Iodine rich foods

Iodine is very important for the mental and physical health of the human body. Iodine deficiency may cause some serious health related medical problems.

Iodine Health Benefits

Iodine plays a very important role in the process of synthesis of certain thyroid hormones such as thyroxine and triodothyronine. The immune system also requires iodine in order maintain its proper strength. The human body stores most of its supplies of iodine in the thyroid gland while the rest gets dispersed to certain other parts of the body such as mammary glands, salivary glands, blood and several others. Iodine can be found in trace amounts in the salt and soil.

Iodine Deficiency

Before the discovery of iodine rich salts hypothyroidism was a fairly common medical condition. Nowadays it is a very rare occasion that a person suffers from iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency can easily be recognized by retarded physical growth, retarded mental growth, goiter and hypothyroidism.

Food Sources

Half a cup of cottage cheese with 2 percent milk fat contains 70 micrograms of iodine, an ounce of cheddar cheese contains 20 micrograms of iodine, 50 grams of ice grams contain 9.7 micrograms of iodine, 14 grams of raw oysters contain 22 micrograms of iodine, 40 grams of gouda cheese contain 13.6 micrograms of iodine, a cup of cow milk with 2 percent milk fat contains 59 micrograms of iodine, a quarter of a cup of kelp contains 415 micrograms of iodine, a cup of strawberries contains 13 micrograms of iodine, a cup of low fat yogurt contains 87 micrograms of iodine, a boiled egg contains 23.76 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of cod contain 90 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of mayonnaise contain 36 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of trifle contain 60 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of naan bread contain 29 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of Jaffa cakes contain 32 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of haddock contain 30 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of fruits contain 5 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of vegetables contain 33 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of meat contain 27 micrograms of iodine, 100 grams of cereals and breads contain 11 micrograms of iodine and 100 grams of iodized salt contain 3000 micrograms of iodine.

Other Food Sources

There are also certain other, lesser known food items which are also excellent sources of iodine too. Those food items include nori, hijike, wakame, arame, kombu and dulse. Some food items from the list may be associated with allergic reactions.