Vegan Sources Of Iodine In Food – Where does iodine come from? The sources of iodine are mainly food. The desired intake is 150 micrograms/day for an adult. It is required in the metabolism of water and fats.
Iodine and thyroid: what’s the link?
T3 and T4 thyroid hormones secreted by the thyroid gland are synthesized from iodine provided by food. In other words, iodine is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. These hormones are especially vital in regulating basic metabolism.
The iodine content of food
Marine products are the main suppliers. Seafood is rich, but eggs, milk, and cheeses are not to be outdone.
DID YOU KNOW?
Along with iron, iodine is the most common nutrient deficiency in the world.
Some examples of Iodine Sources
- Shellfish : 200 to 400 micrograms / 100 g
- Fish : 2 to 131 micrograms / 100 g
- Eggs : 32 to 70 micrograms / 100 g
- Cheese: 21 to 73 micrograms / 100 g
- The Vegan Sources Of Iodine are mainly ionized water and salt!
Foods rich in iodine
- Vegan Sources Of Iodine : salt (iodine is added in the form of potassium iodide). But also algae
- Non-Vegan Sources Of Iodine : seawater fish (sardines, mackerel, etc.), seafood (shellfish, crustaceans), cod liver oil.
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- Unexpectedly in dairy products and eggs. You should know that the iodine content of dairy products is very variable depending on the amount of iodine absorbed by animals and the iodine content of the soil.
- Farm animals are supplemented with iodine to provide the population with an adequate supply when it is so simple to obtain the nutrient directly!
- Do not rely on refined foods to bring you iodine. They lack it.
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Vegan Diet And Iodine Deficiency
Mineral waters rich in iodine
If a vegan person only depends on drinking water contains very little iodine. And as it varies from one water to another. In any case, their daily consumption does not cover the nutritional needs for iodine. “An iodine deficiency may be detrimental to the human body.”
Food, iodine, and pregnancy
The need for iodine during pregnancy increases. Supplements of 25 to 50 micrograms/day are necessary because there is a risk of deficiency.
Vegan Sources Of Iodine
Where to find iodine in food when you are vegan?
Being vegan, the consumption of animal products is excluded. You still have the solution of algae and/or iodized salt. But if this consumption is insufficient, a drug supplementation is proven to be essential. Take professional appropriate medical advice.
Iodine allergy: which foods are prohibited?
The allergy to iodine is not due to iodine but to iodized products, therefore, containing iodine (contrast products for radiological examinations). We should talk about allergy to iodized products, it would be decreased. And in this case, no food is prohibited!
Iodine is a marine element that has long been lacking in populations far from the coast. To remedy the iodine deficiency, so many countries developed techniques to enrich table salt with iodine and supplement the diet of farm animals to enrich animal products (meat, milk, etc.).
But what is this essential nutrient for the body, and where to find it when you are vegan?
Iodine in 5 points
Satisfactory intakes for iodine by age
| Age (years) | Satisfactory intake (µg / d) |
| 1–3 | 80 |
| 4–6 | 90 |
| 7–9 | 120 |
| 10 and + | 150 |
| Pregnant women | 200, 250 (WHO) |
| Breastfeeding women | 200, 290 (WHO) |
Where to find iodine as a vegan?
Taking a supplement is a simple solution to ensure an adequate supply of iodine. A VEG1 tablet covers for example 100% of our daily needs (half a tablet is enough for children).
In many of the US farms, farm animals are massively supplemented with iodine, and, therefore, most people have an adequate supply with the milk, meat, and fish they consume.
Before this supplementation of animals, populations living far from the sea coasts were very deficient in iodine.
As for iodized salt, in the US, it is quite simply … insufficiently iodized! Its consumption certainly represents an iodine intake, but that does not cover our iodine needs.
It is obviously not recommended to increase your salt intake in the hope of having more iodine. The reduction of iodine in salt was also decided following the increase in the iodine content in milk, due to the disinfection of the udders with iodized products.
The Best Vegan Sources Of Iodine
The Best Vegan Sources Of Iodine is undeviantly Seaweed, especially kombu, can be a good source of iodine, but difficult to measure.
Seaweed is the main source of iodine in Korea and Japan, where it is widely consumed. Lovers of Asian cuisine probably know the nori seaweed, which is used for maki, and wakame seaweed sometimes served as a starter.
However, the intake may even be too high if certain algae are consumed: eating it twice a week is quite sufficient for iodine needed intake.
What are the iodine requirements?
The iodine intake should be relatively adjusted since negative health effects are proven in the event of a deficiency and suspected in the event of excessive intake.
It is, therefore, better not to exceed the upper safety limit which has been set by the WHO at 1100 µg of iodine per day.
What is Iodine used for?
Indispensable to the body, iodine is used for the proper functioning of the thyroid, whose hormones regulate among other things growth, maintenance of the skeleton, body temperature, renal functioning …
Iodine would also seem necessary for the health of breasts (Patrick, 2008), salivary glands, and stomach (Venturi and Venturi, 2009).
Adults severely deficient in iodine may suffer from goiter and insufficient production of thyroid hormones, while even moderate deficiency can cause mental retardation in young children called “cretinism” (Zimmermann, 2009).
Who needs to take iodine?
In the US, supplementation is not designed for vegans since it currently mainly involves animal products.
If you are vegan and do not consume seaweed regularly, supplementation remains the most practical and safest solution.
Iodine intake should be particularly assured for pregnant women and children.
What you must remember
Iodine is an essential trace element for the body, whose role and even importance are often overlooked since, in the US, the supply is provided by animal products via the supplementation of the latter.
Vegans must, therefore, ensure a correct source of iodine.
If supplementation is a simple way to do it, the consumption of seaweed is also possible and allows in addition to finding pleasantly marine flavors.