Iodine Rich Foods: Our Top 6 Iodine Food Sources
Iodine rich foods are difficult to find and for those looking for the top food sources of iodine, we have put together a list here. Deficiencies in iodine rank among the highest in the world and this is no surprise.
Benefits of Iodine Rich Foods & Diets
Iodine is used in modern medical history to treat ailments and is also used as a broad-spectrum anti-septic. This mineral is also thought to directly contribute to healthier looking skin, helping to heal wounds and prevent sepsis. Topical iodine is rare in that it is effective against viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Iodine is a broad-spectrum and ancient antioxidant molecule that is actively stored within the body. This mineral is quite odd in that it is a powerful antioxidant as well as an antimicrobial, you don’t find many essential minerals like iodine. Ensuring that you eat enough iodine from your diet is essential to normal bodily functioning.
Diets deficient in iodine lead to symptoms such as cretinism, lack of growth, metabolic disorders and also thyroid cancer. Iodine is needed in adequate concentrations throughout one’s lifespan. In early life, iodine is needed for the optimal development of the brain. These deficiencies become apparent in early school life where iodine deficient children have markedly lower IQ.
While iodine is particularly important for the optimal health of the thyroid and metabolism, it is important to ensure you also consume enough of its partnering thyroid mineral selenium. Together they form a very strong partnership for optimal thyroid health. You can read more about selenium and selenium rich foods here.
Consuming sufficient levels of iodine with selenium, as well as other nutrients, is important to support healthy metabolic growth that requires a range of nutrients.
6 Foods Rich In Iodine
Our metabolism and daily growth is directed by iodine levels in the body. Most early lifeforms are thought to have begun in the oceans, this might be why most iodine rich food sources are found in the seas and oceans. From seafood sources, the body absorbs up to 90% of the iodine that has been consumed.
Many seafoods contain decent levels of iodine, while there are also land based sources of iodine. Again, it is important to state that one should also balance high strength iodine foods with other minerals including phosphorus, selenium and calcium.
The recommended dietary allowance for the consumption of iodine is 150µg of iodine every day. Let’s now look at some iodine rich foods and food sources to help you to at least reach that value. We’ve come up with a list of the top 6 sources of iodine for you to consume through your diet.
Rock Samphire
Rock samphire is a halophyte plant that loves salt water. Commercially, this plant also goes by the name of sea asparagus. They have adapted to live in saltwater conditions and are becoming a popular food choice as a green side dish to accompany fish.
Samphire tastes great cooked in butter with some white onions or shallots and garlic.
European Union funded research suggests that the concentration of iodine in rock samphire is likely to be around 326µg of iodine per 100g of rock samphire or sea asparagus. This is equivalent to about 217% of your RDA in iodine per 100g. This food certainly makes our iodine rich foods list. Rock samphire is also rich in phosphorus and magnesium.
Seaweed Pasta
Seaweed pasta is a novel pasta dish, becoming quite popular to compliment seafood linguine. As a pasta, seaweed works well with creamy sauces and strong seafoods like mussels, shrimps or prawns.
It has been estimated that some seaweed pasta contains up to 3,627 µg of iodine per 100g. This is the equivalent to about 2,400% of your daily RDA of iodine. This food ranks at the top of our iodine rich foods.
Shrimps
Cooked shrimps provide around 15µg of iodine per 100g of shrimps. You can eat a lot more shrimp than this in a serving. Shrimp goes well in linguine pasta with fresh tomato or as a standalone dish. This seafood is another iodine rich food containing other nutrients too such as phosphorus and selenium.
Halibut
Another seafood source of iodine is halibut fish. Halibut contains 27µg of iodine per 100g of fish meat and would form 18% of your RDA for iodine. This represents quite a significant serving of iodine and so halibut makes our iodine rich foods list. You can eat halibut grilled or cooked in the oven as a replacement meat for chicken. This would go with a side of asparagus.
Spirulina
Spirulina is an ancient cyanobacterial organism found in the oceans. You can buy spirulina powder for iodine on the go and is sold as a green powder. Spirulina is highly nutritious and you can add it to all of your favourite juices. It does not have a sweet taste but is really nutrient dense, being a rich source of manganese, iron and magnesium.
In 100g of spirulina there is of 168µg of iodine, this is 112% of your RDA of iodine. Per 15g scoop or serving, there is about 25µg of iodine. This is about 17% of your RDA.
While spirulina is not the richest in iodine, it does provide a rich source of iodine or iodine rich food for you to consume. Spirulina is great and has many additional key nutrients too.
Eggs
Two large, hard-boiled eggs contain about 60µg of iodine. This is roughly equivalent to 100g of hard-boiled egg. This represents a land source of iodine, accounting for about 40% of your RDA of iodine. Eggs provide a rich source of many different nutrients, including selenium, healthy fats and proteins in addition to iodine. Eggs represent a nutrient rich source of iodine and makes our top iodine foods list.
Yoghurt
100 grams of plain yoghurt contains 32µg of iodine. This means you would get about 20% of your RDA of iodine from yoghurt. This may not be the best source of iodine available because of the fat content, however this gives you an accessible and diverse source of iodine. Yoghurt presents itself as a food rich in iodine, so makes our iodine rich foods list here.
Conclusion
Iodine deficiency ranks as one of the highest in the world and this is no wonder considering how difficult it is to find adequate iodine sources. This list makes finding the richest food sources of iodine a lot easier to find.
Iodine is usually found higher amounts in seafoods, or foods coming from the sea, where most lifeforms are thought to have originated from. Iodine plays an essential role in metabolism, growth and is also an anti-microbial. The development of the brain is dependent on optimal iodine levels. There are noticeable differences in IQ between children who are and aren’t iodine deficient.
Here we emphasise consuming iodine with other nutrients, including selenium, to support healthy metabolism and growth that requires a range of nutrients. This has the best potential to support your overall wellbeing. The thyroid partners iodine and selenium contribute to optimal thyroid health.
Some iodine rich foods include seaweed pasta, yoghurt, samphire and eggs. Seaweed pasta and samphire are become quite popular foods and ways to consume sufficient iodine. While seafood sources of iodine rank the highest, land sources of iodine like yoghurt and eggs also rank high in iodine.
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