Iodine

What is iodine?

Iodine is a trace element that is essential to life and plays an important role in the thyroid gland. It is present in very small quantities in the body, but our body cannot store it, so it is important to get enough of it through the diet.

What is its function and what are its benefits?

The main role of iodine is to produce thyroid hormones, which are important for many functions in the body (related to growth, regulation of basic metabolism, muscle development, etc.).

Iodine is also involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and acts on the nervous system.

The body also needs thyroid hormones for proper bone and brain development during pregnancy and infancy. Getting enough iodine is important for everyone, especially infants and women who are pregnant.

Where to find it?

Iodine is present in good quantities in iodized sea salt. However, since excessive consumption of salt should be avoided, and it is preferable in our industrialized societies to limit its consumption, it is important to turn in parallel to other sources rich in iodine.

All seafood products are good sources of iodine (fish, seaweed, oysters, seafood and shellfish, etc.), as well as vegetables (whose iodine content is directly related to the soil on which they are grown).

Note that processed foods, such as canned soups, almost never contain iodized salt. In addition, specialty salts, such as sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, and fleur de sel, are not usually iodized. Product labels will indicate if the salt is “iodized” or provides iodide.

Deficiency and excess

An excess of iodine is detrimental, since it can lead to hyperthyroidism, or conversely, hypothyroidism (in this case, excess iodine inhibits the synthesis of thyroid hormones). However, these cases are very rare and most of the time the result of a drug treatment, and not of food origin.

Iodine deficiency can be serious and lead to growth retardation or mental disorders (cretinism). This being said, deficiencies are relatively rare in developed countries, notably because table salt is generally fortified with iodine. Some cases are found in developing countries, or in mountainous regions far from the sea.

Finally, some people may have increased needs, such as pregnant or breastfeeding women, postmenopausal women (due to the frequent disturbances of the thyroid gland at this period), athletes (who can evacuate large quantities via perspiration), adolescents, the elderly, vegetarians, people living in regions far from the sea, etc.