Iodine for Vegans: What are the benefits?

Iodine for Vegans: What are the benefits? Despite too many natural sources of iodine, getting enough iodine can still be challenging for vegans and vegetarians as well.

Iodine for Vegans:

Vegetarian people don’t want to eat meat, fish, or poultry because they avoid too many fats and cholesterol to maintain healthy living. They only choose vegetables, fruits, and seeds to sustain their hunger every day. However, iodine for a vegan is crucial to their overall wellbeing.

Because of that, researchers have said that these people are at high risk to suffer from iodine deficiency. Iodine is necessary to produce hormones that sustain the metabolism of our body.

Iodine performs a vital role in making our health better. The following are the benefits you can get from a proper iodine intake:

Regular production of thyroid hormones

Iodine for vegans can help to improve your metabolism and heart rate. You can find it in fish, eggs, and other dairy products. That is why vegetarians are prone to have iodine deficiency because they don’t usually eat these for their meals.

Iodine is also available for vegetables as long as these plants grew in iodized-based soils.

No pregnancy complications

Your iodine intake can affect the brain development of the child in your womb. Proper iodine intake can help the child prevent hearing and speech problems once born.

Better cognitive function for children

Since iodine is one of the significant components in our health, it can help children develop better perception, attention, learning, and memory. It will enable them to perform well as they grow up and go to school. It can also enhance their information processing and decision-making skills.

Lack of iodine for vegans can cause health problems like:

enlargement of thyroid
muscle weaknesses
slowed heart rate
poor memory
dry skin

Lover iodine levels in our bodies may also affect women’s pregnancy and may result in certain conditions, including the following:

miscarriage
poor muscle tones
large tongue
extreme sleepiness

This condition may lead to many health problems. If you feel like you are one of the vegetarians who are possibly suffering from this, you may go to your doctor and undergo the following tests:

1. Urine tests

It is one of the tests that can give you the result immediately. However, some doctors do not recommend this because it can offer an accurate test result.

2. Blood test

This kind of test can give you a more accurate result because it involves your blood. But it takes much more time compared to the first one.

3. Patch test

During the process, the doctor will put a patch of iodine on your skin. You probably have this condition if your skin absorbed it immediately. Only a few doctors recommend this test because it does not give a 100% correct result.

4. Loading Test

This test aims to measure the amount of iodine you took for 24 hrs. It can’t give you the result right away but, it is very affordable and somehow accurate.

The danger of low iodine intake has a serious impact on your health. Hence, doctors suggest vegetarians eat the following alternative foods to increase the iodine level of their body:

Seaweeds

Seaweeds are one of the vegetables rich in iodine. Aside from that, it also provides minerals and proteins that can make you healthy even more. Some people add it to their soups and salads.

You may check Kelp, seafood that has the biggest amount of iodine. It offers 2000mcg iodine in just one serving.

However, pregnant women are advised only to eat seaweeds once a week to avoid any thyroid complications.

Strawberries

A cup of fresh and organic strawberries has 13mcg of iodine. Antioxidant fruits are the best to ensure metabolism, detoxification, growth, and development. Like the seaweeds, you have to consider the amount you will take if you have certain conditions.

Dried Plums

Dried plums are another rich source of iodine, vitamins, and proteins. You will get a 9% amount of the recommended iodine intake once you eat five pieces of it.

Potatoes

Potatoes are root vegetables rich in iodine, vitamins B6 and C. A medium potato contains 60 mcg. You can consume it boiled, fried, mashed, or added to your soups and stews as well.

Himalayan Salt

A gram of Himalayan salt contains 500mcg of iodine. It is one of the salts that can provide you with a rich and big amount of this nutrient. You can include it in sauces, salads and even use it in your body! If you want to learn more about health and nutrition, you can click here.

Iodine for Vegans: What are the benefits?