We know that food is the main source of iodine in the body. If the soil of our living environment contains less iodine, the plants growing on this soil also contain less iodine, and various animals (such as sheep, cows, dogs and rabbits) that eat low iodine feeds will also have insufficient iodine nutrition. Therefore, the body's iodine nutritional status is closely related to the environment. If we eat grains and meats low in iodine as food for a long period of time, iodine nutritional deficiencies will occur and health will be affected to a greater or lesser extent, and all people are not immune, especially children and women. Although the majority of the population appears to be "normal", only some of them will show visible signs of illness - endemic goiter and endemic cretinism. In reality, this "normalcy" is a hidden pathology. Scientists call all the adverse effects of iodine deficiency on the physical and mental development of people (pathology) iodine deficiency disorders.
Iodine deficiency disease is one of the oldest diseases of mankind. China in the seventh century BC there are written records, known as gall (Ying) disease, Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty first proposed the use of seaweed, kombu treatment of endemic goiter (a disease in the iodine deficiency diseases). It was not until the twentieth century that it was generally recognized that iodine could be used to prevent iodine deficiency disorders with success.
Second, the harm of iodine deficiency
Iodine deficiency is a serious danger to human health, iodine deficiency disorders are:
Damage to children's cerebral neurodevelopment, manifested in varying degrees of intellectual defects, learning ability is low.
Endemic goiter, commonly known as thick-necked root or big-necked disease; severe iodine deficiency can trigger endemic cretinism. It manifests as deafness, mute, dullness and stupidity.
Causes death, deformity, deafness or miscarriage, premature birth of the fetus that is growing in the mother's womb.
Adults have reduced physical strength and labor capacity, and children's growth and development are affected.
In addition, iodine deficiency disorders also significantly affect the growth, development, reproduction and productivity of livestock, reducing the yield and quality of meat, eggs, milk and so on.
Research by scientists has found that women are more likely to be affected by iodine deficiency than men. Young children and adolescents grow faster and need more iodine in their bodies. For physiological reasons, girls in puberty and pregnant women need iodine even more, so they are very sensitive to iodine deficiency.
Iodine deficiency jeopardizes human health
Iodine deficiency threatens 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government in China, and about 727 million people are threatened by iodine deficiency, accounting for almost half of the population in all iodine-deficient areas of the world (46%). Not only are the vast rural areas seriously threatened by iodine deficiency, which is a key area in the prevention and treatment of iodine deficiency diseases, but also large, medium and small cities have not escaped the plague of iodine deficiency.
Iodine deficiency disease is also a global problem. 118 countries and regions around the world have iodine deficiency problems, and 1.572 billion people live in iodine-deficient areas, of which 655 million suffer from endemic goiter, 11.2 million people suffer from endemic cretinism, and 43 million people suffer from mental retardation caused by iodine deficiency of varying degrees, and iodine deficiency has led to the death of 30,000 unborn fetuses and the death of about 12 million children. Iodine deficiency has resulted in the death of 30,000 unborn fetuses, and about 120,000 newborns are born with visible physical and neurological defects.
Iodine deficiency disorders are like a huge iceberg immersed in seawater. What we see is only a part of the iceberg, but underneath the surface there are a huge number of invisible, apparently "normal" people who are already in danger.
How to know if we have iodine deficiency in our bodies or in the area where we live
If we live in an environment where there have been patients with iodine deficiency in the past, we can roughly confirm that we live in an iodine-deficient area. To answer the question of whether or not we have an iodine deficiency, we need to look at both the external and internal environments in which people live to determine whether or not they have an iodine deficiency.
The external environment includes soil and water. Because the iodine content in the water in the same area represents the iodine content in the soil, so as long as the water samples are taken to the sanitary epidemic prevention department for testing, we can know the iodine level of the external environment of the region.
The lack of iodine in the internal environment can be examined from the urine iodine and whether there is no goiter in two aspects:
1. Urine iodine: we can reflect the iodine nutritional level of iodine in the body every day from the iodine discharged in the urine. If you eat a lot of iodine, you will have more urinary iodine, and if you eat less iodine, you will have less urinary iodine. So urine iodine is the most sensitive indicator to determine how much iodine we eat. If many times the urine test found that the human body exists in iodine nutritional deficiencies, you should pay attention to, otherwise, a long time, it is possible to suffer from iodine deficiency disease.
2. Goiter: After 3-4 months of iodine deficiency in children, the thyroid gland will be enlarged.
Children's rapid growth and development, iodine needs more, so children are the most sensitive group of iodine deficiency. The state stipulates that school-age children aged 8-10 years old are the main target group for monitoring iodine deficiency diseases. By regularly checking how many children have enlarged thyroid glands and how much iodine is contained in their urine, the iodine deficiency of the population in the area can be judged, providing reliable information for guiding the prevention and treatment work.
