"Experts worry that reducing salt will lead to iodine deficiency" headlined the new SELFNutritionData blog, noting the "irony" of the U.S. pioneering in salt iodization in the 1920s and rehearsing that "the American Thyroid Association is worried that if the sodium police get their way and people really start cutting back on salt, thyroid problems and birth defects could be an unintended consequence."

The blog continues:

"Your body needs iodine in order to produce thyroid hormone. Iodine deficiency is especially dangerous (and especially common) during pregnancy, when it can cause problems with the infant's neural development and lead to mental retardation. Some researchers are investigating whether low iodine levels during pregnancy might increase the risk of ADHD.

"Sodium is intake up but iodine intake is down

"Iodized salt is the primary source of iodine in the American diet. But even though average salt consumption is twice the recommended level, iodine intake has actually declined about 50% over the last 30 years. How can that be? Well, we used to cook at home, using iodized salt. Today, most of the salt we consume comes from packaged and processed foods--which are not necessarily made with iodized salt.

"As long as we're bossing around the food industry and requiring them to reduce the sodium in their products, perhaps we ought to require them to use iodized salt."