Iodine deficiency

[torjusg]

If you live in a mainly inland region, with little or no available iodine through sea fish, how do you make sure you don't get goiter?

I know that icelandic lichen contains iodine, but I don't know if the quantity is sufficient to ensure that you get enough of it. And it isn't exactly tasty. Any ideas of how to prevent this problem?

Torjus Gaaren

 

[Toddy]

This was one of the reasons that Seasalt, literally from the evaporation of seawater, was so popular. I did hear that for a while table salt was fortified by the addition of iodine. No idea if it still happens though.
To be honest it's not really much of an issue for those of us in the UK because cattle feed is iodine enriched as is the stuff used to wash the teats of cattle, and generally our lands are okay for minerals.
This site for vegans implies that here's plenty available from vegetables, but that presupposes that the land already has iodine.....do they grow many vegetables in Iceland ? maybe that's why they use the lichens (dunno)
http://www.vegsoc.org/info/basic-nutrition.html

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[torjusg]

Inland peoples of Siberia (Evenks among others), suffered no ill effects from lack of iodine. They ate (and do eat lots of raw liver etc..) to get maximum mineral return from their food. Perhaps reindeer also eats icelandic lichen??

Anyway, that kind of lifestyle isn't a viable option in my area (too few reindeer). And my area is an area where goiter was pretty much endemic.

Found this: http://www.iodinenetwork.net/Resources_Region.htm

Torjus Gaaren

 

[sandsnakes]

When at the coast gather kelp and dry it. Them grind it and add it to salt or pepper. If you add it to salt use a 'lo-salt' one that is potassium based as its actually better for you, muscle aches and camps are improved. Dam good for the heart as well.


Sandsnakes

 

[Toddy]

I buy seaspice from the first company,

http://www.seaveg.co.uk/seaspice.html#

but this link looks interesting too

http://www.irishseaweeds.com/

No connection with either company.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Moonraker]

If you live in a mainly inland region, with little or no available iodine through sea fish, how do you make sure you don't get goiter?

I know that icelandic lichen contains iodine, but I don't know if the quantity is sufficient to ensure that you get enough of it. And it isn't exactly tasty. Any ideas of how to prevent this problem?

Torjus Gaaren

I can't find any figures for iodine constituent in Iceland Lichen (Cetraria islandica) but it does indeed contain iodine above trace quantities. There are various ways to make the lichen edible including making a jelly form it. And I remember from Ray Mears' 'Heroes of Telemark' how they survived on the semi-digested lichen taken from the stomachs of reindeer as their vegetable ration. Not so tasty though

sandsnakes is spot on recommending kelps or other seaweeds which are rich in iodine, though they would have to be harvested near the sea.

It is one of the main reasons for iodised table salt as Toddy mentioned.

I am guessing that one of the reasons stockfish was so popular was because it also contained iodine in the preserving salt and in the seawater fish itself.

One idea might be obtaining it from fish, normally living in the sea, that migrate into the rivers in the area to spawn. Salmon spring to mind. I know sea trout contain iodine. Trout may also be a source;

Which foods have iodine?
Fatty fish such as haddock, mackerel, herring, salmon and trout, seafood such as muscles and kelp, salt and dairy.

source: http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Whats_in_food/15-47-108-113.asp

This would appear to include freshwater species such as rainbow, brown and brook trout, specifically in their thyroid glands. Some info:

Iodine is essential for the biosynthesis of the thyroid hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Fish obtain iodine from water via branchial pumps and from feed sources (Leloup, 1970). The total uptake of iodine depends on the iodine content of the feed and water (Gregory and Eales, 1975). Under laboratory conditions, rainbow trout derive 80 percent of their iodide from water, 19 percent from diet, and less than 1 percent by recycling iodide from thyroid hormone degradation (Hunt and Eales, 1979).

