Iodine is the quiet one on the panel. It does not have a season like vitamin D, and it does not have a podcast following like the B vitamins. It sits in salt, in sea fish, in milk, and in a line on our label that is easy to skip.
The short answer
- EFSA's adequate intake is 90 µg a day through most of childhood, then 120 µg at 11 to 14, 130 µg at 15 to 17, and 150 µg in adults.
- Pregnancy is 200 µg. That is a different requirement. It is not what our pouch is for.
- Iodine contributes to normal thyroid function, in those exact words, because it is in the formula above 15% NRV.
- Pocket Kids carries 75 µg. Teens and Adults carry 100 µg. Salt and fish still do real work. We are a complement, not the ocean.
What the figures are
| Age | Adequate intake (EFSA) |
|---|---|
| 1 to 10 | 90 µg |
| 11 to 14 | 120 µg |
| 15 to 17 | 130 µg |
| Adults | 150 µg |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding | 200 µg |
The label percentage uses the adult NRV of 150 µg. So 75 µg looks like 50%, and 100 µg looks like 67%. For an eight-year-old, 75 µg is most of the 90 µg adequate intake, not half a day. Read the micrograms.
The upper limits sit well above these figures for a mixed diet: 250 µg at 4 to 6, 300 µg at 7 to 10, 600 µg in adults. Seaweed tablets are the product that can jump. A modest line in a multinutrient rarely does, on its own.
Where it is in the week
Sea fish, milk, yoghurt, cheese, eggs, and iodised salt where a country actually uses it. Ireland has a history of iodised salt being less consistent than people assume. Portugal and Spain get more from fish. A steak does less for iodine than a piece of hake.
A child who eats dairy and some fish is in a different situation from a child who eats neither. We already wrote the meat article around B12 and iron. Iodine is closer to the dairy-and-fish half of that plate.
We will not publish a symptom list. If someone in the house is pregnant, or a clinician has asked about iodine on purpose, that is their conversation. An article is not a thyroid clinic.
What we may say, and what the pouch is
Iodine, and selenium, contribute to normal thyroid function. That sentence is available. Named conditions are not. We will not write as if this powder were a thyroid product.
Kids at 75 µg and Teens and Adults at 100 µg are inside the adequate intakes for those ages, and well inside the ceilings. They are not 200 µg. If a midwife or GP has named a pregnancy iodine product, ours is the wrong pack for that job.
Do not add a seaweed tablet on top without adding the numbers. The upper-limits piece is the sibling of this one.
What we would actually do
- Look at the week: milk, yoghurt, fish, and whether the salt is iodised.
- Read the µg on every lid already in the house, including anything "from the sea."
- Keep one daily product that matches the age line, unless a clinician has named a specific iodine dose.
- Pregnancy: ask the person who is already seeing her. Do not borrow an adult multinutrient and call it prenatal.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for iodine, 2014
- EFSA UL summary
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- EFSA, scientific opinion on dietary reference values for iodine
Written by Lina and Stanislava, founders of MyDailyPocket. This is here to be useful, not to replace your GP. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack.
