Should You Use Iodized Salt?

Did you know that in Canada, the government has put in place mandatory fortification for certain foods? For instance, milk is fortified with Vitamin D, flour is fortified with iron and folic acid and table salt is fortified with iodine. The thought process behind our fortification practice is to prevent and correct nutritional problems, and to restore vitamins and minerals lost through processing. Super interesting!

Let’s zoom in and take a look at table salt for a moment.

The trend of eating less table salt, dairy and bread has some experts concerned that iodine deficiency could be on the rise again. Until the early 1900s, iodine deficiency was a common problem in North America, but was significantly improved with the addition of iodine to table salt.

So, if you are like me and use fancy salt, where else can you find iodine? Seaweed, salt water fish and seafood are all natural sources of dietary iodine. Dairy products also supply iodine but at varying levels, and plants grown in iodine-rich soil are also good sources. However, this is not a reliable source of iodine since there is no way of knowing whether produce purchased in grocery stores is grown in iodine-rich soil.

Moral of the story - eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes iodine-rich foods and 1/2 tsp of iodized salt a day is key!

We see a similar situation with gluten-free flours and folic acid, so if you are following a strict gluten-free diet, make sure you are getting folic acid from other sources including legumes, asparagus, or leafy greens.

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