#iodized salt

[incognitopolls]

Do you use iodized salt (salt with added iodine)? Do you know why it's iodized?

Yes, I use iodized salt at least for some things; yes, I know why it's added

Yes, I use iodized salt at least for some things; I'm not sure why it's added

I'm not sure if my salt is iodized; but I do know why iodine is added to salt

I'm not sure if my salt is iodized; I don't know why iodine is added to salt

No, I don't use iodized salt; I do know why iodine is added to salt

No, I don't use iodized salt, and I don't know why iodine is added to salt

Voting ended onApr 9, 2025

Short version: iodine is an essential micronutrient that not everybody gets naturally in their everyday food. Iodine is widely added to table salt to reduce rates of iodine deficiency.

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We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[what-marsha-eats]

🧂 Iodised salt was one of the great public health triumphs of the 20th century. It eliminated goitre across entire continents and raised national IQs. Now, quietly, its gains are being reversed — and the culprit is good taste.

The core problem is aesthetic. Iodised salt has been steadily displaced by shimmering sea salt crystals, Himalayan pink rock salt, smoked flakes, and Kosher salt — while the few remaining packages of iodised salt sit in uninspired, drab packaging, decidedly out of step with contemporary trends. None of these fashionable alternatives contain meaningful iodine. And the people switching to them largely have no idea.

The consequences are showing up in exactly the population that can least afford them. 46 per cent of pregnant women in the US currently exhibit insufficient iodine levels. In Australia, 62 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women report insufficient iodine status. The stakes are not abstract: even subtle to moderate iodine deficiency in utero has been estimated to reduce intelligence by as much as 0.3 to 13 IQ points. Goitre, once effectively eradicated across the developed world, is edging back.

"The main message is that iodine deficiency is re-emerging as a public health concern in countries that had previously eliminated it," said one public health expert tracking the trend. The fix remains exactly what it was a century ago — and costs almost nothing to implement.

This is not a story about poverty or neglect. It is a story about wellness culture quietly dismantling a century of public health progress, one artisanal salt grinder at a time.

Source: New Scientist

[sistersorrow]

Something I find personally annoying is that in coarse salt, the largest salt crystals are like 70% iodine salts, anti-caking agents, and other additives by mass cause it makes them taste funny

This is only an issue because I like to eat coarse salt straight out the bag like the high sodium Werther's Originals

[stone-cold-groove]

When it rains it pours.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Hi

Just finished medical school, and that means three things: 1) I have to learn the first steps of philosophy of science, 2) I have to learn to make very strict arguments in philosophical philosophy, and 3) I have to live by that logic for the rest of my life.

[hoardingrecipes]

Twisted Ube Mochi Bread

[intentandoseringeniero]

Extrayendo yodo de la sal yodada. Como ignorante total de la química me fascina el conocimiento que tiene Cody para ir añadiendo compuestos sabiendo cual se va a quedar con cual y así ir “despejando” lo que quiere. Dice que es como en matemáticas y tiene toda la razón xD

[what-marsha-eats]

Three Sisters Casserole

From Aldi Supermarkets

A Native American-inspired vegetarian casserole for the slow cooker. The three sisters are beans, squash, and corn.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups Great Northern beans

5 cups water

1 cup quinoa, ground

1 cup instant corn masa mix

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon iodized salt, divided, plus additional to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper, divided, plus additional to taste

5 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, diced (optional)

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

16 ounces frozen sweet corn

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

Directions                    

In a large bowl, combine beans and water, soak 3 hours or overnight. Drain beans, reserve.

In a medium bowl, whisk together ground quinoa, corn masa, basil, olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 3 cups vegetable broth.

Combine remaining ingredients in slow cooker; mix thoroughly. Top with quinoa mixture. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 10 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

TIP: To cut down on prep time, use canned Great Northern beans instead of dry. Drain and rinse the beans before adding to the slow cooker. No soaking required!

Calories 290 Total Fat 3.5g Sodium 470 mg Total Carbohydrate 57g Fiber 11g Sugars 6g Protein 12g