Think you’re smart? Thank
Iodine
Discover Magazine
Iodized salt is so commonplace in
the U.S. today that you may never have given the additive a second thought. But
new research finds that humble iodine has played a substantial role in
cognitive improvements seen across the American population in the 20th century.
Iodine is a critical micronutrient
in the human diet—that is, something our bodies can’t synthesize that we have
to rely on food to obtain—and it’s been added to salt (in the form of potassium
iodide) since 1924. Originally, iodization was adopted to reduce the incidence
of goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. But research since then has
found that iodine also plays a crucial role in brain development, especially
during gestation.
Iodine deficiency today is
the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in the world. It’s
estimated that nearly one-third of the world’s population has a diet with too
little iodine in it, and the problem isn’t limited to developing
countries—perhaps one-fifth of those cases are in Europe(pdf), where iodized
salt is still not the norm.
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