The role of iodine
Release time : 04/20/2025 09:30:01
Many salt packets are marked with "Iodized". Experts also recommend that iodized salt should be added at the end of cooking to avoid destroying the iodine in it.
It is evident that iodine is essential for human health.
Iodine is an essential trace element for the human body, and it is required by the human body during various stages of growth and development to support normal physiological functions.
So, what are the functions of iodine? What foods can be consumed to supplement iodine? The impact of iodine on fetal growth and development. Iodine is a constituent of thyroid hormones in the human body, playing an important role in regulating physiological functions: it can regulate energy metabolism, allowing carbohydrates and other energy-yielding substances to produce energy for cells to use, thereby completing various physiological activities. Therefore, sufficient iodine intake is very important for maintaining normal physiological functions, promoting growth and development, and preventing some diseases. Common foods rich in iodine include fish, kelp, seaweed, shrimp skin, milk, eggs, etc.
More importantly, thyroxine can promote the growth and development of human body; iodine deficiency can cause dwarfism.
Iodine also promotes the development of the nervous system and maintains normal reproductive function.
Iodine also plays an important role in the development of the fetus.
If a pregnant woman has iodine deficiency during pregnancy, it can cause fetal thyroid hormone deficiency, and the central nervous system of the fetus, especially the brain, may be severely damaged, leading to cretinism. After birth, the baby will show symptoms such as short limbs, flat nose, thick lips, dull expression, muscle tone is low, dry skin, cold intolerance, low appetite, slow response, duck-like steps, varying degrees of hearing and language impairments, stunted growth, and underdeveloped sex organs.
Pregnant women require more iodine than the general population because fetal growth and development are vigorous, and the need for thyroid hormones is increased in various systems.
The iodine consumed by pregnant women daily is insufficient to meet the needs of the fetus and the mother, necessitating additional iodine supplementation.
The Food and Nutrition Council recommends a daily intake of 150 micrograms for adults, with pregnant women needing an additional 25-50 micrograms. Thus, it is advisable for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to frequently consume foods rich in iodine, such as kelp, seaweed, and fish.
However, it is important to note that pregnant women should not simply supplement iodine indiscriminately. Otherwise, it could pose a hazard to the fetus as well.
If a baby is deficient in iodine, what serious consequences does it bring? Iodine plays an essential role in the development of children's physical and intellectual growth. Iodine can enhance children's cold resistance.
In the cold winter, many children, especially those who are physically weak, often catch colds.
If we can eat foods rich in iodine regularly, it will effectively improve our children's cold resistance.
This is because iodine is the basic raw material for thyroid hormone synthesis in the human body, and thyroid hormones have a thermogenic effect. They can promote the conversion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats into energy within the body, while also accelerating the oxidation process of most tissues and cells, increasing the production of heat, thereby enhancing the basal metabolic rate and strengthening skin blood circulation. This results in an ability to maintain body warmth.
Iodine is still considered an essential element for intellectual development, as it is a crucial nutrient for the normal growth and development of the human brain tissue. It plays a positive role in enhancing cognitive abilities.
During a certain period of brain development in infants and young children, they must rely on thyroid hormone. Its deficiency can lead to varying degrees of retarded brain development and various degrees of intellectual disability after birth.
This condition is essentially irreversible and there is no use in supplementing iodine after the critical period. However, iodine supplementation can ensure normal physical development, correct thyroid dysfunction, and restore physical abilities, indirectly improving intellectual activities.
>> Children lacking iodine can affect intelligence. What serious harms does iodine deficiency cause? The global prevalence of iodine deficiency is 40%, with the non-coastal regions being particularly affected.
Experts advocate: It is very important to replenish enough iodine to your baby. For the health of your baby, parents need to pay attention to supplementing your baby with iodine.
It is an important period for brain development before the baby is 2 years old. If iodine deficiency is present at this time, it may lead to cretinism, which is manifested as mental retardation. The most serious case is the inability to even take care of oneself in urine and urine.
