Why do we have to eat iodized salt?

For a long time, the use of iodized salt has been propagated and popularized for each household as well as each individual, especially students and women. So why eat iodized salt and eat a lot of iodized salt is it harmful?

Iodized salt is a common spice in the kitchen of families, besides being used as a salt to taste food, iodized salt also has many health benefits, helping to prevent many diseases for everyone. .
Studies show that up to 47% of students do not know the importance of iodine and many families do not have the habit of using iodized salt daily. Even up to 90% of parents know about the importance of iodized salt but do not really care. According to the WHO, more than 700 million children worldwide suffered from goiter due to iodine deficiency in the years 1993-2003, of which Vietnam is located in an area with a high rate of children suffering from goiter.
Iodized salt is actually a mixture of table salt with iodine added in the appropriate ratio, the amount of iodine added does not affect the health of the user but also makes the food more delicious than ordinary white salt. .
Previously, iodized salt was mixed by hand, but now thanks to the development of science and technology, iodized salt is produced in line by machine to ensure food safety and hygiene and quality of salt. However, everyone should be careful to keep salt sealed in a jar or bag because the iodine in salt is very volatile.
Currently in Vietnam, November 2 every year is considered as a day to respond to the purchase and use of iodized salt, both a propaganda message and reminding people of the importance of this salt.

Iodine is an important micronutrient that helps the thyroid gland synthesize hormones that regulate the development of the central nervous system, the development of the sex organs as well as many other organs in the body. Because the human body cannot synthesize iodine, it must be supplemented through the diet, so iodine deficiency can occur and cause many harms to the human body.
Eating iodized salt has many functions of regulating the body such as body temperature, central nervous system function, affecting the digestive system, increasing heart contractility, increasing kidney filtration, fat breakdown and Metabolize sugar, maintain energy for the body...
The following are the reasons why we must eat iodized salt:
In fact, we can supplement iodine through eating iodine-containing foods such as: seafood, dark-colored fruits, animal organs, milk... However, currently, the amount of natural iodine in food is decreasing due to many different reasons, leading to the supplementation of iodine through information. through food does not guarantee the necessary amount for the body. Women during pregnancy, if they do not supplement with the necessary amount of iodine, will face many dangerous complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth. Children who are born are prone to birth defects or growth retardation Children do not add enough iodine to the body, causing mental retardation, slurred speech and slower growth than usual. For adults, if they do not provide enough iodine for the body, they are prone to thyroid diseases such as goiter, weakness, or fatigue leading to reduced working capacity. Some disorders can also occur due to iodine deficiency such as digestive disorders ... Because of the benefits of iodine in general or iodized salt in particular, raising awareness of using this salt in the community. It is necessary to strengthen propaganda from families and individuals, to minimize the effects of iodine deficiency on human health.

Although, iodized salt is very necessary to use in daily meals, but not so that you can abuse or use it indiscriminately. Because if too much iodine is added to the body, goiter can still occur due to increased secretion of thyroid hormone.
In addition, some of the following diseases may occur due to excessive use of iodized salt such as heart tumors, toxic thyroid tumors, thyroiditis, even death if the iodine dose is too much.
To avoid adding too much or too little iodine to the body, people can refer to the use of iodized salt as follows:
Use iodized salt like other salts to make daily cooking seasonings Use iodized salt to marinate foods instead of white salt. Each day a person should only eat about 6g of salt, equivalent to a teaspoon, should not use too much. In addition, patients only stop using iodized salt when specifically directed by the doctor. Buy iodized salt at reputable business establishments, avoid buying fake iodized salt that affects health. Iodized salt plays an important role in many human activities, as well as has the effect of preventing many diseases. Therefore, each person needs to build a reasonable diet, supplement with adequate iodine. However, should only be used in a moderate amount, avoiding excessive use can also have serious consequences.