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804

TLDR; Iodine deficiency is still a major problem in the modern world, even in 1st world countries.

Archive: https://archive.today/4HBmI

HN post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42868718 HN Arcive: https://archive.today/Us1Jq

From the post:

>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.

TLDR; Iodine deficiency is still a major problem in the modern world, even in 1st world countries. Archive: https://archive.today/4HBmI HN post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42868718 HN Arcive: https://archive.today/Us1Jq From the post: >>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.

(post is archived)

[–] • 2 pts 2mo

@StabEmwarned us about thisback in 2023. The /pol/ post(take-me-to.space) also identifies the cause: bread producers switching from iodine to bromide.

[–] • 2 pts 2mo

How can I get more

[–] • 3 pts 2mo

Buy some potassium iodide. Study up on daily iodine requirements, measure accordingly and dose yourself. Wild guess: The main constituent of Lugol's solution is probably KI. You should have some KI on hand anyway for super-dosing in case of a radiologic event. Radioactive iodine is a prevalent component of nuke fallout, and the strategy is to flood your body with regular iodine so your body doesn't metabolize the radioactive isotopes.

[–] • 1 pt 2mo

Lugol's solution.

[–] • 1 pt 2mo

I have it, what to do with it?

[–] • 1 pt 2mo

Add a drop to a full cup of water every other day or three, easy to over do it and it tastes like bleach.

[–] • 1 pt 2mo

Specifically buy iodized salt and mostly cook/season with it or get some supplements.

[–] • 1 pt 2mo

Having read up a bit more on iodine/iodide, here's some more interesting points. Elemental iodine is frequently referred to chemistry as I2 (it is a halogen - remember chlorine gas being denoted as Cl2?). Lugol's solution is frequently referred to chemically as aqueous KI3. Puzzling, eh? Turns out elemental iodine solubility in water increases with increasing potassium iodide concentrations - forms the triiodode ion I3-. I don't know it that is just an ion of convenience for stoichiometric accountancy, or if it actually plays out that way in real life.

So what needs to be ferreted out yet is whether it is the I3- or just the I- ion that is metabolized in the human body. So there's a piece of the puzzle, but we still need a couple more...