Tips to get enough iodine if you don't eat bread!
-
More and more people are not eating bread, or at least a lot less than they used to do. This could be because they are on a low-carbohydrate diet, or because they notice that their intestines do not respond well to wheat. In addition, oatmeal and salads are often also a good alternative with many healthy nutrients.
-
But as healthy as it can be to eat with bread, there are a number of risks to watch out for - and one of them is deficiency of iodine. We will explain in detail what this means and how to prevent it.
Iodine in bread
-
How does a lower consumption of bread lead to an iodine deficiency? Very simple: it was precisely to prevent that shortage that it was decided decades ago that Dutch bakers could use special baker's salt to bake bread, to which a lot of extra iodine has been added. At that time, the whole of the Netherlands still ate a lot of bread, and this was an extremely effective way to prevent deficiencies.
-
11 minMain dishpeanut oil, tofu stir-fry cubes finely seasoned, stir fry sauce sweet and sour, thick noodles, carrot julienne, beetroot julienne, yellow bell pepper, watercress,rainbow salad with tofu -
45 minMain dishRed cabbage, mild olive oil, quinoa plus, forest outing, lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce less salt, Bio Today tahini white in pot, tap water,grilled red cabbage with quinoa salad -
30 minDessertBrie, Roquefort, port salut, gruyere, Camembert, walnut, garlic, thyme, honey, grape, baguette, Red onion, red grape, raisins, Red wine, Red wine vinegar, Brown sugar,generous cheese plate with onion marmalade -
30 minDessertFull Milk, whipped cream, macaroon, custard powder, vanilla sugar, sugar, protein, amaretto, almond liqueur, basic recipe cooking pears,macaroon pastry with casserole
-
Now that more and more people either eat organic bread (where often unprocessed, and therefore poorer iodine sea salt is used), or no longer eat bread at all, there is a risk of chronic deficiency again for a large part of the Dutch population.
Iodine deficiency
-
Iodine is an important substance for the functioning of your body, and the thyroid gland in particular is quite dependent on it. An iodine short is not necessarily a problem, because your thyroid gland often has some reserves - but over time, all kinds of bothersome symptoms can occur, most of which are related to an underactive thyroid.
-
Think for example of extreme tiredness, forgetfulness and sadness or even depression. There are also physical consequences: your skin and hair dry out, your face and ankles swell, and you can suffer from painful muscle cramps.
-
5 minDrink without alcoholbananas, cool fresh apple-pear raspberry juice, Soy drink vanilla,soy fruit shake -
20 minMain dishsauerkraut, sticking potato, liquid baking product, half-to-half minced, Spice meatballs, pineapple, olive oil, liquid baking product,gratin sauerkraut dish with minced meat -
40 minMain dishlemongrass, fresh ginger, Red peppers, onions, tomato cubes, fresh cod fillet, coriander, oil, ground turmeric (koenjit), coconut milk, salt,fish in creamy coconut sauce -
15 minSide dishsweet potato, soft goat cheese, egg, spring / forest onion,stuffed sweet potato with egg
How much iodine do you need?
-
The amount of iodine you need each day depends on a number of factors, but most adults can stick to the recommended amount of 150 micrograms (mcg) per day. Only for pregnant women the advice goes to 175 mcg, and those who breastfeed can use as much as 200 micrograms of iodine per day.
-
For children up to 9 years old, the RDA is between 50 and 120 mcg. To give you an idea, 150 mcg of iodine is about as much as six slices of bread with baking salt. So, most people who eat bread get their RDA with it.
Iodine in food
-
But what if you don't eat that bread? Then you can also choose to get iodine from other foods. 150 mcg of iodine equals 150 grams of white fish, 300 grams of fatty sea fish, 8 boiled eggs, 1 kilo of cheese or 14 glasses of semi-skimmed milk. Don't feel like eating half a dozen eggs every day?
-
20 minMain dishTasty vine tomato, (olive oil, fresh basil, onion, garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, zucchini spaghetti, pumpkin spaghetti, mini buffalo mozzarella,lukewarm pumpkin and zucchini spaghetti -
15 minSide dishtraditional olive oil, curry powder, wheat flour, coconut milk, sambal oelek, chicken broth tablet, water, fresh mango,curry sauce with mango -
30 minMain dishtraditional olive oil, lean ground beef, frozen Mexican wok vegetables, salsa sauce mild, taco shell, grated young cheese, creme fraiche,Mexican vegetable in tacos -
95 minMain dishmaize chicken, lemon, coarse sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, thyme, zucchini, tomatoes (small to), black olives without pit,provençal chicken with zucchini and tomatoes
-
Then seaweed can also be a solution: 15 grams of kelp powder, for example, is also sufficient to get your daily portion of iodine! Build this up slowly though: your gut is probably not very used to seaweed yet, and if you start tossing whole scoops through your smoothies at once, you probably won't get it right.
Buy baking salt
-
It is of course also an option to buy your own baker's salt. It contains well over 50 mcg of iodine per gram, which means you don't need much of it to get enough of the mineral (so you don't end up with a sodium surplus on the back!)
-
Note: baker's salt is not the same as the well-known jozo salt: iodine has also been added, but about three times less than baker's salt. So to get your iodine completely out of jozo salt, you would have to consume an unhealthy amount of sodium.