Although mild children can take care of themselves, they cannot do complex labor, cannot adapt to social life, and have hearing, language and movement disabilities.
The incidence of deaf-mute is high, and even developmental abnormalities occur.
The thyroid gland is an important organ in the human body and is located in the front of the neck. The thyroid can synthesize substances called thyroid hormones, which are crucial for human development and brain development.
The thyroid gland requires iodine to synthesize such substances. Lack of iodine can lead to iodine deficiency diseases. The main feature is that the necks of people with iodine deficiency are getting thicker and thicker. People are commonly known as "rough neck disease" or "big neck disease".
The most terrible consequence caused by iodine deficiency is mental retardation, which seriously affects patients 'study, life and work, and seriously affects the quality of the population.
In addition to affecting the growth and development of infants and young children, for adults, iodine deficiency does not affect intelligence, but can cause people to suffer from goiter.
The patient showed swollen neck, prominent eyes, poor breathing, constant suffocation, physical loss, and feeling of heartbeat and shortness of breath while engaged in labor and activities.
1. Supplemental iodine can enhance child's cold resistance 2. Breastfeeding can supplement iodine for infants under 2 years old, ensuring they receive sufficient iodine from their mothers to meet their physiological needs.
Data indicates that infants fed with breast milk have a urinary iodine level which is more than 1 times higher than those fed by other methods.
During this period, if the mother receives adequate iodine, there will be no iodine deficiency in infants. For breastfeeding women, it is recommended that they receive at least 200 micrograms of iodine daily to ensure both their and their baby's iodine needs are met, effectively preventing any harm from iodine deficiency.
2. Dietary Iodine Supplementation Iodine deficiency is extremely harmful to the human body, so we must pay attention to iodine supplementation.
Iodine is primarily obtained from food sources, such as seaweeds like kelp and nori.
General daily diet can meet the basic needs of iodine in human body.
For women who are preparing to be mothers or are nursing their babies, as long as they pay attention to their diet, their babies 'intellectual development can be guaranteed.
Even if you are not breastfed, formula contains iodine.
Most of the plants rich in iodine are plant plants in seafood such as kelp, seaweed, seaweed, etc., and shellfish are also rich in iodine.
Iodine can be stored in the body, and a normal person can meet their basic needs by eating the sea once or twice a week.
3. Iodized Salt for Flavoring: A good way to supplement iodine is by consuming iodized salt.
The prevention of IOd deficiency is the primary measure to prevent and treat this disease.
At present, scientists have invented the method of adding iodine to salt to prevent iodine deficiency diseases. As long as people eat qualified iodized salt for a long time, they can prevent the occurrence of iodine deficiency diseases.
On the small package bags of iodized salt, there are small signs, indicating that it is qualified iodized salt. The mother should choose this kind of salt to cook and supplement iodine.
4. Formula foods can supplement iodine. In addition to breastfeeding, since infants under two years old are unable to chew tough sea food such as kelp, formula foods are the safe and effective way to supplement iodine for infants.
Baby can eat some iodine-added infant nutrition rice powder, high grade baby special milk, so that they can get enough iodine.
5. Pay Attention to Cooking Methods To ensure that iodine in food does not lose due to improper storage and processing, parents should also pay attention to the following aspects: Iodine is easily lost when heated, so iodized salt should be stored in a sealed container and its storage temperature should not be too high.
Add salt after the vegetables are cooked to reduce loss.
You should wash and cut the seaweed first, in order to reduce the loss of iodine and other nutrients.
How to Early Detect Iodine-Deficient Babies? A baby who is iodine deficient can be identified by their symptoms, such as poor growth, developmental delays, and mental retardation. One effective way to supplement iodine in babies' diets is through iodized salt. Seaweed Pork Ribs Soup: Ingredients: 400g pork ribs, 150g seaweed, a suitable amount of chopped green onions, ginger slices, refined salt, rice wine, and sesame oil.
Method: 1. Soak the seaweed in water, place in a basket and steam for about half an hour.
2. Remove, soak in water for 4 hours, thoroughly soak and rinse to remove excess moisture, then cut into evenly-sized cubes.
