Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Should I use sea salt instead of iodized table
salt?
You need to eat foods that contain iodine for your body
to be able to make thyroid hormone. The best sources are
iodized salt and seafood. Plants can be a good source, but only
if they are grown on iodine-rich soil. A study in the Annals of
Nutrition and Metabolism (September-October 2003) showed
that vegetarians are at increased risk for iodine deficiency that
causes low thyroid function. In this study, 25 percent of
vegetarians and 80 percent of vegans had low blood levels of
iodine, compared to only nine percent of people who eat both
meat and vegetables. While iodized table salt is a good source
of iodine, sea salt often is not. If you don't use table salt or eat
ocean fish or kelp, get a blood test for iodine. If your iodine level
is low, you need to eat more seafood or iodized salt, or take
iodine pills.
March 1, 2006