Table Salt - Iodized or Not?

[birder53]

If you have a choice - which do you buy/use? I don't remember what I grew up with, but I usually buy iodized. I don't know why - any thoughts?

[Special K]

I buy iodized, for the iodine , because it's needed by the thyroid to prevent goiter. (It's in a lot of prepared foods, but I avoid those.) The trouble is I rarely use it, except in baking (and the amounts are so tiny I don't know if it does any good) and in the egg-boiling water (supposedly it (salt, not necessarily iodized salt) keeps the eggs from cracking and sort of seals them if they do crack) and spaghetti water. If I'm seasoning food, I use sea salt.

[Bonnie Ruth]

I buy iodized, for the iodine , because it's needed by the thyroid to prevent goiter.  (It's in a lot of prepared foods, but I avoid those.)  The trouble is I rarely use it, except in baking (and the amounts are so tiny I don't know if it does any good) and in the egg-boiling water (supposedly it (salt, not necessarily iodized salt) keeps the eggs from cracking and sort of seals them if they do crack) and spaghetti water.  If I'm seasoning food, I use sea salt.

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Same here, I don't buy much prepared food and use sea salt in cooking, but I do put iodized in the salt shaker for the sake of the iodine.

[Peter the eater]

If you have a choice - which do you buy/use?  I don't remember what I grew up with, but I usually buy iodized.  I don't know why - any thoughts?

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Can you taste a difference? I can tell low sodium salt that's half KCl but I don't think I can detect iodine -- not in the levels one gets from iodized table salt.

[birder53]

I was reading the salt discussion here and someone mentioned the metallic taste of iodized salt. Since I'm looking to buy some salt by the case, I figured I find out if there really is a difference in taste.

[Peter the eater]

I was reading the salt discussion here and someone mentioned the metallic taste of iodized salt.  Since I'm looking to buy some salt by the case, I figured I find out if there really is a difference in taste.

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That makes sense. I agree the iodine taste can well be described as metallic, but I say this having drank water that was purified using those little iodine tablets from the trekking store -- not something I've detected from table salt.

This discussion reminds me how hard it can be to translate flavour into words accurately and articulately. Kinda like the Eskimos and their fifty different words for snow . . . not really, urban myth . . . but you get the point.

[djyee100]

Before you buy salt by the case, how about doing a comparative salt tasting: regular table salt, iodized table salt, sea salt, and kosher salt?

Just a pinch on the tongue, then a drink of water before the next tasting. You're looking for the purest salt taste; or maybe just the taste you like best. I've done a blind tasting with table salt (like Morton's) and sea salt, and I was surprised that I could tell the difference.

I never bother with iodized salt, since I eat seafood regularly, and that should supply sufficient iodine. Seaweed, yogurt, milk, and eggs are also sources of iodine.

[dougal]

... how about doing a comparative salt tasting... ?

Just a pinch on the tongue, then a drink of water before the next tasting. ...

I never bother with iodized salt, since I eat seafood regularly, and that should supply sufficient iodine. Seaweed, yogurt, milk, and eggs are also sources of iodine.

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Wooooa there!

If you are going to eat salt crystals - as the solid crystals - then the shape and size of those crystals influences your perception at least as much as minority mineralisations, additives or fortifications. (I'd say much more so.) Size and shape varies the speed of dissolving on the tongue, which makes the taste 'strong' (fast) or 'gentle' (slow) - even with the identical weight of "pinch".

But eating salt as crystals is only a tiny fraction of typical salt consumption.

If you are using your salt in solution, taste-test it in solution.

Weigh out a measure of salt - big enough to do accurately. Say 10g.

Dissolve it in a quantity of water. Say 100g. Using warm water helps.

Stir it again - after you think its dissolved.

And then dilute the solution again, making it up to an accurately measured (and well mixed) 1000g. With cold water.

So we are at about 1%. Salty tasting, but not enough to make you wince!

Do exactly the same with all your samples. Label them A, B, C, etc.

Let them come to the same temperature.

Then get three or more other people to taste-test them without knowing which is which. (Ideally the test should be administered by someone who doesn't know which is which.)

If you want to do the tasting, you must get someone else to prepare the samples.

