|
|
We began our project by researching how the iodine would save a human being should a nuclear disaster occur. We then studied the chemical formula of iodine and worked on our methods of analysing foods etc.
One of our first step was to look for the presence of iodide in foods. We went to Tesco supermarkets and checked different food types for it.We only found iodine listed in two products.They were Tesco milk and Iodised Salt produced by Saxa
We also went to health stores and pharmacies to check supplies of iodine supplements, the amount of iodine in each supplement and what exactly they were made of.In Nature's way we found iodine supplements made of Kelp, a type of seaweed.In each tablet of 150 milligrams of kelp there were 150 micrograms of iodide
We also found packets of dried seaweed in the healthstores which we would later test for their iodide content. Above is a picture of laminaria
In another health store we found an iodine supplement in the form of liquid. We were told that this was pure iodine and one drop, which was 0.06ml was 600 micrograms of iodine.The shop assistant told us that they do not give this to anyone who does not have a severe problem of a slow thyroid gland as that amount of iodine would be too much for the average thyroid gland to handle.Too much iodine in the body could result in hyperthyroidism or goitre, both being thryroid deficiencies
We found this very interesting and asked ourselves; did this mean that nobody could constantly contain the amount of iodide necessary for thyroid blocking?
We decided that the answer to this question depended on a number of things.
1.Is excess iodide excreted by the body or does it build up causing a toxic effect?
2.What are the causes of hyperthyroidism and goitre?
To question 1., excess iodide is excreted by the body and never builds up to create a toxic effect
To question 2:Hyperthyroidism is caused when the thyroid gland is damaged and creates too much thyroxine. This results in the swelling of the thyroid gland. Although this means that anyone without thyroid damage could handle doses of iodide, large amounts of iodide could damage the thyroid gland.