Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I have done alot of research on sea salt and whether I should include it in the dietto the extent of experimenting with it, throwing in a certain amount here and there. REcently I have excluded it believing(given new info-mation I recieved on the net) that it causes the excretion of nutrients.I am concerned about dietary iodine however and iodized sea salt seems like the most viable source. DOes it elevate blood pressure(it seems to)? DOes it excrete nutrients(if so what ones)? How much should one take each day(the 'average'person)? ANy ideas... And yes, I am aware that there are other posts re: sea salt but they don't answer these question.

flag	asked Apr 16 2011 at 21:37 PersonMan

	i'm sorry, i am confusedf by your question. are you saying you do not currently use salt at all, and you are wondering if you should begin to, for to increase iodine intake? or are you asking something about rock salt vs sea salt? or iodized vs not? i'm lost. – g. Apr 17 2011 at 0:15
	Just so you can find yourself: I HAD included it, then stopped. I am looking to increase iodine and don't have ready access to kelp/seaweed so I don't know what would be the best option otherwise. Any advice? – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 2:34

Carey · Answer 1 · 2011-04-16 22:00:38Z UTC

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This is kinda sidestepping the question, but... If you are wanting to increase your dietary iodine without eating salt, have you considered adding sea vegetables to your diet, or taking kelp supplements?

answered Apr 16 2011 at 22:00

Carey
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Its all relevant as far as iodine goes, since thats the issue for me here: what sea vegetables would you recommend other than kelp. For the next half year I will be living in the bush in Northwestern Ontario and there is not much in the way of vegetable matter in my hometown. I eat 1/2 dozen eggs per day(whole eggs) and 1 can of tuna s iodine sources but iodine I percieve to be lacking. – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 2:36

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I like to make soup broth with kombu, or add wakame to soups. I have to special order any sea veg, since I don't have an asian grocery store in my region... and there's not a lot of wild seaweed growing here in Nebraska. Fortunately, dehydrated seaweed is relatively lightweight even in large quantities, so it's not too expensive to ship. – Carey Apr 17 2011 at 5:28

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A quick Google whack says that some top iodine-rich Paleo-friendly foods include Asparagus, Cow's Milk, Eggs, Garlic, Mushrooms, Spinach, Strawberries, Summer squash, Swiss chard, Turnip greens, and Yogurt. If you're eating 6 eggs every day, aren't you getting enough iodine? I found this helpful: whfoods.com/… – Carey Apr 17 2011 at 5:36

Thanks for the advice. tend to overdo things... – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 16:54

kilton · Answer 2 · 2011-04-16 23:22:16Z UTC

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Kelp granules are the way to roll if you want to increase iodine intake.

answered Apr 16 2011 at 23:22

kilton
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	I bounce between nori sheets and sprinking kelp on veggies throughout the week. – ben61820 Apr 17 2011 at 1:50
	I was eating the nori sheets(seaweed I take it) but found them pretty expensive. Also where I am currently there are no sources for these products. ANy advice for iodine sources other than se vegetables? – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 2:37
	amazon.com/Maine-Coast-Sea-Vegetables-Alternative/… – Jeff Apr 17 2011 at 7:45

donat · Answer 3 · 2011-04-17 08:06:17Z UTC

Importantly, and contrary what european (German) warning lables lead one to believe, the iodine content of different seaweeds seems to be radically different. Nori (porphyra) appears to contain relatively quite little.

"...iodine content, and found to range from 16 microg/g (+/-2) in nori (Porphyra tenera) to over 8165 +/- 373 microg/g in one sample of processed kelp granules (a salt substitute) made from Laminaria digitata (kelp/kombu) (Thyroid. 2004 Oct;14(10):836-41.)

"The dried lavers contained lesser amounts of dietary iodine ( approximately 4-6 mg/100 g of dry weight) relative to other seaweeds, suggesting that excessive intake of the dried lavers is unlikely to result in harmful intake of dietary iodine."(J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Jun;47(6):2341-3.)

"Table 4. Mineral composition of seaweeds compared to whole foods

Iodine (mg/100 g wet weight)*

Ascophyllum nodosum 18.2 Laminaria digitata 70.0

Porphyra umbilicalis 1.3 Palmaria palmata 10.2

Whole food (mg/100 g weight)†

Whole milk 15.0 Cheddar cheese 39.0 Sirloin steak 6.0

Spinach 2.0 Bananas 8.0 Brazil nut 20.0" (Nutrition Reviews, Vol. 65, No. 12)

Jeff · Answer 4 · 2011-04-17 01:07:07Z UTC

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Gary Taubes explains in Good Calories, Bad Calories (p146) that cutting our average intake of salt in HALF (which is quite hard to do) will drop blood pressure by 4 to 5 mmHg in hypertensives and only 2 mm Hg in the rest of people. If we have hypertension our blood pressure is already at least 20 mm Hg higher than normal.

Cutting our salt intake in half and decreasing our BP by 2-5mm Hg is pretty much pointless.

In my experience Ive found himalayan crystal salt to be the best

answered Apr 17 2011 at 1:07

Jeff
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	Thats interesting to note. How much iodized salt should I add to a diet where salt(industrialized version) only comes in the form of 1 can of tuna per day. Also, is it not true that salt(sea or otherwise) causes the excretion of nutrients? – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 2:39
	I prefer himalayan crystal salt over iodized salt. I believe it will contain a better amount of electrolytes. You don't have to go crazy with it, but I really like using it with mashed sweet potatoes, and I also add it to my water bottles when Im going out on bike rides. – Jeff Apr 17 2011 at 7:48
	I would caution against using himalayan salt. I heard somewhere that it contains large amounts of fluoride. I think celtic sea salt would be a better alternative. – ROB Apr 17 2011 at 16:59
	Any ideas as to where this can be found(in say a big-city in Canada)? Online ordering is not an option for me. So, do you contend that salt doesn't cause secretion of nutrients? I believe I read this relating to industrial salt but my confusion prompted this post. I'll try the Himalayans iff no nutrients are lost on the trip. – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 16:59
	well you probably don't really need to use any, but if you're gonna use it then whatever you can obtain that isn't processed would be your best bet. As mentioned the kelp granules are great as well. – Jeff Apr 17 2011 at 20:59

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DudleyP · Answer 5 · 2011-04-17 10:09:47Z UTC

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personally, I would take it all with a pinch of salt

answered Apr 17 2011 at 10:09

DudleyP
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	who cares Dudley do-right... – PersonMan Apr 17 2011 at 16:56
	now there's a good topic for a question – DudleyP Apr 17 2011 at 17:42

IOdine and sea salt

5 Answers