The taster mustn't know which is which! Blind tasting requires absence of prejudicial info more than a blindfold!

Wherever in the world you are, if you eat seaweed, you shouldn't be short of iodine!

I'm far from sure the same can be universally said for fish.

And I think that the amount of iodine in eggs and milk products will vary depending on what the beasts are eating.

It is because of wide variations in the iodine intake in the national diet of different countries that the level of salt iodisation varies between those countries.

My expectation would be that the amount of supplementation needed should also vary considerably between US states. (However I don't believe the standard level does.) And I understand that standard US iodisation levels are among the highest in the world (due to the national diet having been assessed as being particularly deficient in iodine).

For US readers, is there a state-by-state breakdown of iodine deficiency?

The Iodine State: South Carolina has been referred to as "The Iodine State" because of the large percentages of iodine found in the vegetation growing in the state.

So iodised salt should be less important there...

My guess would be that seaweed-eating was not equally distributed across all communities, in all US states... Averages can mask enormous variations.

Personally, I can't taste detect unpleasant tastes in UK iodised salt.

Having now only half my thyroid, I do hope people won't object to my strenuous advice to use (more or less) iodised salt in cooking where it should inconspicuously do nothing but good.

However, if anyone wanted to serve a 'fancy' salt at table (like Maldon flakes, for example), then I don't see the harm - as long as its (appropriately) iodised that's used in the kitchen.

Unless you eat plenty seaweed, of course!

Edited September 23, 2008 by dougal (log)

[paulraphael]

I would follow Dougal's advice with sea salt, too, before spending extra money to use it in cooking. I saw a blind test of chefs a few years ago. The results were that everyone could tell one salt from another when sprinkled on food at the table, but no one could tell the difference between table salt, kosher salt, regular sea salt, or fleur de sel when in solution.

The strong suggestion was that the textures and sizes of the crystals, and not the chemical compostions, were responsible for the differences.

Edited September 23, 2008 by paulraphael (log)

[djyee100]

Well, people can be as scientific as they like. I'm describing a casual tasting by which someone can decide which salt flavor he/she would prefer to add in food.

[paulraphael]

Well, people can be as scientific as they like. I'm describing a casual tasting by which someone can decide which salt flavor he/she would prefer to add in food.

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At any rate, putting a pinch of salt on your tongue won't tell you anything. Except maybe which salt is better to eat straight!

[djyee100]

I assume a supply of salt in the house will be used to salt dishes while cooking, so it will dissolve in solution, and also sprinkled on food (as in corn on the cob) where the flavor will be more apparent.

A case of salt is a lot of salt, so check out that you really like it before you buy it. That's all I'm saying.

[TheFuzzy]

I never buy iodized salt. Frankly, the fact that it exists at all is pretty much a holdover from half a century ago, when Americans didn't eat seafood.

If you have sushi once a month, you're pretty much getting your full RDA of iodine. So there's no real point in buying it ... and the iodine taste will harm some dishes.

[dougal]

I never buy iodized salt.  Frankly, the fact that it exists at all is pretty much a holdover from half a century ago, when Americans didn't eat seafood.

If you have sushi once a month, you're pretty much getting your full RDA of iodine.  So there's no real point in buying it ... and the iodine taste will harm some dishes.

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I'd be interested to see any factual support for the opinion that once-a-month seafood (not Lugol's Iodine or any other form) is an appropriate substitute for the recommended daily intake.

My understanding is that normal body iodine throughput is fairly rapid (much faster than a monthly cycle).

Thus it would be the daily intake that was more important than the monthly one.

This is shown up in the case of radioactive release, where one of the palliative treatments is, I believe, iodine tablets. Taking these minimises the body's uptake of radioactive iodine, which would be (more dangerously) concentrated in the thyroid.

Stable iodine tablets have been shown to reduce the predicted amount of radioactive iodine taken up by the thyroid gland by 50% even when tablets are taken 5 hours after exposure.

http://www.ehpt.nhs.uk/ASP/publications/satblio.htm {From the UK National Health Service "NHS"}

The World Health Organisation has noted Iodine Deficiency Disorders even in large cities, in coastal areas, and in developed countries...

