Iodine is not just for the production of thyroid hormones which controls the rate of processes within the cell, use of body’s sugar or glucose and production of muscles, hormones and other proteins. prevention of goiter. It is for proper growth and development hence should be adequate during brain development, periods of rapid growth like pregnancy to infancy to adolescence. Expect stunting or worse, cretinism in areas where iodine deficiency is serious and chronic. It’s only one of many culprits though. Abortions, stillbirths, low birthweight, impaired mental function may also be due lack of iodine.
Iodine deficiency affects not just the people. You may have heard of cows having goiter. This is because iodine is found in the top soil hence not naturally occurring in food. In mountainous areas like most of the Cordilleras, the top soil is often washed during the rainy season and erosion leaving the soil deficient of iodine. In effect, crops and grasses that grow will be lacking of iodine. So with people who consume the crops and animals that ate iodine-deficient plants. To prevent iodine deficiency, the government embarked on the salt iodization program. The Cordillera provinces and cities were priority recipients of salt iodization machines from UNICEF, AUSAID through DOH in the mid-90s. Right after training, iodized salt was available in many localities. Almost three decades of ASIN Law implementation, where are we now? Particularly in far flung areas, iodized salt seemed to have become rare. There had also been news of low quality. Worse, there remains many misconceptions or erroneous business tactics as when “organic”, non-iodized or less processed salt are advertised as iodized when in fact they are not. Regardless of size of granules, salt is iodized only when potassium iodate or potassium iodide has been adequately added during processing.
Lest readers think iodized salt is the only source of iodine, seafoods abound in many areas and there maybe fortified food products. However, iodized salt is cheaper and while some of its iodine maybe lost during handling to cooking, using it every time you use salt may provide enough supply to the body. As to anti-iodine factors or goitrogen as found in raw vegetables like cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, cassava and turnips, as one needs to consume a lot of these to suffer the effects. Cooking the vegetables destroys the goitrogenic effect.
May everyone keep using iodized salt and eating seafoods with or without monitoring from government agencies and NGOs. For those on low sodium diet like the hypertensives, caution on salt and salty products.
