leads to the
thought today that iodization is not needed because it was cured, but the fact
is that it is a deficiency disorder, not a disease."
Comment:
The iodization of salt is why so many people have thyroid problems today. Finding some other way to sneak it into our food is going show a sharp increase in hypothyroidism. Synthesized iodine that is in salt is not used in the body like natural iodine. And no matter what the type of iodine, to much causes hypothyroidism. This is contrary to natural health teachings, but to much iodine causes the thyroid to slow down. Very few people have a iodine deficiency. If you truly don't get any iodine in your diet ( no iodized salt, seafood etc..) than addition of natural iodine is necessary. But this should always be checked before starting an iodine regiment. Kelp capsules and Celtic sea salt are the best natural sources. Celtic sea salt is also a powerhouse of trace minerals, algae's and green foods.