Assessment of iodine levels in the pakistani diet

Objective To prevent iodine-related diseases in Pakistan, baseline analytical data for nutritionally and radiologically important elements in typical Pakistani diets were generated. Methods Iodine concentrations of representative Pakistani diets were measured by using epithermal and radiochemical neutron activation analyses. Results The measured iodine values ranged from 26.56 to 239.48 ng/g (dry weight). The geometric mean by geometric standard deviation of the iodine concentration was 67.6 ng/g × 1.8, which equates to a daily iodine intake of 40.0 μg/d × 1.8. Conclusions The iodine content of the Pakistani diet is significantly lower than the intakes recommended by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board (150 μg/d) and the International Commission of Radiological Protection Board (200 μg/d). The iodine intake of the Pakistani population needs to be improved substantially.