Already back in the USSR, there have been attempts to tackle the problem of iodine deficiency through salt iodization. The extensive application of this method, even despite its shortcomings, did indeed help avoid iodine deficiency. This was achieved because the USSR population, to a greater or lesser extent, consumed similar foods that were all made with iodized salt, be it in cafés and restaurants or grocery stores (bakery, sausages, pasta, etc.). The salt used in enterprise, school or kindergarten kitchens did not lose much of its iodine content, and the people did consume this essential mineral.
However, salt iodization has some significant drawbacks. Iodine evaporates from salt within a half a year to one year after the manufacture date, according to different sources. According to the standards used in the USSR, in 0.5 years, iodized salt was to be used as ordinary salt — and the standards of the Soviet Union used to be more practical and straightforward, compared to modern products. In other words, by the time you open your salt pack there is significantly less iodine in it than stated on the pack. Moreover, up to 60% of the remaining iodine content evaporates during boiling. With all this mind, there is very, very little iodine that a human body can get from the iodized salt. Iodine deficiency could be helped if the iodized salt was used everywhere, but Russia’s current regulation does not require this now.
Sea fish is another good source of iodine. Sea fish used to be very widespread in the grocery stores across the country. Largely affordable and available, fish used to be a staple on every USSR family’s menu. Fish oil with the iodine content of 700 micrograms per 100 grams used to be a common child prescription. However, the nowadays high price of the seafood in Russia has limited or even completely blocked this source of natural iodine.
The problem of iodine deficiency has recently deteriorated as some advocates of healthy eating began to claim that salt is actually a harmful product. Many who live a healthy lifestyle limit their intake of any salt. Moreover, they exclude the consumption of products with chemically synthesized additives. Iodate or iodide that is added to salt is a chemical additive that a healthy eater would generally reject.
The same problem exists in the nutrition of small children — they are generally fed with ready-made food in jars and tubes, which is unsalted. Therefore, the easiest way to provide iodine to small children through iodized salt simply does not work for them. Moreover, all baby foods undergo a very thorough heat treatment, and all the iodine naturally contained in these products evaporates to a large extent. Some iodine might remain but this will not be enough.
Minor amounts of iodine may also be traced in common and affordable products, such as buckwheat, lemons, wheat porridge, eggs, red onions, walnuts, apples, etc., but their contribution to the elimination of iodine deficiency is insignificant. According to recent studies, Russians receive from 40 to 80 micrograms of iodine daily depending on individual food preferences, while the optimal amount is