Today’s question:
My question is this: I am taking thyroid medicine, and some of the women on my husband’s side of the family have had thyroid problems. We recently found out that my mother-in-law, who has had an extremely healthy diet all her life, has thyroid cancer. This news has brought about concern for my young daughter, because thyroid disease seems to be hereditary and prominent among women.
In addition, we have become big users of kosher salt over the years. I never use table salt anymore, and I am concerned that my family may not be getting enough iodine in their diets. Does kosher salt contain iodine and is it enough to supply my children with the levels they need, and, if not, what other foods should be implemented into our diet?
A couple of things here.
First, I’ve been letting the questions run on longer than usual lately so they take up more space. Maybe you’ve noticed. Maybe not.
That’s because I am winding down toward one of those periodic mental-health breaks you people drive me to every few months, and with longer questions, I can do shorter answers. That means even less effort for me than I normally exert and less wear and tear on my bathrobe.
Second, jeez, don’t be asking me medical questions, OK? I was a history major, for crying out loud.
Do you know how much I worry about you people already, wondering what you might be up to next without you asking me life-and-death stuff you should be talking over with your doctor?
Of course, I suppose there is always the chance your doctor was a history major, too. Or, even scarier, an English major.
This is kind of interesting: One piece I read said you really only need one teaspoon of iodine over your lifetime. I wonder if that’s true.
Anyway, kosher salt seldom, if ever, includes additives such as iodine.
Good old table salt usually has iodine added to it and that should be enough to hold you.
Seawater has a lot of iodine in it, so seafood is a good source of iodine.
So are dairy products. The dairy products count because there is a fair amount of iodine in the stuff they feed dairy cows. Or so I am told.
Plus, breads, cereals and red candies are good for iodine, especially, because the red dye in some of that stuff has a lot of iodine in it.
But, please, just ask your doctor, OK?
Reach Thompson at clay.thompson@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8612.
*Clay Thompson writes for The Arizona Republic. You can read his columns by going to www.azcentral.com
Clay Thompson 