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Happiercalif t1_irezbms wrote

Reply to comment by SaltedGreenMilk1987 in TIL A 2017 study found that the introduction of iodized salt in 1924 raised the IQ for the one-quarter of the population most deficient in iodine. by kstinfo

Iodine is added to salt artificially. In nature it's in seafood and I'm not sure where else.

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RunningNumbers t1_irh332d wrote

It distributes on land from evaporated ocean water. Plants and grazing animals then absorb it. You can get plenty of iodine from mills. Mountains are often iodine deficient since most water runs down hill rather than gets into the soil.

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Happiercalif t1_irhdom4 wrote

I don't think that's true except possibly for very near the ocean. In the 1990s I read research about the Mongolians being very iodine deficient.

EDIT if you look up the Goiter Belt, it doesn't correlate to mountains. The Great Lakes region was especially bad, for instance.

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RunningNumbers t1_irhf8ia wrote

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b05533#

Historically oceans have been seen as a primary source of iodine I precipitation but apparently there are other sources in the water cycle.

Also ocean precipitation goes far in land. Rain clouds that from into the Gulf of Mexico go well into Canada. They intercept cold fronts coming south and make T storms.

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RunningNumbers t1_irhffdr wrote

You should look again at the map and then look at topography of the US before you make that assertion about correlation.

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