Endemic goiter and endemic cretinism - the most obvious manifestations of iodine deficiency disease
Among the various clinical symptoms of iodine deficiency disease, the one that is most easily recognized is goiter in the neck, commonly known as "thick neck, big neck disease", i.e., endemic goiter; the other is "stupidity". The other is "stupid" or "stupid little disease", i.e., endemic cretinism, patients show more obvious intellectual defects, with a typical demented expression, they are short in stature, and even deaf and mute.
The greatest harm of iodine deficiency---children's mental defects
Iodine is the raw material for the thyroid gland to manufacture thyroid hormones, and is an essential nutrient for the normal development of brain tissue. Iodine deficiency affects the normal growth of human brain tissue, both mild and severe iodine deficiency, will affect brain development, damage intelligence.
First, the king's story
People have long noticed that iodine deficiency and intellectual backwardness have some kind of connection. Legend has it that Napoleon, the famous French king, got a report that at the time of the southern border of France (now the Swiss Alps), there was a special kind of idiocy prevalent, and multiple members of the family were often found to be stupid. The king tried to eradicate the disease by relocating entire villages. At this point, a dedicated young doctor, Guggenheimer, heard about it and bravely set up a settlement in the area to study the idiocy carefully. He found that the idiot patients in the high mountains more, down to a certain altitude will disappear, and later people realized that the higher the mountain, the soil by the rain washing the more serious, the soil iodine less. It can be seen that the living environment iodine deficiency and the occurrence of idiotic patients have a certain causal link.
Two, smart brain can not be separated from the iodine
Brain tissue development has an accurate timing, like trains and airplanes, according to a strict timetable operation, on time to start, on time to end. Roughly speaking, this timetable is from the mother's belly with a small baby began, has been extended to the birth of two years of age, this period of time is called the critical period of brain development. During the critical period, the brain must rely on thyroid hormones for nerve growth. In order to make enough thyroid hormone, the thyroid gland needs sufficient iodine, and if any degree of iodine under-nutrition occurs during this period, it can result in abnormal brain development.
Is it okay to take iodine supplements after the critical period? Scientists tell us that it is impossible for a brain whose development has been affected to reach normal levels again. In other words, the problem of brain dysplasia caused by iodine deficiency during the critical period is irreversible, and once formed, it is regrettable for the rest of one's life. Therefore, from the perspective that brain development cannot be separated from iodine, iodine is the "intelligence element".
Third, iodine deficiency and intelligence, IQ
As we all know, people usually use IQ to express the degree of intelligence, the normal human IQ is about 100, there are children with mental retardation IQ is less than 70. iodine deficiency can damage the child's intelligence.
Children with severe iodine deficiency have severe intellectual damage, with an IQ of less than 50. These children can't take care of themselves, need help with food, clothing and transportation, can't go to school, and have a short life expectancy, which is known as endemic cretinism in medicine.
Children with mild iodine deficiency have less intellectual damage, with IQs between 50 and 69. They are often considered "normal children" before they start elementary school. After entering the school, "normal children" gradually showed problems in intelligence, academic performance in the last few, failed the exam, repeated the grade, and even difficult to graduate. The above symptoms caused by iodine deficiency are called subclinical cretinism.
Intelligence is the basic ability we humans must have to learn, work and live. It is inconceivable that the cultural and economic level of the entire society can be raised in a society where the population is of low intellectual quality. In areas of severe iodine deficiency, entire villages are unable to select a qualified accountant or tractor driver, and even have no soldiers to conscript, and the whole village is known as the "village of fools". People often use the phrase "one generation of swelling (goiter), two generations of stupidity (cretinism), and three generations of broken roots and buds (gradual decline in population)" to describe the "village of fools". Intellectually challenged children can not take care of themselves and become a heavy burden on parents and society.
Therefore, the greatest harm of iodine deficiency to human beings, whether from the individual, the community or the country as a whole, is the problem of affecting brain development. Therefore, the complete elimination of iodine deficiency is a big matter involving the improvement of the quality of the population.
Fourth, the annual loss of 368,000 Newton
Scientists have found that: children born in iodine-deficient environments have an average IQ at least one-tenth lower than that of non-diseased areas, which is equivalent to 10 IQs lower. There are 6 million newborns born in iodine-deficient areas in China every year, and according to this figure, the annual IQ loss amounts to 60 million to 70 million. The great scientist Newton's IQ is 190 (IQ 140 or more is known as the intellectual super), therefore, a year of national loss of IQ is roughly equivalent to the loss of 368,000 Newton.
V. Intellectual backwardness caused by iodine deficiency cannot be cured
Intellectual deficiency caused by iodine deficiency is a manifestation of brain dysfunction, as are other intellectual deficiencies, and it is very difficult to reach normal levels. Mild intellectual defects, if early detection, and can receive special education, can only make him reach the level of elementary school graduation. These patients also need strict training to improve their ability to adapt to life, master some simple labor skills, and become "self-reliant workers". Long-term practical experience shows that it is impossible to restore the intellectual backwardness of iodine-deficient patients to normal levels.
