DUE to the fact that the water in Shenzhen has an unstable amount of iodine, Shenzhen residents need to take iodine on a regular basis in order to maintain health, said experts from departments that are in charge of salt and disease control Monday, also the national day to prevent Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD).

At Monday’s event held in Nanshan District, several departments jointly promoted knowledge about iodine. The easiest, safest and most efficient method to prevent IDD is to use iodized salt when cooking and dining.

Most water sources in Shenzhen contain less than 15μg/L iodine. Since natural resources can hardly be altered, Shenzhen residents need to ingest iodized salt regularly because the amount of iodine in the human body can only be sustained for three months.

Additionally, if expectant mothers lack iodine it could result in their newborn having various diseases, such as cretinism, impaired intelligence, or cause the child to be deaf or mute. If pregnant women seriously lack iodine, they may have a miscarriage or the newborns may suffer from premature birth or congenital malformation.

Recent monitoring investigations found that residents from many coastal areas and cities are suffering from low iodine levels, especially pregnant women and their fetuses and infants.

Shenzhen conducted monitoring investigations on 600 households with pregnant women in 2016. The results showed that pregnant women in Luohu District, in particular, bore the risks of iodine deficiency.

Apart from iodine, the diets of Shenzhen residents were also found to lack coarse grains. A survey conducted this year showed that Shenzhen residents only consume 14 grams of coarse grains each day, making up only 5 percent of their staple food intake.

Particularly, young people in Shenzhen are consuming an insufficient amount of coarse grains. Experts suggest that the nutritional value of coarse grains is considerable and each person should consume between 50 and 150 grams a day to keep healthy.

(Zhang Qian)