Although many people might be starting to regret stocking up on iodized salt amid a radiation scare over leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, a new report indicates that Taiwanese could do with a bit more iodine in their diet.
Regular iodine intake directly affects the amount of radiation the thyroid gland absorbs when someone comes into contact with iodine-131, a major radioactive hazard during a nuclear leak such as the one at Fukushima.
Chang Gung Medical Foundation department of toxicology director Lin Chieh-liang (林杰樑) said people with sufficient iodine levels would only absorb between 10 percent and 20 percent of -iodine-131, while people lacking in iodine -nutrients would absorb as much as 80 percent.
The report was commissioned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), primarily using urine samples collected by the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan between 2004 and 2008.
Samples of urine were collected nationwide from adults above the age of 19.
WHO standards stipulate that urinary iodine levels of between 100 micrograms per microliter and 199 micrograms per microliter indicate sufficient iodine intake, while 50 micrograms per microliter to 99 micrograms per microliter reflects slightly insufficient iodine ingestion.
Readings of between 20 micrograms per microliter and 49 micrograms per microliter reflect insufficient iodine intake.
The report said the overall iodine reading for people in Taiwan was 100 micrograms per microliter, which is considered the minimum iodine intake.
However, the report said 35 percent of people in Taiwan had slightly insufficient iodine intake readings, while 14 percent showed insufficient readings and 1 percent had severely low intake readings.
Additional analysis showed that iodine nutrient levels tended to drop as a person advanced in age.
Most people below the age of 50 had sufficient iodine intake rates, while more of those between 50 and 59 had sufficient and slightly insufficient intake rates. A larger proportion of those aged 60 and above had slightly -insufficient intake rates.
The report said that since the implementation of a policy mandating the addition of iodine to cooking salt in 1966, there had been an obvious decrease in hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism refers to the overproduction of thyroid hormones, with symptoms ranging from nervousness, irritability, increased perspiration, rapid heart rate, hand tremors, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, thinning of the skin, fine brittle hair and muscular weakness, especially in the upper arms and thighs.
The report said that iodine intake in recent years had changed because of altered eating habits and the introduction of “refined salt,” which is iodine-free.
FDA officials said research on youth was being conducted and that clear conclusions would not be available until the entire research report is completed.
However, Hung Chien-teh (洪建德), director of the metabolism department at the ShuTien Clinic, said the primary focus on how to resolve iodine insufficiency should not be on whether cooking salt is iodized, but rather on the eating habits that are behind insufficient iodine intake.
Hung said that as urinary iodine tests show intake levels on the same day, they make it easy to determine whether one’s diet provided sufficient iodine.
Iodine nutrients are not limited to aquatic products and can also be found in other agricultural products like certain fruits and vegetables, Hung said.
The habit of eating imported or processed food could lead to a lower intake of iodine, he said, adding that severe lack of iodine nutrients in pregnant women could affect the brain development of the fetus.
Women of child-bearing age should therefore ensure they balance their nutritional intake.
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