Iodized salt makes a difference<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"Consuming iodized salt will help me become a university
\ngraduate, if not I will get goiter,\" said Ingka Fitra Sunar, 10,
\nfrom Bone, South Sulawesi eloquently.<\/p>\n
Ingka was one of seven elementary school children from seven
\nprovinces across Indonesia who won a drawing contest on iodized
\nsalt organized by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).<\/p>\n
His prize-winning picture, a watercolor painting showing new
\ngraduates in black robes and mortarboards on one side, and what
\nappears to be a farmer with a goitrous neck on the other, had a
\nquality that not many elementary school students could produce.<\/p>\n
Other winners also produced more or less the same themes --
\nthat iodized salt will make people smarter and eating non-iodized
\nsalt will produce goiter.<\/p>\n
\"Salt is produced from seawater, and when combined with iodine
\nproduces iodized salt,\" another winner, Andrea Tyas Sari Putri
\nfrom Surakarta, Central Java, explained. Despite drawing sacks of
\nsalt stacked on a beach, the 11-year-old does not know how it
\ncould be obtained from saltwater.<\/p>\n
\"We are continually educating children on the benefits of
\niodized salt, and the winners of this competition were chosen in
\npart because of their knowledge of the matter,\" said Ati Muchtar
\nSjarief, Unicef's communication officer, during a recent ceremony
\nannouncing the competition's winners.<\/p>\n
The program to erase iodine deficiency in Indonesia began
\nprior to independence, but Unicef's involvement only started in
\nthe 1970s, she said.<\/p>\n
Winners of the competition received a scholarship of Rp 5
\nmillion each, a three-day tour package in Jakarta and a Unicef
\ntrophy.<\/p>\n
Iodine deficiency is known as the single most common cause of
\npreventable mental retardation and brain damage. It decreases the
\nchances of a child's survival, causes goiter and impairs growth
\nand development.<\/p>\n
\"Most people only look at gondok (goiter) as the effect of
\niodine deficiency, now that they don't see it anymore they think
\nit's not a problem. But most of the damage you can't see
\nimmediately,\" Unicef project officer for nutrition Ernest
\nSchoffelen said, explaining that 90 percent of damage from iodine
\ndeficiency could not be seen.<\/p>\n
Iodine deficiency in pregnant women, for example, causes
\nmiscarriage and stillbirth, while children with iodine deficiency
\ndisorder (IDD) can grow up stunted, apathetic, mentally retarded,
\nand incapable of normal movements, speech, or hearing.<\/p>\n
The International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency
\nDisorders (ICCIDD) predicts some 2.2 billion people, or 38
\npercent of the world's population, live in areas with iodine
\ndeficiency and are at risk of experiencing complications caused
\nby the deficiency.<\/p>\n
\"Some regions in Indonesia risk these complications, such as
\nWest Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, Aceh, and
\nMaluku. And even in Java there are pockets that don't get enough
\niodine,\" Schoffelen said.<\/p>\n
Only 65 percent of Indonesian people consume enough iodine, 15
\npercent of people do not get enough, while the other 20 percent
\ndo not get iodine at all, he said.<\/p>\n
Iodine is a chemical element that can be found in fairly
\nconstant amounts in seawater, but its distribution over land and
\nfresh water is uneven.<\/p>\n
It is an essential part of the chemical structure of thyroid
\nhormones, which are released into the bloodstream and carried to
\ntarget organs, particularly the liver, kidneys, muscles, heart,
\nand developing brain. The body needs proper levels of thyroid
\nhormones to work well.<\/p>\n
Most of the iodine we consume comes from food and drink, Ati
\nsaid, with seafood being a good source because the ocean contains
\nconsiderable iodine.<\/p>\n
Other sources include freshwater fish, vegetables and meat,
\ndepending on the amount of iodine it is produced in, which may
\nnot be adequate if they are grown in iodine deficient areas.<\/p>\n
\"Jakartans are OK because they get enough variety of foods,
\nbut other areas in Indonesia do not have enough sources of food,\"
\nAti said, adding that most processed food also contains iodized
\nsalt.<\/p>\n
Iodized salt is special produced, and except for a few
\nisolated cases, edible salt does not naturally contain iodine,
\nSchoffelen said, explaining that iodine is added deliberately to
\nsalt as one of the most efficient ways of improving iodine
\nnutrition.<\/p>\n
He recommended the consumption of about 10 grams of iodized
\nsalt per day. About 30 milligrams of iodine is contained in a
\nkilogram of table salt.<\/p>\n
\"The problem arises because raw salt that is locally produced
\nis often leaked into the market without being properly processed
\nwith iodine,\" Schoffelen said, adding that in the meantime about
\n50 percent of the country's raw salt supplies are imported from
\nIndia, Australia and Jordan, and are not well controlled.<\/p>\n
\"If control of imported salt in improved and there is
\nenforcement of the law and a committed government, the problem of
\niodine deficiency would easily be solved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Before 1995, less than 50 percent of the population consumed
\niodized salt which increased to 65 percent in 1996, but this
\nfigure remains stagnant until present because of a lack of
\ncommitment, Schoffelen explained.<\/p>\n
Unicef monitors iodine deficiency in seven provinces in
\nIndonesia, namely Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java,
\nWest Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/iodized-salt-makes-a-difference-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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