However, the reason for avoiding iodine for patients who need radioactive iodine (131I) therapy is to keep the thyroid gland in an “iodine starved” state so that it can fully absorb radioactive iodine (131I) during radiotherapy and release beta radiation to produce internal radiation to kill residual cancer cells. Therefore, the following foods are recommended to be avoided for patients who need an “iodine-restricted diet”.
These foods should be avoided if you want to do well on a no-iodine diet
.
Iodized salt
The iodized salt currently consumed in China generally contains 22.5 micrograms of iodine per gram, so if you consume 5 grams of salt per day (112.5 micrograms of iodine), for example, you are already consuming far more than the 50 micrograms of iodine per day standard for a “no iodine diet”. The “heavy” patients are more likely to exceed the limit.
For this reason, it is recommended to buy non-iodized salt during the “no iodine diet,” meaning that there is no “iodine” in the ingredients list. Also, avoid eating out because you don’t know what kind of salt is being used in the restaurant.
Processed foods with “invisible salt”
Control of salt intake is not just about controlling the amount of salt you eat in your daily life, but also about controlling the “invisible salt” around you.
So, it is important to control salt intake in many forms to prevent excessive intake of “invisible salt”. The company’s main goal is to provide a comprehensive range of products and services to help you achieve your goals.
Save seafood foods
Most seafood is high in iodine (see Table 1), especially kelp, nori, and seaweed, which must be avoided by people who are iodine-averse. However, there are also seafood with relatively low iodine content, such as: Spanish mackerel, sea bass, yellow croaker, grass carp, etc. These should be eaten sparingly.
Egg yolk can contain a lot of iodine and should be eaten sparingly
Egg is often a good choice for post-operative protein, but surprisingly, eggs are also a food high in iodine, with the iodine concentrated in the yolk. For example, quail eggs and eggs contain 233 mcg/100g of iodine and 22.5 mcg/100g of egg. It is recommended that the yolks of eggs and quail eggs be avoided as much as possible during the period of iodine avoidance.
Iodine-containing supplements and nutritional products
Many multivitamins, trace elements, etc. may contain iodine, and you need to read the ingredients list before buying.
We recommend sticking this table on your fridge!
We need to have a table in mind so we can eat without panic
After reading the above, patients who need an “iodine avoidance diet” may say, “I can’t eat this and I can’t eat that, so what else can I eat?” Below we list the iodine content of common foods, patients can refer to the table of foods with low iodine content to match the ingredients. From the table, we can see that the iodine content of vegetables and fruits is very low, especially gourd, cauliflower (cauliflower) and lettuce, which have almost no detectable iodine content, so patients on the “no iodine diet” can consider eating more of them in their daily lives.
Some patients also say, “What if I accidentally eat foods high in iodine? The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you are doing. Therefore, the occasional accidental consumption will not cause too serious consequences, but rather long-term stress and anxiety is not conducive to recovery. If you are not sure, you can consult your doctor.
Table 1. Levels of iodine in common foods (100 g edible portion)
|
Type of food |
Food name |
Iodine content in micrograms |
Food name |
Iodine content in micrograms |
|
Algae |
Kelp (dried) |
36240 |
Spirulina |
3830 |
|
15982 |
Kelp (deep sea, cold fresh) |
2950 |
||
|
4323 |
Seaweed |
2427 |
||
|
Shrimp |
Shrimp (small prawns, dried) |
983 |
Serrano shrimp |
36.1 |
|
394 |
Kiwi shrimp |
16.1 |
||
|
373 |
||||
|
Crab |
Flower crab (female) |
45.4 |
River crab (male) |