3. Rinse the ribs, cut them along the bone with a knife, and chop them into about 4-inch pieces; then boil them in boiling water, remove them, soak in warm water to clean them thoroughly.
4. Pour 1000 grams of water into the clean pot, add pork ribs, green onion segments, ginger slices, and yellow wine, and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
5. Reheat and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes; add kelp pieces and continue cooking over high heat until boiling for another 10 minutes. Remove ginger slices and green onions, season with salt to taste, and drizzle in sesame oil to finish.
Seaweed and Tofu Soup: Ingredients: One block of tofu, half a pound of seaweed, one bowl of clear broth, an appropriate amount of salt, green onions, ginger, and sesame oil.
1. Rinse the kelp with clean water before eating, then soak it for no more than 6 hours, and change the water frequently.
2. Put the tofu into the pan and add water, boil, remove it, let it cool, and cut it into dices.
3. Heat the oil in the pan, add shredded ginger and onions and stir until fragrant.
4. Add seaweed, tofu, add clear soup, bring to a boil, turn to low heat and simmer for half an hour, season and serve.
Shrimp skin and seaweed egg soup, ingredients: 10 grams of seaweed, 1 egg, appropriate amount of shrimp skin and cilantro.
10 grams of peanut oil, a little bit of refined salt, chopped green onion, shredded ginger, and sesame oil.
Practice: 1. Wash the shrimp skin, wash the seaweed with clean water, and tear into small pieces; 2. Knock the eggs into a bowl and beat them up, wash the coriander thoroughly, and cut them into small pieces.
3. Put the wok on the heat, put water on it and heat it, add in the ginger and fry it slightly, add the shrimp skins and fry it slightly, and add 200 grams of water.
4. After boiling, pour in the egg yolk and then add seaweed, cilantro, salt, and green onion.
Can iodized food, health products, and iodized salt substitute for each other? Seaweed tofu soup. Ingredients: 40g dried seaweed, 300g tofu, 100g tomatoes, 2g salt, 10g millet. Method: 1. The seaweed is first lightly toasted in a dry pan without oil, then washed, soaked with clean water, boiled briefly in boiling water, and wiped dry. Then it is cut into thick strips.
2. Cut the tofu into small cubes and set aside.
3. Cut tomatoes into small pieces, heat the pan, add about 2 tablespoons of oil, then stir-fry the tomatoes for a while. Add 9/4 bowls of water and bring it to a boil. Then put in tofu cubes and seaweed strips together with the tomatoes.
4. Mix 1 tablespoon of rice flour with half a bowl of water and add it to the boiling seaweed soup, season with salt before turning off the heat and eating.
Seaweed and Egg Rolls: Ingredients: 1 sheet of seaweed, 100 grams of pork lean meat filling, 2 eggs (using the egg yolks), 25 grams of minced leeks, vegetable oil, chopped green onions, minced ginger, water-thickened starch, salt, cooking wine, and sesame oil in appropriate amounts. Method: 1. Mix the pork filling with salt, one egg yolk, water-thickened starch, cooking wine, minced leeks, chopped green onions, minced ginger, and sesame oil until well combined to form the pork and leeks filling.
Crack one more egg and mix the egg yolk, water starch, and salt.
2. Heat the pan until hot but not scorching, lightly grease with a little oil. Spread the egg mixture into a circle on a clean chopping board.
3. Spread pork and radish filling on the egg pancake, add a layer of seaweed, then another layer of pork and radish filling to smooth it out.
Fold both sides inwardly, roll up from the ends toward the center, and then gather it together at the middle. Tie with clean gauze to make a dumpling. Place it in a steamer and steam over water for about 30 minutes until it is fully cooked.
4. Cut the seaweed and egg rolls into small pieces and serve them on a plate.
Experts remind pregnant women and children to supplement iodine. The medical part mentioned in this text is for reference only.
In case of discomfort, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately. For accurate diagnosis and treatment, please consult with a healthcare professional in person.