The little salt that is used to season food should always be iodized, as advised this Wednesday by the Castilian Leonese Society of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition (SCLEDYN) coinciding with the celebration of World Thyroid Day.
In a statement, the SCLEDYN has observed that there is sufficient scientific evidence to warn of the relationship between Iodine Deficiency Disorders and numerous consequences for health in all stages of life, ranging from an increase in the incidence of abortions and deficiencies neurological disorders in newborns to the development of goiter and hypothyroidism in adults.
This lack of iodine lies in its scarcity in most foods, apparently due to the massive thaw after the ice ages washed the land, concentrating most of the planet’s iodine in the seas and oceans, with which only This mineral is consumed in a significant amount when we eat fish, shellfish or algae.
The SCLEDYN has recalled that to avoid this food deficiency, for years, the WHO and other international organizations, such as UNICEF, have advocated the iodization of salt as it is the most widely consumed food throughout the world.
In addition, they propose not only the iodization of table salt, but also the iodization of salt for animal consumption, as well as that used in the food industry, since the countries that have followed this recommendation for many years have eradicated iodine deficiency disorders have been completely explained by the Castilian-Leonese society.
Specifically, in Spain a royal decree of 1983 regulates the iodization of salt, and states that iodized salt is that “to which potassium iodide, potassium iodate, or another iodized derivative authorized by the General Directorate of Health has been added. Public, in the appropriate proportion so that the finished product contains 60 milligrams of iodine per kilogram of salt”.
The recommendation for consumption of iodized salt is general, for the entire population, with special relevance in pregnant women because pregnancy implies a considerable increase in iodine needs and because of the implications that iodine deficiency could have on the fetus, and only people with hyperthyroidism problems should be excluded from this recommendation.
