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Deficiency Of Iodine

A deficiency of iodine is a common nutrient deficiency around the world. More than two billion people suffer from this medical issue. One-third of them are children. It is very important that your child has the right amount of iodine in his or her blood because iodine is crucial for growth, development, and good health.

The main effect of iodine deficiency is an enlarged thyroid. In this case, the thyroid is not able to produce the right amount of thyroid hormones for the body. You can find the thyroid gland in the front of your neck in the shape of a butterfly. The medical term for an underactive thyroid is hypothyroidism. Despite the fact that thyroid hormones are necessary for the growth and development of your child, they are also crucial for other things, such as managing the right energy level for the body and a good working metabolism, the heart, muscles, and other organs. An enlarged thyroid has more effects on the body than just hypothyroidism. It also causes difficulties with swallowing and breathing, stunted growth, intellectual impairment, and puffy and dry skin.

A doctor can diagnose iodine deficiency by visually examining your thyroid gland. You can find out if your thyroid gland is enlarged by measuring it and examining it for abnormalities by doing imaging tests, such as a thyroid ultrasound or a thyroid scan. A doctor can also choose to do a thyroid blood test. Low or high levels of thyroid hormone in your blood can indicate an iodine deficiency.

As you could read before, it can be very dangerous if your child suffers from a deficiency of iodine. Therefore, it is important for you to know how much iodine your child has to consume every day (see table).

Ageμg per day
0 to 6 months90 μg
7 to 12 months110 μg
1 to 8 years90 μg
9 to 13 years120 μg
14 to 18 years150 μg

If your child does not consume enough iodine every day, it is really important that you change his or her diet by adding foods rich in iodine. By adding the following foods to your child’s diet, you will help ensure that your child is getting enough iodine:

  • Packaged bread contains a good amount of iodine, which can improve your child’s diet. Nevertheless, organic bread, unpackaged bread, salt-free bread, and bread mixes for making bread at home most of the time do not contain iodine.
  • Seafood contains a lot of iodine and is very healthy for children, especially tinned salmon and seaweed. Experts recommend 2-3 meals of seafood per week.
  • Dairy products and eggs are also good sources of iodine and are very easy to add to your child’s diet.
  • Iodized salt is a perfect way to add more iodine to your child’s diet. However, most of the salt, such as sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, and fleur de sel, is usually not iodized. Check, therefore, the labels first before consuming it.

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