Kosher salt good for Low iodine diet

[Jez777]

Hi ,



I am currently on a low iodine diet and had questions about salt which I am desperatly missing right now.



1. is kosher salt an acceptable replacement? Is all kosher salt non-iodized or does it need to specifically say so?



2. Is non-iodized sea salt acceptable or does it still contain unacceptable amounts of iodine?



3. I am told I should have candy on hand post RAI treatment, any recomendations, I am not sure if I need to stay away from others aside from those with the red dye.



4. Calcium sources? what are good alternatives, is there a supplement that is iodine free? & Vitamins, can I assume they don't have iodine in them if they are not red & don't have iodine listed?



Thanks in advance for your support, I'm entering a hypo state and I am thoroughly confused.

[GravesLady]

For kosher salt or any salt it should state iodized it they contain it.  Kosher is a coarser salt.



Non-iodize salt has no iodine.



No such thing as non-iodize Sea salt and is not acceptable - it comes from the sea and all sea is iodine.



Some vegetable salts also contain iodine becasue they are grown in iodine rich soils.  Plus now they are screwing up our vegetables by using fish genes, among many other bug genes.  For cleaning or sterilizing, they are also iodizing the fruits and vegetables.



Hard candy, preferably sour lemon drops - which will bring up the saliva juices which helps with dry and sore throat.



Calcium - you have to read labels and ingredients even with vitamins, minerals, foods and drinks, juices and fruit, etc.  If you get your calcium from foods mostly dairy. they contain some iodine even when not listed.  The dairy industry disinfects their equipments with iodine and some of the dairy will absorb it (iodine) so to me the best is calcium in pill form and source from bones are the best.  When you can go back to iodine, I'd suggest calcium pills from oyster shells.



The best way and or defense we have is to read labels and ingredients and if we don't like what we read - don't buy! But then, sometimes its not a 100% because the government allows a certain amount/percentage, before companies have to label it with that source.

[utahmomma]

I was forbidden to have ANY salt (just in case) or ANY calcium - including vitamins.  My legs were cramping so bad by the time I had my RAI!  I know, it's no fun but look at the bright side, it's all going towards something good:  nuking that thyroid tissue and any little "friends" it may have developed.

[Mumzilla]

Good question on the salt.  I just bought Sea Salt that says not iodized.  Cost quite a bit. I think I'll return it.



As for vitamins, read ingredients carefully.  The vitamins I take contain fish. So get out that magnifying glass and read them labels. Best of luck.

[GravesLady]

Ok I'm confused! What is sea salt that contains no iodine?  

Either it is sea salt or its not sea salt.



Sea salt is made from sea vegetables such as sea weeds, etc. Sea weeds has iodine, the whole ocean is iodine.



WATER from the upper layers of the ocean contains some 40  gm./l. of iodine compounds.  Iodine is naturally present in the ocean and some sea fish and water plants will store it in their tissues.



Iodine can be found naturally in air, water and soil. The most important sources of natural iodine are the oceans. About 400.000 tonnes of iodine escape from the oceans every year as iodide in sea spray or as iodide, hydrichloric acid and methyl iodide, produced by marine organisms. Much of it is deposited on land where it may become part of the biocycle.



Also there is very low level of iodine <0.71 mg I/kg in natural salts, whatever the procedure of preparation, artisanal or industrial.



level of iodine <0.71 mg I/kg in natural salts, whatever the procedure of preparation, artisanal or industrial

Unrefined salt is at heart sea salt, but can come from two sources: either freshly dried from the sea, as in Celtic Sea Salt, or mined from ancient inland ocean beds as in Himalayan Salt. In either case, the salt is a naturally occurring complex of sodium chloride, major minerals such as calcium and magnesium, and a complete complement of essential trace minerals.

This is the form of salt the body recognizes and is designed to use.



Much of the salt labeled "sea salt" is actually refined table salt unless the package is clearly labeled "unrefined." (This is also true for Kosher salt!)



Refined salt, on the other hand, is a manmade creation of the last century that contains anti-caking chemicals and added iodine. all refined table salt is actually sea salt at heart, either refined from the sea (brine sourced) or found in salt mines created by ancient seabed deposits known as halite. Refined salt is processed at high temperatures altering the molecular structure of the salt (not good) and removing the beneficial trace minerals. The human body doesn't like it.







