Apparently, if you are looking to get enough iodine from your diet and your diet is heavy on the burgers and fries, you are running a risk of being low in this nutrient that is essential for your thyroid function.According to a study reported on at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) annual conference in Boston, researchers looked at the iodine content of various foods at Burger King and McDonald's, and found that many of the foods at these two popular fast food outlets are low in iodine. Interestingly, even though Burger King endorses the use of iodized salt in food preparation, their food had low iodine levels as well.
Seven comparable items from each restaurant were analyzed, and according to the abstract, the findings were as follows:
McDonald's
Big Mac with cheese: 16.7 mcgBurger King
Small French fries: 2.7 mcg
Fish sandwich: 69.9 mcg
Chicken sandwich: 5.3 mcg
Happy Meal hamburger: 4.3 mcg
Chicken nuggets: 3 mcg
Vanilla shake: 163.7 mcg
Whopper with cheese: 25.8 mcgThe high iodine in the Burger King chicken sandwich is apparently due to the iodine in the bun, and not the chicken.
Small French fries: 4.3 mcg
Fish sandwich: 43.5 mcg
Chicken sandwich: 163.3 mcg
Kids meal hamburger: 3.9 mcg
Chicken tenders: 2.1 mcg
Vanilla shake: 147.8 mcg
The issue of iodine content of fast foods is of interest because the U.S. is seeing a decrease in iodine levels, at the same time as we are seeing an increase in the consumption of fast foods, and fast food is considered, according to some experts, one of the "major sources of nutrition for many Americans." According to the abstract authors, the intake of iodine may be too low in people who rely on fast food "...unless milk shakes, iodinated bread, or fish are consumed."
Photo: clipart.com
Sources:
Lee, Sun MD, et. al. "Abstract #1014: Iodine Content in Fast Foods: Comparison Between Two Fast Food Chains,"
American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Conference 2010 Abstracts (PDF)
AACE: Would You Like Iodine with That? -- MedPage Today
I’ve been told that processed food is made with NON-iodized salt. I check with Kraft cheese and found it was true for their Cracker Barrell Old Cheddar which I eat a lot of. So if you also follow the ‘prescribed’ lowsalt diet, you are even more likely to end up hypothyroid.
but if we have Graves Disease, low-iodine is good — right?
If your diet is heavy with fast food, you have a lot more problems than low iodine.