Iodine in table salt:how a public health victory is becoming a victim of its own success [Video]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.

Whether it’s kosher, Himalayan pink or sea salt, Canadians have a wide range of choices when it comes to salts.

But what many of these don’t have — or don’t have much of — is iodine. The mineral is essential for the body to make thyroid hormones, but can be rare in many parts of the world. And researchers say it’s time for Canadians to pay attention to how much iodine they’re getting.

Table salt is one major source of iodine in Canada. In 1949, the government made it a mandatory additive. While Canadians can also get their iodine in by eating seafood (seawater is an abundant source of iodine) and dairy (farmers often use iodine-based …