Characteristics and features of the production of iodized salt. Chemical composition, effects on the body. Culinary uses, product history and some myths about it.
Iodized salt is a culinary (kitchen or food) salt fortified with iodine potassium salts, iodite or iodate. The function is to improve the taste of the main dish. Texture - crystalline, can be coarse or fine; the surface of the grains is matte, with a shine; color - milky white; taste - salty, slightly bitter. The product is produced for the prevention of thyroid disorders.
How is iodized salt made?
The mineral substance, the raw material, is mined in several ways: from open pits and mines, from underground salt sources, from salt lakes and sea water.
The result is sodium chloride of the following type
- stone dry (humidity not higher than 98%), clean, processing costs are minimal;
- evaporated - pumped out brine from the ground and evaporated it;
- saddlery - extracted from artificial pools, mounted in natural salt sources, also by means of evaporation;
- self-deposited - collected from the bottom of natural salt water bodies.
The production of iodized salt can be carried out in the following ways:
- Dry method … A concentrate is preliminarily prepared, which includes purified sodium chloride, sodium thiosulfate and potassium iodide. Then it is dried and distributed in a certain amount of the purified product. Proportions - 40-50 g of agent per 1 ton.
- Wet method … Potassium iodide is dissolved in water and sodium chloride is refluxed directly in the processing step. Drying is not carried out.
Another method requires large material costs, and during it several enriching agents are introduced. The concentrate is added to an artificial reservoir with seawater, where crystals ripen at the bottom.
In Japan, China and Korea, purified and dried sodium chloride is mixed with dried seaweed powder - kelp or fucus. But this product, despite the special taste and benefits, is acquired only by adherents of healthy eating. Despite the relative cheapness, large batches turned out to be unprofitable. This lack of demand is due to the frequent emerging allergy to seafood.
GOST of iodized salt supplied to store counters is 51575-2000. For enrichment, not iodide is used, but potassium iodide (40 mg / 1 kg), a more stable compound that increases the shelf life of the product up to months. The main thing is to keep it in an airtight container away from sunlight in order to avoid an increase in humidity and oxidation of iodine.
Composition and calorie content of iodized salt
In the photo iodized salt
When compiling a diet, the amount of taste improver is not taken into account, since it has zero calorie content. However, this does not mean that sodium chloride has no effect on the human body. The iodized salt does not contain vitamins, but it contains a rich mineral complex.
Macronutrients per 100 g
- Potassium, K - 9 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 368 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 22 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 38710 mg;
- Sulfur, S - 180 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 75 mg;
- Chlorine, Cl - 59690 mg.
Microelements per 100 g
- Iron, Fe - 2.9 mg;
- Iodine, I - 4000 mcg;
- Cobalt, Co - 15 μg;
- Manganese, Mn - 0.25 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 271 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 0.6 mg.
Without salt, the normal life of the body is impossible. A healthy adult needs to eat 1 teaspoon of this product per day. With physical and mental stress, the dosage can be increased by 3 times. But this does not mean that you need to eat sodium chloride in its pure form, many food products contain it: dried fruits, peanuts, dried apricots, seafood and river fish, legumes and bran. By the way, iodine, which is so necessary for it, enters the body from them.
The benefits of iodized salt
Iodine deficiency leads to mental retardation, stimulates the development of thyroid dysfunction - hypothyroidism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis or oncological organ processes. But the benefits of iodized salt are not limited to replenishing the reserve of a trace element necessary for normal life.
Regular use of fortified sodium chloride for cooking
- Prevents fluid loss, normalizes the body's water and electrolyte balance.
- Stops early age-related changes, helps to avoid sagging skin and the formation of early wrinkles.
- Calms the nervous system, helps to cope with insomnia.
- It has an antimicrobial effect, inhibits the development of pathogenic fungi, viruses and bacteria that colonize the intestinal lumen. In inflammatory processes of the tonsils or the oral cavity, the mucous membrane is rinsed or irrigated with a weak brine.
- Increases the synthesis of hydrochloric acid, accelerates the digestion of food, stops the development of putrefactive intestinal processes.
- Enhances taste, allows you to enjoy satiety, promotes the production of happiness hormones - serotonin and norepinephrine.
Iodized table salt, entering the body, increases the secretion of phlegm and facilitates its excretion from the bronchial branches, accelerates the breakdown of proteins, stimulates the removal of radioactive iodine, improves the production of hemoglobin and normalizes blood clotting.
External use of iodized salt disinfects wounds, accelerates the maturation and healing of inflammatory foci (boils, phlegmon, acne).
The iodized product stabilizes metabolic processes, participates in the construction of cell membranes, maintains the colloidal state of physiological fluids, and reduces the contractility of the walls of the small intestine.
The shelf life of iodized salt, as already mentioned, is limited to 1 year from the date of production, and its use to replenish the organic supply of a trace element after its expiration is useless. When the implementation period has expired, it turns into a common taste improver and will not replenish the iodine deficiency in the body. But the beneficial properties are manifested only with regular, and not one-time, use. To increase the storage time, you need to pour the product into a hermetically sealed jar.
