Iodine: Going from hypo to hyper
1981
Taylor, Flora
Iodine used to be lacking in many American diets 75 years ago, leading to the development of goiter and hypothyroidism; the addition of iodine to table salt alleviated this condition almost entirely. Recent evidence, however, indicates the average diet now contains too much iodine--4 times the recommended daily intake. Seafood has always been a rich source of iodine, but dairy products now surpass that by a substantial margin due to the ingestion of iodine by cows and the use of iodophors for sanitary purposes in food processing. Other sources include erythrosine (red food color), dough conditioners, food additives, and diet supplements. Maximum safe levels of intake have not been established, but evidence indicates that up to 2000 micrograms per day (100 for children) probably causes no adverse physiologic reactions in most people. Since more dietary iodine is not needed, the government is restricting use of new iodine compounds in foods or food processing.
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