Iodine for vegans ? My question wasn't posted right yesterday, so I'm trying again.?

Hi Susan,

I didn't see your question yesterday so I'm glad you reposted it. Iodine is a very necessary micronutrient. We need very little of it but it's critical to our health. The reason salt packagers add a little potassium iodide (the compound containing iodine) is to prevent goiter. That used to be a very common problem and one was one of the first conditions found to be related to diet (the others were scurvy and rickets). The simplest solution to goiter was to put a little iodine in something everyone would eat. So they put it in salt. But that doesn't mean we can just say 'eat some salt' and everything is OK. Like yourself, a lot of people can't have salt and run the risk of goiter. It's very rare today because salt is in so many products. Pretty much anything you eat that has salt in it will contain the iodine you need. If you're also eating an iodine rich food like nori, you'll be fine.

The idea that you can't have too much of anything natural is a misconception. Mercury, arsenic, lead, and even water can be deadly, yet they are all natural things. But it's true that to poison yourself with iodine you'd have to actually drink tincture of iodine (the stuff used to treat minor cuts).

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/too-much-iodine-ca...

http://nutritionfacts.org/2012/07/05/do-eden-beans...

general related info about iodine: http://nutritionfacts.org/index.php?s=iodine

different seafoods are different, and I'm not sure about nori. there's not a lot of info about it in the USDA database. The thing with iodine is that you can get the same food on different days from the same place, or from 2 different locations on the same day and foods will have different amounts. It's very variable.

I've been a vegan for many years and have never had an iodine problem. Maybe speak to a dietitian about this. Sea weed does have iodine, like kelp, nori, spirulina, chlorella, dulse, etc. which I love to eat.

This site has a list of foods that contain iodine, and the % daily values. Just pick the vegan options:

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/natural...

Here is a very detailed article on iodine, from the U.S. National Institutes of Health:

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iodine-HealthProf...

lol u can never have too much nori its impossible to have to much of anything natural u can only have too much if ur getting iodine from an artificial sorce such as a supplement then ya u can have to much but

if its not from an artificial supplement it is literally impossible to have too much u could literally eat 10 entire packages a day of that stuff and be perfectly fine.... so yeah i wouldnt worry about iodine too much tho

I'd say take a supplement. You know how much you're getting with each pill and won't run the risk of overdosing.

VEGAN registered dietician Jack Norris recommends 75-150 mcg every few days.

I use iodine drop i put in water you can buy them off the internet or at a health food store.

I'm a vegan and I've honestly never heard of this being a concern. You can buy iodized salt and that should be fine.