27.8 |
|
33.2 |
||||
|
Bay |
Red mussels |
162 |
Scallops |
48.5 |
|
102 |
River Clams |
43.1 |
||
|
91.4 |
Clams |
39.3 |
||
|
66.0 |
Flower snails |
37.9 |
||
|
65.4 |
||||
|
Seafish |
Scallops |
40.8 |
Sea eel |
11.3 |
|
36.9 |
Silver Pomfret |
10.9 |
||
|
33.4 |
Tilapia (back) |
9.1 |
||
|
28.5 |
Seabass |
7.9 |
||
|
15.6 |
Pomfret (flatfish) |
7.7 |
||
|
14.9 |
Huang Huo (small) |
5.8 |
||
|
12.3 |
Barbel (Spanish mackerel) |
3.5 |
||
|
Freshwater fish |
Carp |
10.1 |
White chub |
6.7 |
| 6.4 |
Fatheads |
6.6 |
||
| Other | Sea Cucumber | 28.1 | ||
| Quail eggs | 233 |
Duck eggs |
34.2 |
|
| 59.7 |
Egg |
22.5 |
||
|
Cereals and products |
Brown rice (organic) |
14.5 | ||
|
Sorghum rice |
7.0 |
Xiaomi |
1.6 | |
|
Soba |
6.8 |
Wheat flour |
1.5 | |
|
Barley |
4.0 |
Rice, Avena sativa |
1.4 | |
| 3.9 |
Corn |
1.1 | ||
| 2.0 | ||||
|
Potatoes |
Purple potatoes |
2.5 | Purple potatoes | 0.5 |
| Potatoes | 1.2 | |||
|
Dry beans |
Soybeans | 5.2 |
Adzuki beans |
4.0 |
| 5.0 |
Fava beans |
1.3 |
||
| 4.7 | ||||
|
Vegetables and products |
Fennel |
12.4 |
Carrots |
2.2 |
|
7.0 |
Mao beans (peeled) |
1.8 |
||
|
6.0 |
Winter melon, bitter melon |
1.7 | ||
|
5.0 |
Loofah, white radish |
1.4 | ||
|
4.7 |
Onions, kale, carrots |
1.3 | ||
|
4.6 |
Carrots, beans, onions |
1.2 | ||
|
4.5 |
Persimmon pepper (green pepper) |
1.1 | ||
|
Ginger |
4.3 |
Cucumber |
1.0 | |
|
3.8 |
Eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini |
0.8 | ||
|
3.6 |
Tomatoes, pumpkins |
0.7 | ||
|
3.5 |
Garlic moss |
0.6 | ||
|
Lettuce |
3.4 |
Eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini |
0.8 | |
|
3.1 |
Kale (green) [round cabbage] |
0.4 | ||
|
3.0 |
Cucurbits, cauliflower [cauliflower], lettuce |
*Tr (almost iodine-free) |
||
|
2.4 |
||||
|
Nuts |
Walnuts |
10.4 |
Peanuts |
2.7 |
|
Almonds |
8.4 | Black sesame seeds | 1.2 | |
|
Mycorrhizae |
Fungus [black fungus, cloud fungus] |
10.1 |
Mushrooms |
1.6 |
| 3.0 |
Mushrooms |
1.3 | ||
| 2.1 |
Apricot mushroom |
1.2 | ||
| 2.0 |
Crabapple mushroom (protein mushroom) |
0.6 | ||
|
Flat mushrooms |
1.9 |
Golden needle mushrooms |
0.4 | |
|
Livestock and poultry meat and products |
Beef (lean) |
4.1 |
Chicken thigh meat |
4.5 |
| 2.9 |
Chicken breasts |
3.2 | ||
| 1.9 |
Duck meat (green-headed duck leg meat) |
3.0 | ||
|
Mengniu Pure Yen flavored sour milk |
35.4 |
Milk (sterilized) |
1.9 | |
| 32.4 |
Yogurt |
0.9 |
Note: *Tr – below the detection limit of the currently applied assay or not detected
Here’s a recipe for iodine avoidance, for cancer patients to pick up
In view of the strict requirements for iodine content in the “no iodine diet”, we have listed the food ingredients and quantities for three meals a day according to the Chinese Iodine Supplementation Guidelines[2] and the Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents for your reference.
|
Recipes |
Iodine content (micrograms) |
|
|
Breakfast |
Homemade sandwich (50g whole wheat bread, 20g sliced cucumber, 20g sliced tomato, 10g lettuce, 20g ketchup) |
1.93 |
|
One hard-boiled egg (about 50 g) |
11.25 |
|
|
Pure milk 200ml |
3.8 |
|
|
Pears 100g |
0.7 |
|
|
20g of walnuts |
2.08 |
|
|
Mixed grain rice 100g (20g each of mung beans, adzuki beans, oats and sorghum rice) |
2.76 |
|
|
Beef stew with carrots and potatoes (50g carrots, 100g potatoes, 50g beef) |
3.85 |
|
|
Sautéed oleander 100g |
3.1 |
|
|
15 ml oil, non-iodized salt<3 g |
0 |
|
|
Additional meal 2 |
Oranges 100g |
5.3 |
|
Yogurt 150 ml |
1.35 | |
|
Steamed buns 100g |
1.5 |
|
|
Winter melon ball soup (50g lean meat filling, 100g winter melon) |
2.65 | |
|
Mushroom roasted vegetable cores (100g mushrooms, 100g rape hearts) |
6.0 | |
|
12 ml oil, non-iodized salt<3 g |
0 | |
|
Additional meal 3 |
Banana 100g |
2.5 |
Note that the salt and sauce (ketchup) used in the above recipe are non-iodized salt, with a combined iodine content of 49.27 mcg/day, which meets the iodine requirement of <50 mcg/day for an "iodine-free diet".