Iodine

[mommamia]

I just have 2 quick questions on iodine. I am finding via a search that one can get iodine from sea vegtables. 1)Beyond sea vegtables are there any other veggies or fruits in which iodine is present? 2)How much is enough? While eating SAD I wasn't a salt lover anyway, but never worried about the iodine factor. Some dulse sprinkled over a salad? Would that be enough? Or a serving of a particular veggie/fruit?

Thanks!

[THX-1138]

From what I've heard onions, mushrooms, some greens, green peppers, and pineapple are all decent sources of iodine.

As far as how much, I know that too little iodine can cause TSH and so can too much iodine. So I would say, consume what you think a person in nature would consume, which would be pretty little (much like nuts and seeds would be consumed very little in nature).

[Queenie]

Mommamia, any vegetable with a red tint has trace iodine: purple cabbage, red lettuce, red onions, etc. My coworker had thyroid cancer and totally gave me the lowdown on the iodine in foods. Lately I've been incorporating sea vegetables into everything.

[jaurequi]

I've had a difficult time finding factual breakdowns of iodine in foods. Since this is a very important element to have, I am not prepared to just hope I get enough; I'm taking a (seaweed) supplement.
According to Dr. Fuhrman, one needs 50mcg-125mcg per day.

I could start eating more seaweed again, but I don't care to right now.

If anyone has a source for reliable information on how much iodine is in a particular food, I'd appreciate it; I've read sites that just sort of list things like, "strawberries contain traces..." That's not really good enough for me.

Best,

[mommamia]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their imput. Also wanted to bump this up in case anyone else has anything to say. I'm kinda w/jaurequi in that I don't want to just go by "some trace amounts are found in..." on the other hand I can't believe I ever ate more that just a few trace amounts....

[JinxieKat]

If you want to add a yummy sea veggie to your diet see if you can find 'sea beans' They are a sea veggie that you will find fresh if you can find it. It is crunchy and somewhat salty and soooooooo good ontop of a salad. It is the raw equivialent of a crouton for me!


Jinx

[Shivananda]

Mommamia, any vegetable with a red tint has trace iodine: purple cabbage, red lettuce, red onions, etc.

No, sorry, this is not scientifically accurate. I'd put this theory in the category of folk superstition. A red onion is pretty much just an onion, and would only be likely to contain much iodine if it was grown in particularly iodine rich soil. Simply goes to show you that even someone who has a diagnosed medical issue with something and is being treated for it does not necessarilly know what they are talking about at all.

The following are the most common food choices given by nutritionists as good sources of dietary iodine. As you can see, most of them would not be acceptable to a vegan raw foodist:

"Concentrated food sources of iodine include sea vegetables (kelp), yogurt, cow's milk, eggs, chicken, strawberries and fresh mozzarella cheese."

"Breads, cereals and red candies (red dye is high in iodine) are also excellent sources of iodine. "

So it's an area to be extra vigilent around, and worth having tested from time to time along with all your other nutritional balances. Also, another thing to be aware of, even if you do take in sufficient dietary iodine, some other foods food components or substances (like arsenic) can interfere with the body's ability to absorb iodine. These food components, called goitrogenic compounds, are found primarily in cruciferous vegetables (for example, cabbage and broccoli), soybean products, cassava root, peanuts, mustard, and millet. So even if you ate kelp daily, it's possible that you could still wind up iodine deficient if you ate it with, say, a lot of broccoli with mustard sauce. :)

[Shivananda]

If anyone has a source for reliable information on how much iodine is in a particular food, I'd appreciate it

Check the US Government Printing Office. They publish a book about the size of a phonebook with very detailed analysis of the nutritional makeup of literally thousands of food items. And being a US Govt publication, it's a pretty cheap book. Not only that, the nutritional info found everywhere else is pretty much all derived from this original source material.

It's not 100% up to date with the latest, trendiest new food choices, but youu can usually find something analogous. Sorry I can't find my copy at the moment to give you more details on iodine, but I have not yet found nor unpacked it from my move.