My husband came home from the supermarket with salt and said, “Look, it’s ‘non-iodized.’ That’s good, right?” Wrong. “It’s the sodium in salt that’s bad for your blood pressure, not the iodine. We need iodine for lots of reasons,” I told him. OK, so my sweetie is a little clueless about health. But for many people, well-intentioned attempts to cut down on salt have backfired by contributing to iodine deficiency—because iodized salt (table salt to which iodine has been added) is the primary dietary source of this important element. So, basically, by banning salt, they’re throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Why does it matter? Iodine is necessary for the production of thyroid hormones. Because these hormones regulate so many metabolic functions, problems with them can lead to all kinds of ailments for women, men, children and unborn babies. To discuss these concerns, I contacted Sara Blackburn, DSc, RD, a clinical associate professor of nutrition at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Iodine deficiency can…

  • Lead to hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), symptoms of which include fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, constipation and cloudy thinking.
  • Cause goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland triggered by the body’s attempt to capture more iodine from the bloodstream.
  • Increase the risk for thyroid cancer…and possibly for other cancers, including breast, ovarian, endometrial, stomach and prostate cancer.
  • Compromise immune function.
  • Exacerbate lumpiness and discomfort associated with fibrocystic breast disease.
  • Have devastating effects during pregnancy, increasing the risk for miscarriage or stillbirth…and causing mental retardation, delayed physical development, learning disabilities and/or behavioral problems in the child.

Who’s falling short? The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iodine for people age 14 and older is 150 micrograms (mcg) per day…during pregnancy, it rises to 220 mcg…for breast-feeding women, it’s 290 mcg. Unfortunately, according to the National Institutes of Health, iodine concentrations of less than half the level considered sufficient were found in 9% of Americans age six and older and in 15% of women of childbearing age…and among pregnant women, an alarming 57% had insufficient iodine levels.

How can we protect ourselves? It’s hard to specify the exact iodine content of any given type of food because this varies depending on the soil it grew in or the diet of the animal it came from. Go ahead and check product labels to see if iodine is listed, but also follow these guidelines…

  • Choose iodized salt, which provides about 70 mcg of iodine per one-quarter teaspoon. Do you like sea salt? Iodized brands are now available. (Note that commercially prepared foods, which account for up to 70% of all salt consumed in the US, rarely contain iodized salt, according to the American Thyroid Association.)
  • Add sea vegetables (kelp, kombu, nori, wakame) to your diet—these are naturally quite rich in iodine. Try them as a side dish or salad…or season foods by sprinkling them with dried seaweed flakes.
  • Increase your intake of ocean fish (cod, haddock, redfish, sea bass, sole) and shellfish. Examples: Per three-ounce serving, cod provides about 100 mcg of iodine…shrimp provides about 35 mcg.
  • Don’t forget dairy and eggs. Depending on brand, one cup of low-fat yogurt provides about 75 mcg…one cup of milk provides about 55 mcg…and one egg provides about 25 mcg.
  • As a further safeguard against deficiency, talk to your doctor about taking a daily multivitamin that contains the RDA for iodine (not all brands do). Take a separate iodine supplement only if advised to do so by your physician. You don’t want to go overboard. According to the National Institutes of Health, the safe upper limit for adults (including women who are pregnant or breast-feeding) is 1,100 mcg of iodine daily—paradoxically, getting too much iodine also can negatively affect thyroid function.