In the past, the likely occurrence of IDD in a given region was regarded as

being signalled by certain geographical characteristics.  These include mountain

ranges and alluvial plains, particularly at high altitude and at considerable

distance from the sea. This occurrence is confirmed by a high prevalence of

goitre in the resident population.

However, the greater availability of urinary iodine estimation and other methods

for assessing iodine deficiency has demonstrated that IDD can and do occur

in many areas where none of these conditions are met. Indeed, significant

iodine deficiency has been found:

where the prevalence of goitre, as based on palpation, is normal;

in coastal areas;

in large cities;

in highly developed countries; and

where IDD have been considered to have been eliminated, either by prophylactic programmes or general dietary changes.

In recognition of the much wider occurrence of IDD than previously thought,

certain countries have come to regard the whole country as being at risk of

iodine deficiency and therefore the entire population as a target for IDD control

by iodized salt.

http://www.who.int/entity/nutrition/public...iminination.pdf

Quotation from "Page 9" (page 25 of the PDF)

And from the same document, at "Page 8" (24 of the PDF) they list what those "disorders" might be -

Table 1:  The spectrum of the Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD)

FETUS

Abortions

Stillbirths

Congenital anomalies

Increased perinatal mortality

Increased infant mortality

Neurological cretinism: mental deficiency,  deaf mutism, spastic Diplegia squint

Myxoedematous cretinism: mental deficiency, dwarfism, hypothyroidism

Psychomotor defects

NEONATE

Neonatal hypothyroidism

CHILD & ADOLESCENT

Retarded mental and physical development

ADULT

Goitre and its complications

Iodine-induced hyperthyroidism (IIH)

ALL AGES

Goitre

Hypothyroidism

Impaired mental function

Increased susceptibility to nuclear radiation

Quite apart from the multiple effects on the unborn, the really significant aspect overall of iodine deficiency seems to be mental impairment. (Bottom of page 24 of the PDF)

...  of much greater public

health importance are the more subtle degrees of brain damage and reduced

cognitive capacity which affect the entire population. As a result, the mental

ability of ostensibly normal children and adults living in areas of iodine deficiency

is reduced compared to what it would otherwise be.

So its official, a deficiency of iodine makes one more stupid than one would be otherwise.

As the WHO say at "page 20" (page 36 of the PDF)

Ensuring the required daily intake of iodine to maintain normal brain function

is  as important as the provision of clean water. 

So, if it helps, try to think of iodised salt as a "brain tonic"...

[dougal]

Well, people can be as scientific as they like. I'm describing a casual tasting by which someone can decide which salt flavor he/she would prefer to add in food.

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To clarify and summarise my suggestions - (esp considering the thread's title)

- for salt at the table, (where it might go into the mouth as crystals, whose shape and size would then influence perceived taste), use whatever you like. But in any case, go easy on it. Most people eat too much salt for their own good.

- but for salt in the kitchen, (where it is unlikely, except in a very few specific cases, to reach the plate in its original crystal form), it makes healthy sense to use iodised salt as your 'general purpose' salt. You won't be able to tell the difference by tasting the dishes. And the kitchen salt usage is likely to be much greater than the usage at table, so the bulk of the salt used/consumed would be the more healthy, iodised salt.

Edited September 24, 2008 by dougal (log)

[Human Bean]

I have several types of salt, none of which are iodized. My thyroid is fine.

Your Mileage May Vary.

[project]

dougal,

Now, now, looks like I'll have to explain it to you!

You, see, don't you see, that it isn't just 'salt'! Instead, it's status, prestige, style, being in the peer group of people 'who know the difference and appreciate it' enough to pay MUCH more for flakes of genuine sea salt gathered ONLY from the west coast of Scotland and ONLY in January ONLY by maidens and ONLY using 100% all natural hand hewn buckets to dip the seawater, all because the very special people who appreciate the best of the best can tell the difference!

Of COURSE they can tell the difference and do not NEED a carefully constructed double blind experiment to tell!

It's not about NaCl!

For me, I just buy the most popular US brand of iodized table salt and use it exclusively and heavily, but that's a deep dark secret I'd never share with any of my highly sophisticated friends!

But I did want to explain!

[dougal]

Oh, sorry!