Iodine deficiency caused thyroid hyperplasia in brook trout (Marine, 1914). Thyroid hormone deficiency has been induced by glucosinolates in the diet (Higgs and Eales, 1978). A deficiency of ascorbic acid caused hypoactivity of the thyroid gland as demonstrated by a reduction in accumulation of 131I by thyroid glands in scorbutic snakehead (Agrawal and Mahajan, 1981). The minimum iodine requirement of most fish species has not been established. Woodall and LaRoche (1964) reported higher iodine requirements for advanced chinook salmon parr compared with fingerlings due to increased thyroid activity during smoltification. Lall et al. (1985) observed that relatively high concentrations of iodine and fluorine (4.5 mg/kg of diet of each) were essential to protect Atlantic salmon from bacterial kidney disease infections.

source: http://darwin.nap.edu/books/0309048915/html/21.html

Digging a bit more I found some useful figures (extracted from table. other seafoods included to give an broader idea);

Mineral Contents of Selected Fish and Shellfish (mg/100g raw edible portion unless otherwise specified)

Haddock 250 mcg
Cod 110 mcg
Mackerel 140 mcg
Mussel 140 mcg
Salmon(Atlantic) 76 mcg
Herring 29 mcg
Prawn 21 mcg
Trout(Rainbow) 13 mcg

note: mcg = micrograms
source: : Holland, B., Brown, J., & Buss, D.H., 1993. Fish and Fish Products; the third supplement to McCance & Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods (5th Edition), HMSO, London.

As to quantities needed;
"Seafood is the richest source of iodine in the normal diet, and one or two seafood meals per week will supply 100-200mcg per day, enough to meet the adult RNI of 140 mcg. Few other commonly eaten foods can match this."

the recommended daily amount (UK RDA) of iodine is 150 micrograms for adults and children over the age of 5.

Then you need to eat 200g of (raw) Salmon a day, or 1.2kg of trout a day to achieve the recommended levels. But given that iodine is available from other sources this is simply assuming a diet really lacking in iodine as you mentioned.

Maybe it is also found in crayfish or freshwater mussels?

 

[Moonraker]

I found this recipe for an Icelandic 'Moss Soup' (the lichen is often referred to as 'Iceland moss') which may make it half palatable

Fjallagrasamjólk - Iceland Moss Soup

- A very healthy, nourishing soup.

Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica) is very versatile. In spite of the name, it isn't a moss at all, but a lichen. It's used in cosmetics (especially creams and ointments), medicines and nutritional supplements (it is an excellent remedy for coughs and digestive problems), and as food. In olden times it was also used for colouring wool. In modern times, it is also used as a flavouring for a special schnapps.

Iceland moss also grows in other northern countries, but as it is very sensitive to pollution, it is not much harvested. If you want to try the recipe, I recommend buying some from Iceland (Heilsuhúsið may have it). It tastes very bitter when used in teas and infusions, but cooking it in milk, like in this recipe, removes most of the bitterness.

This soup is very nourishing and tasty. It is up to you if you choose to actually eat the moss or just use it as a flavouring (it gets pretty slimy when you cook it). As far as I know, my mother has never even tried to make "Fjallagrasamjólk", but I sometimes get it at my grandmother's. She also makes a mean cough syrup with Iceland moss, which tastes extremely bitter in spite of it being saturated with sugar!

1-2 fistfuls Iceland moss
1 litre whole milk
2-3 tblsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
OR
2 litres whole milk
30-40 gr. Iceland moss
50 gr. sugar
pinch salt

Clean the lichens well (this includes picking off any remains of moss). Flush the lichens with cold water and chop them up. Bring the milk to the boil and add the lichens. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and sugar and serve.

Apparently "the Iceland moss was ground into flour, which was used to bake bread. Boiling the plant was said to remove the bitter taste, so the plant was boiled and made into a jelly."

Quite a lot more info and ways to take it here;

Dictionary of Alternative Medicine - Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica)

 

[anthonyyy]

Interesting. Table salt in Germany is fortified with iodine.

 

[Toddy]

After the Brouhaha over Chernobyl, iodine tablets were widely available and their use is still considered to be part of the response should another incident occur, especially for infants and young children.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/radiation/publications/documents_of_nrpb/abstracts/absd12-3.htm

With that in mind, why not just buy the tablets if you can't face two pints of Icelandic moss soup a day (wonder how much of the iodine comes from the milk used?) Interesting as it is to know what could be used naturally, (in some places it appears, not much) sometimes trads is the way to go.

Cheers,
Toddy