Lifestyle
Prevent Iodine Deficiency Disorder with Iodized Salt
Did you know that approximately 40 percent of the world’s population is still suffering from Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD)?
In the Philippines, based on the 2008 National Nutrition Survey by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), “19.7% of Filipino children aged six to 12 years old still have median urinary iodine that is slightly below 20%, and this level, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), indicated a public health problem.”
WHO presented a strategy to respond to the IDD challenge: use iodized salt.
For normal human growth and development, it is recommended that you take about 100 to 150 micrograms of iodine daily. For children aged one to 10 years old, 60 to 100 micrograms is recommended while 35 to 40 micrograms for infants less than one year.
In Central Visayas, Philippines, there is a group called the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force of Region VII (RBATF 7) chaired by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and co-chaired by the National Nutrition Council VII. It is steadfast in its fight against IDD. In an RBATF 7 meeting in Cebu City last Jan. 20, the group pushed for the manufacture, distribution and consumption of quality iodized salt region-wide.
RBATF 7 pointed out that iodine being an essential mineral in the body is a key factor for a healthier thyroid gland, metabolism, and brain.
Still, despite its wide promotion, there are still incidences of IDD affecting people region-wide, especially among pregnant and lactating women with mild IDD, based on the 2011 Updating Survey on the Nutritional Status of Selected Filipino Population Groups by FNRI.
The same survey shows the high iodized salt utilization coverage among households in the region at 49.5%. Also, an average of 94.6% of the household salt tested positive to potassium iodate higher than the national percentage of 80.1% using the salt testing solution.
However, despite the high iodized salt utilization coverage and presence of potassium iodate in the salts tested, results of the updating survey revealed that only about one-fourth of the supply of salt were adequately iodized suggesting that the problem is on the availability of adequately iodized salt.
Iodine is being made available from seafood and iodized salt. Using iodized salt, though, is still considered the cheapest and best intervention for the prevention and control of IDD since it is mostly used in cooking and other food processes.
RBATF 7, which continues to monitor the implementation of the Republic Act 8172 or the ASIN Law that requires all salt for human and animal consumption to be adequately iodized, encourages both the manufacturers to ensure the availability of adequately iodized salt to be distributed in the region along with the constant conduct of monitoring and promotion of good nutrition.
Furthermore, the RBATF7 is also encouraging the general public to use iodized salt with the approved seal to ensure that the manufacturers complied with all the necessary requirements established by the government in the production of the quality iodized salt.