[birder53]

Well, this certainly produced a lot of information! I ordered a case of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt and one of DC Iodized 'finer salt'. Neither are available in New Mexico and the stash supplied by our east coast visitors was waning. I should be set for quite awhile. Since my diet here is woefully seafood deficient, I went with the iodized. Thanks to all who contributed to this discussion!

[TheFuzzy]

Dougal,

I was actually citing sushi based on the iodine content of Nori, but after some research Nori is the lowest-iodine seaweed out there. On the other hand, a single proper bowl of miso soup, made with konbu, covers the entire iodine needs of an adult for a week. And I'd far rather eat Japanese soup periodically than have my salt taste funny, but not everyone may share my opinion.

However, many other foods ... including fish, tubers, milk, legumes, seafood and turkey, contain iodine.

I can see, though, that someone on a meat-and-potatoes diet (or other restricted diets) might not get enough iodine according to the WHO standards, and need the iodized salt. Or if you're allergic to seafood and don't like seaweed.

I'd be interested to find out how WHO determined that 150mcg/day of iodine was necessary for an adult, as few human populations in history would have had access to that much, but I can't access the papers which would tell me that.

[jumanggy]

Just to add my 2 centavos-- I do use iodized salt for baking applications, but it was a huge mistake to use it to layer my Potatoes Anna-- it had turned them an unappealing blue-gray.

[dougal]

...

I'd be interested to find out how WHO determined that 150mcg/day of iodine was necessary for an adult, as few human populations in history would have had access to that much, but I can't access the papers which would tell me that.

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Better than that, you might prefer the US National Academy of Sciences reasoning. They set "Estimated Average Requirements" (from radioactive tracer studies) and then derive their RDA advice from that. (It seems that iodine throughput depends on metabolic level - 'energy' - and so to ensure that 98% of the population is covered, they set the recommendation 40% up on the average requirement, then round it off - getting the same 150 micrograms/day for adults.)

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10026&page=274

Notably however, the average US intake does seem to be sufficient to meet the RDA. (And way higher than here in Western Europe.)

However, I'm (still) not aware of the extent of the variation within the USA, and the extremes concealed within that average. Perhaps that might account for the US using much higher levels of salt iodisation than here in Europe?

...it was a huge mistake to use it to layer my Potatoes Anna-- it had turned them an unappealing blue-gray.

Yes, a starch solution is indeed an extremely sensitive (but harmless) detector of iodine! (And vice versa)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine_test

And boiled potato is the classic example of this effect...

Edited September 26, 2008 by dougal (log)

[jupe]

Hey dougal, I'm curious--in yeasted breads, every time I've used iodized salt the rise has been much, much slower than if I use an un-iodized salt. Am I just unknowingly sabotaging myself, or is there a reason to use non-iodized salt for yeasted products?

Fan of your insight as always!!

[dougal]

Hey dougal, I'm curious--in yeasted breads, every time I've used iodized salt the rise has been much, much slower than if I use an un-iodized salt.  Am I just unknowingly sabotaging myself, or is there a reason to use non-iodized salt for yeasted products?

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I've never heard of any such effect. {Which doesn't mean that it doesn't or couldn't exist.}

But are you, I wonder, weighing the salt or using a measuring spoon?

For sure, the more (weight of) salt, the slower the yeast should raise the dough.

Now, most iodised salts are fine grain, while the coarser salts are usually not iodised.

And because there's more airspace in a spoonful of coarse salt, there's actually less salt in that spoon.

Therefore a dough containing x spoonfuls of coarse (and incidentally non-iodised) salt will indeed rise faster than one containing the same number of spoonfuls of fine (and incidentally iodised) salt.

But that is because of the differing quantities of salt, not iodine.

Using weight measurements would solve that baking problem (and many others! )

[kerrypurple9]

For our health at least, the types of salt we need to be finding (and adding to our diets instead of subtracting) are mineral salts because the table salt we use daily is way too high in sodium and can leave us lacking in other minerals, such as magnesium for example.

There's an article on mineral salts here, along with some recommendations...

http://www.foodeu.com/articles/The+Case+For+Eating+Salt.aspx

On a bit of a tangent - another way to intake minerals from mineral salts is in bathwater, lovely!

Thanks, Kerry