So what’s the deal with adding iodine to table salt? Yes it’s true we need iodine, and yes it’s also true that our soil has been depleted of many minerals over the past few decades by the overue of chemicals in modern farming practices. Iodine being one of them. But why add a toxic form of iodine to toxic table salt, and what about those in the community that have an overactive thyroid? They dont need extra iodine. My issues with adding iodine to tabel salt are 1. The iodine added to table salt is not the same as naturally occuring iodine, and 2. Why mass medicate the population?
The potassium iodide that is added to table salt is not enough to compensate for most iodine deficiencies anyway. It may be enough to prevent a goitrous boil from swelling in the neck, which are caused by an extreme deficiency. Naturally-occurring iodine is present in unadulterated sea salt with complimentary minerals, but even the vastly superior and healthier sea salts may not be enough for the small percentage of people who have extreme iodine deficiencies, which are often caused by fluoride toxicity and other factors.
Unadulterated sea salt usually contains more iodide than iodized table salt does. Iodide is iodine that is mixed with a salt. Moreover, the inorganic iodide in table salt is less healthy, because it is lacking the trace minerals that work with it, that are found only in natural sea salts.
Plus, there are other places to get iodine – seaweed is a great souce, but be sure you get it from clean waters like here in Australia, New Zealand or Alaska. You’ll find these brands on- line or in health food stores. Seafood is another good source, but be sure to buy sustainably- caught seafood, not farmed or only ‘sustainable’. Eggs also have a good deal of iodine, but again be mindful of your choice here. Buy ethically treated and properly fed hens, so that means organic or biodynamically raised hens. Baked potatoes are also a great source of iodine; one medium potato provides about 40% of the recommended daily amount of iodine. Other good sources are cod, bananas, spinach, spirulina, watercress, strawberries, kelp noodles, pineapple and yoghurt
In general, natural sea salt helps to balance the entire body. All our body fluids are salty – blood, sweat, tears and saliva. The general consensus is that a healthy adult should aim to include around five or six grams of salt a day to maintain a good balance. About 1 teaspoon.
