International Online News (Reporter Pan Ying): May 15 this year is my country’s 21st “Iodine Deficiency Disease Prevention and Treatment Day”, with the theme of “Scientific iodine supplementation to protect normal intellectual development”. In our country, salt iodization has been used to prevent iodine deficiency diseases since the 1990s. So what harm will iodine deficiency bring to human health? Are people\’s iodine intake exceeding the standard now? Does it increase the incidence of thyroid cancer as reported online?
In a large supermarket in Beijing, the condiment shelves are filled with all kinds of salt. Among them, green low-sodium iodized salt is the most popular, and many people do not hesitate to list it as their first choice.
\”It\’s iodized salt. You\’d better buy it. Too little iodine is not good. That salt is basically iodized. I\’ve always eaten it like this. I\’m used to it, so don\’t worry. Iodized salt is recommended by the country. I I didn’t pay much attention to it. I bought whatever I was selling. Iodine does not prevent thyroid disease.
Iodine is an essential element for the human body. Since the 1990s, my country has adopted comprehensive prevention and control measures to prevent iodine deficiency diseases on the basis of long-term supply of iodized salt. When people talk about iodine deficiency diseases, they often think of goiter, also known as \”big neck disease\”. In fact, the dangers of iodine deficiency are not limited to this. Yang Xiaoguang, a researcher at the Nutrition Institute of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that in addition to hypothyroidism and goiter, iodine deficiency can also cause irreversible losses to the intellectual development of teenagers. Therefore, pregnant women and infants are most afraid of iodine deficiency: \”The harm of iodine deficiency disease: can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, fetal hypothyroidism. In childhood and adolescence, it is mainly intellectual disability. According to the analysis, There is a 13.5 point difference in IQ between people living in iodine-rich areas and those living in iodine-deficient areas.
China was once one of the countries with the most severe epidemic of iodine deficiency diseases in the world. According to surveys in the 1970s, iodine deficiency diseases exist to varying degrees in most areas of my country, with a threatened population of about 720 million. At present, in addition to Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other provinces, 28 provinces across the country have achieved the goal of eliminating iodine deficiency diseases.
The World Health Organization advocates a salt iodization strategy to prevent and treat iodine deficiency diseases. Since 1990, through salt iodization, the prevalence of children and adolescents in areas with a high incidence of \”big neck disease\” has been reduced by 40% to 95%. According to reports, India suspended the iodization of salt in 2000, but not long after, the iodine deficiency disease that had been basically eliminated resurfaced, and the government had to resume iodizing salt.
In recent years, some scholars have questioned whether there is excessive iodine intake in iodized salt, believing that excessive iodine intake is related to an increased incidence of thyroid tumors. In interviews with reporters, some people also said they had heard such rumors.
\”It\’s not good to eat too much iodine, it\’s not good to have no iodine. Now I can\’t even afford the salt.\”
Like iodine deficiency, excess iodine can also cause harm to human health, mainly manifesting as hypothyroidism, enlargement, autoimmune diseases, etc. Then the iodine intake of Chinese peopleToo much? Shen Hongmei, a researcher at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that with the exception of a few areas with high water iodine (high iodine in water sources), the iodine nutritional status of residents in most areas of my country, including coastal areas, is at an appropriate and safe level. Relevant surveys show that the iodine nutrition level in coastal areas is even lower than in inland areas: \”We conducted a National Food Safety Risk Assessment Committee to assess the risk status of salt iodization and residents\’ iodine nutrition. Generally speaking, the level of iodine nutrition in China\’s population is basically At an appropriate and safe level, since most areas in my country have varying degrees of iodine deficiency, the health benefits of salt iodization far outweigh the possible health risks of salt iodization.”
At present, more than 120 countries and regions in the world have adopted salt iodization measures. In the United States, Australia and other regions, bread iodization is also used to prevent iodine deficiency diseases. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the dosage of iodized salt should be 20-40 mg/kg, while the iodine dosage of Chinese table salt is 20-30 mg/kg. From the perspective of per capita intake, the per capita daily iodine intake in my country is between 200-300 micrograms, which is also consistent with the 150-300 microgram intake recommended by the World Health Organization.
Will excessive iodine increase the incidence of thyroid tumors? Experts believe that no clear relationship has yet been found between the two. Regarding salt iodization, Shen Hongmei said that a study by Belgian scientists in 2000 showed that salt iodization would affect the classification of thyroid tumors, that is, the incidence of malignant thyroid tumors decreased while the benign rate increased. It is helpful to reduce the incidence of malignant thyroid cancer: \”The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing globally, not only in our country, but also other cancers. The specific reason is not yet clear. Some studies believe that it is related to the impact of radiation. \”
Experts suggest that if you are worried about excessive iodine intake, you can go to the hospital to monitor the urinary iodine content. For pregnant women, children and other people who need iodine supplementation, they can eat more iodine-rich foods such as kelp, mussels and shrimp. Patients with hyperthyroidism and thyroid disease should follow the doctor\’s advice not to eat or eat less iodized salt.
Author: Pan Ying
Original title: Iodine deficiency in pregnant women affects children’s intelligence. There is no scientific basis for iodized salt to cause thyroid cancer