Iodine profile in foods consumed in vegetarian diets

Delgado, Inês; Ventura, Marta; Gueifão, Sandra; Rego, Andreia; Castanheira, Isabel; Coelho, Inês

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/8719

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Vegetarian diets have gained popularity in the last decade, and it has been found that increased consumption of plant-based foods has numerous health benefits [1]. The number of vegetarians has quadrupled in the last ten years, currently representing around 9% of the population residing in Portugal [2,3]. Therefore, the nutritional study of the foods most consumed by the vegetarian population becomes important. Iodine is an essential nutrient for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. If the supply of iodine is compromised, the consequences may be hypothyroidism, goitre or the formation of nodules. When nutritional deficits occur in lactating or pregnant women, irreversible repercussions on babies or foetuses may occur[1,4,5]. The objective of this study was to evaluate the iodine content, by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), in 37 foods most consumed by the vegetarian population. Food selection was based on the National Food and Physical Activity Survey. Among the analysed foods, Nori seaweeds have the highest levels of iodine, 6511 ± 321 μg/100 g, followed by dairy products, namely cheeses (between 53.4 ± 0.4 and 28.0 ± 0.9 μg/100 g) and yoghurts (between 17.2 ± 0.2 and 14.4 ± 0.1 μg /100 g). When resorting only to food, the vegetarian and vegan population may have difficulty to achieve the daily iodine requirement (150 μg/day). In the case of pregnant and lactating vegetarians or vegans, nutritional deficiency can be a more worrying situation, taking into account that it can cause neurodevelopmental changes in the foetuses and baby. It is necessary to consider alternatives that can alleviate the nutritional deficits of iodine and prevent possible consequences on health. These may include using iodised salt, crop fortification, food fortification or supplementation.