How to prevent iodine deficiency disease
The cause of iodine deficiency disease is very clear, is caused by iodine deficiency, prevention is the most important measure. Iodine deficiency disorders can be prevented by consuming iodized salt correctly. The most important targets for preventing iodine deficiency diseases are infants, children, and women who are preparing to become mothers or are breastfeeding their babies. As long as the iodine nutrition level of these people can meet the physiological needs, the intellectual development of the next generation can be basically guaranteed.
The most basic method of iodine supplementation is salt iodization. Other means such as iodized oil can only play a supplementary role. As long as we can eat qualified iodized salt, we can ensure that our iodine nutrition, do not need to eat any iodine-containing health products and iodine-fortified food.
Salt is a food that each of us must eat every day, and adding a certain amount of iodine to salt ensures that each person can eat a certain amount of iodine every day.
Iodized salt is the most important method of iodine supplementation
Mixing iodine in salt does not change the original color and taste of the salt, and there is no cosmetic difference between iodized salt and non-iodized salt, which makes iodine supplementation easy to promote and easy to adhere to for a long time, and it is a very effective method.
Iodized salt is the most important and basic means of preventing and treating iodine deficiency disorders not only in China, but also in other countries around the world. The method of salt iodization to prevent and control iodine deficiency diseases started at the beginning of this century, and Switzerland, the United States, Austria and other countries are the first countries to promote iodized salt. Canada and other countries have long required manufacturers to iodize all salt, and India and the Americas are gradually implementing similar salt iodization programmes. By the end of 1995, 82 countries in the world had committed to implementing salt iodization.
Iodized salt is safe for normal people
Can salt iodization have harmful effects on normal people? When scientists proposed salt iodization for the prevention of iodine deficiency disorders, they had already conducted many studies on the safe range of ingested iodine. From the experience of using iodized salt abroad, some developed countries implemented salt iodization at an early stage and did not find that iodized salt brought any side effects to iodine-enriched people. Therefore, the relevant international organizations have listed salt iodization as a major means of eliminating iodine deficiency diseases. The amount of iodine in iodized salt "poses no medical danger" to iodine-nutrient-rich people.
Problems to be noted in the use of iodized salt
Because the element iodine and its other elements of the same family can be easily volatilized in a high-temperature, humid environment, or by encountering acidic substances such as vinegar, families should pay attention to the following problems when purchasing, storing, and using iodized salt:
1) Make sure to purchase iodized salt packaged in a small plastic bag with a designated trademark printed on the bag, and with an iodized salt logo affixed to the bag. Iodized salt, never buy private salt or no (low) iodized salt at random.
2) Don't store it for too long and buy it as you go.
3) Put it in a covered brown glass bottle or porcelain jar and store it in a cool, dry place away from fire.
4) Stir-frying, making soup to be almost cooked out of the pot when the salt effect is good.
5) Do not fry iodized salt with oil.
6) We must use iodized salt to make salted vegetables, and do not wash iodized salt. In this way, even in winter, when we eat salted vegetables, the whole family can eat enough iodine.
Selling non-iodized salt is illegal
It is illegal to sell uniodized table salt (non-iodized salt). Because private salt is cheaper than iodized salt, some ill-intentioned traders use it to lure residents and make huge profits at the expense of people's health. This should be firmly resisted and held accountable in accordance with the law.
Don't pick the sesame and lose the watermelon
Iodized salt is the most basic method of preventing iodine deficiency diseases, and we must urge families to buy iodized salt for the sake of their health. Iodized salt is a bit more expensive than private salt, and the difference between the two can be made up by smoking a few less cigarettes and drinking a few less drinks. Iodized salt prevents mental defects in children and enables the human body to maintain normal functions, so we must eat iodized salt. Although private salt is cheap and saves money, eating private salt will make people suffer from iodine deficiency disease and even harm them for the rest of their lives, which is not worth the loss.
How to identify the real and fake iodized salt
The family check the real and fake iodized salt can first start from the outer packaging of salt. China's implementation of salt monopoly, recognized by the salt industry management department of qualified iodized salt, the external packaging materials have strict requirements, packaging instructions and logo is very obvious, the handwriting is complete and clear. Take Beijing as an example, the packaging material of iodized salt is plastic compound film, with blue "iodized" two-character logo, and white "refined salt" four-character description, the state stipulates that all iodized salt must be affixed with the anti-counterfeiting "iodized salt symbols The state stipulates that all iodized salt must be labeled with the anti-counterfeit "iodized salt mark". It is difficult to recognize, you can go to the health epidemic prevention department to solve the problem, they have a special chemical reagent, just a drop of salt on the drop of potion can make a judgment.
The meaning of the iodized salt logo is: the iodine chemical symbol of the English lowercase letter "i" image of a healthy person, the body has the word "iodine", the outside of the square for the crystal structure of the salt, diagonally printed on the "food". salt" printed on the diagonal.
Laser anti-counterfeiting logo on the human body graphics around the flashing neon, the bottom of the square has a curved color flash point