Our thyroid needs iodine. But can a summer at the sea, and a great desire to row, be enough? Unfortunately not. So here’s how to do it and what to eat: Sea, the scent of the sea. Nothing healthier? Even today there are many benefits attributed to brackish water. Now that, in the height of summer, it is there, a stone’s throw from us, we naturally ask ourselves if it is enough to breathe deeply in the sea air to recharge with iodine, mindful of the ancient adages transmitted by our grandparents for the prevention of diseases to the thyroid.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not even iodized salt, which in any case must be consumed carefully by both hyperthyroid and hypertensive people, can cover the need for iodine. Iodine is one of the best-known trace elements and plays an important role in health, full of effects that we often ignore, at least until we hear the signs of a deficiency.
What Is Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element belonging to the halogen group, discovered in 1811, and widespread but always present in very small percentages. In the form of iodide, it is found in small quantities in marine waters. Also used as a disinfectant, in iodine tincture, it carries out an important preventive action against several diseases, including mainly those of the thyroid gland.
How To Take Iodine
Our body has about 15-20 mg (milligrams) of iodine but every day we have to introduce from 150 mcg (micrograms) to 200 mcg, which translates to 0.15 mg to 0.2 mg. IMPORTANT : 1 milligram = 1000 micrograms. The right capability of the thyroid organ is ensured by a sufficient nourishing stock of iodine For this reason, iodine should be taken through the diet. Unfortunately, the presence of this element in food and water is very variable and often too scarce. Iodine is mainly contained in sea fish (farmed or not), crustaceans, mollusks, and dairy products. Iodine prophylaxis can help prevent endemic goiter and other iodine deficiency disorders. Prophylaxis consists of simple measures such as the intake of iodized salt which in India is fortified with 30 mg of iodine per kilo of salt.
Iodine Nutrition In The World And India
WHO and the Iodine Global Network (IGN) assess the status of iodine nutrition worldwide. Currently, IGN data updated to June 2020 indicates 115 countries with adequate iodine nutrition and 23 with insufficient iodine intake. India has recently reached the condition of insufficiency after careful monitoring activities carried out by the National Observatory for the Monitoring of Iodoprophylaxis in Indian-OSMANI.
Where Is Iodine Found?
We list the foods that have the most iodine quantities with the relative contribution in micrograms that we have converted into milligrams for each kg of product.
- Marine fish (Contains 1220 mcg per kg which is equivalent to 1.22 mg. Some fish may contain up to 2.5 mg/kg).
- Freshwater fish (30 mcg per kg, which is just 0.03 mg).
- Molluscs (In particular mussels and clams contain 140 mcg of iodine in each 100-gram portion, which is 0.14 mg. A kilo of mussels and clams has 1.4 mg of iodine).
- Dried seaweed (They contain a lot of iodine, so you need to consume a few grams about 2 or 3 times a week).
- Sea salt (1,400 mg / kg equivalent to 1.4 mg).
- Cow’s milk (50 to 200 mcg per liter, i.e. 0.05 to 0.2 mg).
- Eggs (From 70 to 90 mcg per kg which translated to 0.07 to 0.09 mg).
- Wheat and cereals (On average 47 mcg per kg, i.e. 0.047 mg).
- Meat (50 mcg / kg or 0.05 mg).
- Fruit (18 mcg / kg or 0.018 mg).
- Legumes (30 mcg / kg or 0.03 mg).
- Vegetables (29 mcg per kilo, which would be 0.029 mg).
What Are Iodine Pills For
A few weeks after the military attack on Ukraine, Putin’s Russia ordered the nuclear deterrence system alert. The dictator has repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons. This explains why iodine pills have been sold out in many Ukrainian and European territories. These potassium iodide (KI) tablets are considered a preventive antidote in case of exposure to nuclear radiation and serve, in particular, to protect the thyroid from the effects of radioactive iodine.
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