Pregnant and breastfeeding Aussie women still short on iodine, study finds

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Bread fortification was meant to help Australian women achieve the recommended iodine intake, but a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia says eating more bread rarely cuts it if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

Pregnancy and preconception

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Bread fortification was meant to help Australian women achieve the recommended iodine intake, but a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia says eating more bread rarely cuts it if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

As the story goes: nutrition experts realised women’s iodine requirements were not being met- a fact often credited to changes within the dairy industry – following a South Australia-based study in 2003/4.

In 2009 it became mandatory for manufacturers to fortify all non-organic bread with iodised salt.

But despite eating more bread on average than non-pregnant or breastfeeding women do, those of us expecting or nursing babies are still short on iodine by 100-150 µg per day, reports the joint study from the University of Sydney and Food Standards Australia.

Iodine is essential to ensure normal development of the brain and nervous system, and as the report details, our need for it spikes during pregnancy.

“There is an increase of about 50 per cent in maternal thyroxine production, a high rate of transfer of iodine and thyroxine from mother to foetus and increased maternal renal iodine clearance,” write the authors.

Current recommendations propose our need for iodine jumps from 150 µg a day when we’re not pregnant, to 220 µg during pregnancy and 270 µg while breastfeeding.

Before bread fortification, the estimated iodine intake gap was 84-172 µg; and a Tasmanian review found that bread fortification reduced this to an estimated 113-121 µg gap.

Reviewing published studies on mean urinary iodine concentrations among pregnant women and those with children aged up to six months, the authors recommended the following:

“After mandatory fortification of bread, supplementation in the range of 100-150 µg of iodine per day would increase population iodine intakes in pregnant and breastfeeding women to the levels recommended.”

These recommendations don’t apply, however, to women with diagnosed thyroid disorders – speak to a health professional for more tailored advice if this includes you.

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