Myth: Iodized Salt Prevents Goiter

Yesterday, as I was doing my weekly grocery shopping, my eyes caught something and I cringed. This elderly lady was pushing her trolley next to me and in her trolley were three big packets of iodized salt. What would anyone do with three packets of iodized salt? And this is an elderly lady, certainly doesn’t look as though she was running a restaurant.

Kay-poh as I am, I stopped beside this lady and asked her why was she buying so many packets of iodized salt. She told me that she has hypothyroidism and her doctor had advised her that she should take more iodized salt !!!

It bothered me because I know the harm that iodized salt could cause. I tried to advise the aunty against taking iodized salt and explained the harm of table salt to her. I get so angry when doctors prescribed harmful stuff to unknowing patients, and this is certainly nothing new.

I can understand why the doctor recommended iodized salt, which was “supposed” to contain iodine to prevent iodine deficiency that causes swelling of the thyroid gland. This theory has been taught in medical schools for decades but many studies had shown that the iodine in iodized salt are inorganic and our body cannot properly assimilate it.

Moreover, in U.S., out of a study of 88 iodized salt samples, 47 were found to contain less than the FDA’s recommended level of 150mcg, while there are others that far exceeded the allowable amount. Our body really needs only a very minute amount of iodine to prevent goiter but in most commercialized iodized salt, the distribution of iodine amount is uneven. They were either too little or too much which makes it harmful either way.

Iodized salt is simply table salt with added inorganic potassium iodide. Table salt is totally harmful to the body as our body cannot assimilate this type of commercial (table) salt.

Table salt is really just sodium chloride which is inorganic and void of any minerals or nutrients. It is extremely toxic to the body and causes the body to retain fluid. High intake of this substance thickens and stiffens arteries and increases the risks of strokes, and cardiac failure. It accelerates the rate of renal functional deterioration.

Sodium chloride draws calcium from your bones, which is excreted in your urine. This leads to early and painful osteoporosis, or the thinning and fracturing of bones.

Good and safe sources of iodine to prevent goiter are sea vegetables, sea algae like kelp (best), yogurt, and eggs.

See this page for the harm that table salt can cause.

Celtic sea salt is a good alternative for table salt but it doesn’t contain enough iodine that is required for our body. SD