# % of countries that don't provide iodine to it's population **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003 "2007-02-13T12:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/1 "2007-02-13T12:46:22Z")
What percentage of the world doesn’t require a source of iodine be put in the processed food supply. The United States requires salt be iodized. How many countries don’t have a similar vector of providing iodine. Providing iodine by a pill for all residents counts in their favor, if they give it to everybody. It still doesn’t count as a similar vector of dosing the population. Other countries doing it for them doesn’t count, I wish to see how many don’t try to protect the population from this deficiency. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/2 "2007-02-13T14:30:26Z")
Not directly an answer to this, but here’s [the WHO’s “Iodine status worldwide”](http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241592001.pdf) report from 2004, which surveyed outcomes not policy. If I read figure 3.5 right the iodine supply in the US is a bit too much of a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/3 "2007-02-13T15:04:09Z")
The U.S. doesn’t require that all salt be iodized; I can go buy non-iodized salt at my local grocer quite easily. It’s sea salt, granted, but still. To answer your question, though, the [Wikipedia article on iodized salt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodized_salt) mentions that milk is iodized in Britain, and bread in Tasmania. You might also poke around on the website of the [NSEID](http://www.iodinenetwork.net/index.html), an organization devoted to eliminating iodine deficiency; a couple of minutes of searching around on their site led me to a [chart detailing iodized salt consumption by country](http://www.childinfo.org/eddb/idd/database.htm). ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/4 "2007-02-13T16:18:27Z")
Well, I live in the US, and I don’t have any iodized salt in my house. I haven’t for years. Am I at risk for iodine deficency? Or are there other sources of iodine mandated by “the man”? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/5 "2007-02-13T18:16:32Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] How many countries don’t have a similar vector of providing iodine. [/QUOTE] I know Japan doesn’t. Seaweed and fish have a lot of iodine, so a typical Japanese diet contains more than enough iodine. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/6 "2007-02-13T18:26:42Z")
[QUOTE=StinkyBurrito] Am I at risk for iodine deficency? [/QUOTE] Could be. Maybe you should buy some. ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/7 "2007-02-13T18:26:48Z")
[QUOTE=MikeS] The U.S. doesn’t require that all salt be iodized; I can go buy non-iodized salt at my local grocer quite easily. It’s sea salt, granted, but still [/QUOTE] Sea salt is non-iodized but it does contain iodine and other minerals in minute quantites naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/8 "2007-02-14T01:55:13Z")
I’m very aware, that you can purchase plain salt. You can avoid iodized salt, if you try, that’s not the point of the question. The point is how many countries do try to prevent iodine deficiency, and how many don’t. MikeS and tschild I’ll give the links a try. Thanks for the posts people. I’ll still be interested in case anybody can supply some sort of percentage. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/9 "2007-02-14T03:02:33Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] The United States requires salt be iodized. [/QUOTE] When you were told, quite properly, that this is not true, you blew it off discourteously saying that you knew it all the time. This is not much of an incentive for people to help you. An apology is in order. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/10 "2007-02-15T10:36:50Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] When you were told, quite properly, that this is not true, you blew it off discourteously saying that you knew it all the time. This is not much of an incentive for people to help you. An apology is in order. [/QUOTE] No I didn’t blow it off, and I wasn’t being impolite. I will appoligize if MikeS says he feels badly, but I really doubt he took it the way you did, when I directed the question into the area I was interested in. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/11 "2007-02-15T11:11:10Z")
Actually I came back to this thread earlier to thank MikeS and tschild once again for the links, and finish it up with a thank you for all the people that have posted. I got distracted and didn’t even post what I came to post. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-countries-that-dont-provide-iodine-to-its-population/392003/12 "2007-02-15T21:23:05Z")
Another good site: [ICCIDD](http://indorgs.virginia.edu/iccidd/abouticciddhome.htm)