Fisher and L'Abbe (1980) tested non-iodized sea salt and iodized table salt and sea salt.  The authors found 52.9 - 84.6 micrograms iodine/gram of salt in iodized salt and 1.2 - 1.4 micrograms iodine/gram in non-iodized sea salt.  [see Fisher, Peter W. F. and Mary L'Abbe. 1980. Iodine in Iodized Table Salt and in Sea Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technolo. J. Vol. 13. No. 2:103-104. April]



Aquaron (2000) determined iodine content of natural sea salt and rock salt, and iodized salt. The author found iodine levels of less than 0.71 milligrams iodine/kilogram of salt.  micrograms/gram) in non-iodized salt and 7.65 - 100 mg iodine/kg of salt in iodized salt (depending on the country's iodine laws).  [see Aquaron, R. 2000. Iodine content of non iodized salts and iodized salts obtained from the retail markets worldwide. 8th World Salt Symposium. Vol. 2:935-940] http://www.saltinstitute.org/iodine-seasalt.html





Sodium in any form is OK, as long as it is not provided as IODIZED salt. NON-IODIZED salt is OK for the diet, as long as it is not sea salt. And you should should avoid any product or ingredient from the sea. That's because sea-based products are high in iodine.





According to ThyCa:  Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc. recommends a "low-iodine" diet, NOT a "no-iodine" diet and NOT an "iodine-free" diet. A low-iodine diet reduces iodine consumptionc(on most diets to below 50 micrograms (mcg) of iodine per day (on some diets to below 80-100 mcg per day). The American Thyroid Association recommends that the low-iodine diet include less than 50 mcg of iodine per day. (The Recommended Daily Allowance of iodine is 150 mcg per day for adults. One teaspoon of iodized salt contains 400 mcg of iodine.)

During the time a person is on the diet, they may freely eat any foods that are low in iodine (up to 5 mcg per serving). There are lots of foods that can eaten.  However, avoid foods high in iodine (over 20 mcg per serving). Also, many thyroid cancer specialists' guidelines recommend limiting foods that are moderate in iodine (5 to 20 mcg per serving).



However, your nuc instruction should have listed whether to avoid sea foods and that would include sea salt.

[Jez777]

Thanks for all the info Graveslady, it's a lot to digest. I had purchased a product that stated that it was non-iodized sea salt and that it did not contain iodide...asked the pharmacist if this meant it was iodine free and he looked at me like I was from mars :)



Anyhow, I called a few health food stores to ask about non-iodized salt that was not sea salt and one outlet told me they had something called mountain salt that was a rose colour, was unrefined but was salt left over from some ancient sea that had dried up in the mountains or something to that effect.



I just don't want to start having this sea salt and have it turn out that I am not supposed to have it. Is there a such thing as noniodized table salt? DOes something that says non-iodized still have some iodine in it? Is no iodide the same as no iodine? All I know is this food has a lot to be desired and I'm starting to feel like a chipmunk with all these nuts & berries.



Thanks for all your help.



Jez

[GravesLady]

Hey Jez,



I am sorry for the over info.  I know it is overwhelming and confusing.  



It is almost impossible to avoid products that are not effect by iodine in one way or the other. However, you might check on artificial salt and artificial  sea salt, but don't recommend them as full time use, and they taste bad too, to me.  Natural salt has a lot of good minerals for our body and good health as long as we don't over use, or, unless there is a health issue that salt should be avoided. When I had my RAI I just used the regular salt without the iodine added. I wasn't put on a diet, they just gave me foods to avoid which wasn't a problem for me because most I didn't eat anyway, being a vegetarian.



Check artificial salts.



Good luck!

[selfhealer]

Thank you both for your comments.  I am in the process of being
diagnosed also.  Having been a vegan for years, the non-excitement
of foods without iodine is totally bearable.  Jez asked the same ?
I was having and GravesLady gave me plenty of information to assist
in my quest.  It's the no soy part that is hard to deal with as it is now
in everything organic and regular.  Most all organic products also have
sea salt as I'm sure you've discovered.  

Looking forward to having this thyroid scan (RAI) and brain MRI over
with so I can begin treatment.

Again, it was nice to find this site and have my questions/answers right
on the first page.  Merci!
selfhealer

[happyflcat]

Does anybody know if lots of sea vegetables, sea salt, algaes and vitamins with iodine can actually push your thyroid into hyperthyroidism.  I have been doing mainly raw vegetables due to digestive problems (candida) and now after months of using lots of foods with iodine, I have a hyperthyroid.  By reducing the level of iodine can I swing back to a normal working thyroid?  Thanks for any input.          

happyflcat