It depends on who you ask.
If you look online at some major league health websites like the Cleveland Clinic, they will tell you that you should.
If you ask me, I would say that there are much better options available and that you’ll have much more control over your iodine intake if you avoid it.
Iodine is critically important for thyroid function and not having enough of it can lead to serious problems.
But there’s no reason that you must it from salt.
Let me explain why:
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#1. Iodine deficiency is not the problem it once was
About 100 years ago, salt had iodined added to it (thus resulting in iodized salt) in response to a goiter endemic (1).
A region in the United States, lovingly referred to as the goiter belt, had goiter rates as high as 30-40% prior to the 1920s.
Because the thyroid requires iodine for creating thyroid hormone, a lack of iodine causes all sorts of problems including low IQs in babies born to women with this problem (2).
The government responded by iodizing salt which completely solved the problem. But that was 100 years ago and we now live in a different time with entirely different problems.
I’m not saying that iodized salt is a bad thing, and it probably still prevents a small minority of people from developing iodine-related problems to this day.
So it should stick around.
But iodine deficiency is generally not something that most modern-day thyroid patients have to worry about.
In today’s world, thyroid patients are much more likely to take too much iodine, as opposed to not enough, setting themselves up for iodine-overdose-related problems.
Research has been clear over the last several decades that populations that overconsume iodine end up with multiple thyroid conditions including autoimmune thyroid disease and maybe even an increased risk of thyroid cancer.
There are many reasons for this, but one big one is the fact that iodine has been added to many cosmetic and beauty products (3).
Even though microdoses are used, these compounds are placed directly on the scalp or skin, they are easily absorbed by the body.
So even if you are someone who isn’t consuming iodine-rich foods like seaweed or fish, there’s a good chance you are still getting plenty of iodine.
As you might imagine, iodine intake from all sources is actually very difficult to track.
And as a result, we have some experts arguing that iodine deficiency remains a big problem while others argue that iodine overdose is more important.
If it is true that many people are getting more iodine than they truly need then consuming iodized salt will only serve to make the problem worse.
My opinion is that the truth is somewhere in between with some groups of people getting more than they need and others not getting enough.
But even if you are someone who thinks people need more iodine, that’s not a good argument for consuming iodized salt.
Which brings us to #2…
#2. There are better ways to get a more stable dose of iodine
Yes, iodine is important and yes, consuming more of it has the potential to help you feel a lot better.
I’ve said before that there are few treatments that can have a more powerful effect on your thyroid than iodine.
Even with all of this being true, there’s no reason for salt to be your only source of iodine because there are much better ways to get it.
Salt falls short as a source of iodine for several reasons:
The first is that your consumption of salt and, therefore, iodine will likely vary from day to day.
When you look at the iodine content in salt, you’ll find that each ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon you consume contains around 45 mcg of iodine (4).
But let me ask you this:
Do you keep track of how much salt you consume each day?
Could you tell me with any degree of accuracy what your total iodized salt intake is in terms of teaspoons or tablespoons?

Do you know how much iodine you should be getting each day from all sources?
If you’re like most people, probably not.
If you wanted to get all of your iodine from salt then you’d need to consume around half to ¾ of a teaspoon of iodized salt each day.
That’s problem number one, the second is that the amount of salt you consume each day probably varies.
As a result, your iodine intake will vary as well.
The thyroid does have the ability to store iodine, so daily fluctuations can be managed by your body to some degree.
But because iodine intake is so important and because it’s a Goldilocks nutrient, it’s always better to know exactly how much you are getting.
While salt remains a better-than-nothing source of iodine, you can get much more stable levels by just taking an iodine supplement.
The average population has a much more intuitive understanding of supplement dosing compared to food measurements.
If I asked you to eyeball out ¾ of a teaspoon of salt, how close do you think you could get to the target?
It’s far easier to get your entire day’s worth of iodine in a single capsule without having to worry about measuring out your salt intake.
#3. Too much salt can cause other problems
The third problem has to do with the fact that Americans are already consuming far more salt and sodium than they need.
The numbers are astonishingly high with over 90% of Americans consuming more than they need (5).
Most of this sodium actually comes from processed foods and from eating out, not from the table salt that you add to the meals that you cook yourself.
In fact, looking at the numbers, roughly 70-90% of sodium intake comes from these sources.
The real kicker is that this extra sodium usually does NOT contain iodine!
So when you add iodized salt on top of the sodium that you’re getting from your diet to get more iodine, you’re putting yourself at risk for several conditions including high blood pressure (6) and heart disease (7).
Thyroid patients are already at risk for developing these conditions so this extra sodium is very likely to make these problems worse, not better.
While this may sound complex, the solution is simple:
- Avoid iodized salt and get your iodine from other sources.
- Get as much iodine as you can from whole food.
- Make up the difference, if needed, with an iodine supplement.
- Try to get around 150 to 300 mcg of iodine each day.
An added benefit of avoiding iodized salt is that you can use tastier salts like Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt (8).
And because you’re eating more whole foods, you’ll automatically cut out processed foods which will probably help with your blood pressure and heart health (psst, check out this resource if you want to see exactly what you should be eating if you have a thyroid problem).
Given that we live in a completely different world compared to 100 years ago and we now have access to amazing foods that are naturally high in iodine, there’s no reason to rely on iodized salt as your source of iodine.
This article just touches the surface of why you need iodine and how to get it but if you want to learn more about exactly how much you should be taking then I’d recommend reading this next.
Scientific References
#1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509517/
#2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10023614/
#3. https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/723153-PVPIODINE/
#4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874017/
#5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9962803/
#6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37950918/
#7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763082/
#8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7603209/
