3 ms·

Not in the US, but here I get the sense that a lot of people buy non-iodized salt. When I ask people why, it often boils down to them being conditioned by marke

Not in the US, but here I get the sense that a lot of people buy non-iodized salt. When I ask people why, it often boils down to them being conditioned by marketing to think foods marked as "without X" are universally more healthy. I also see this with non-celiac sufferers avoiding gluten, and "lactose intolerant" people who needlessly avoid lactose(avoiding lactose actually makes you lactose intolerant even if you weren't before! And getting a little gasy from dairy is hardly intolerance. Flatulence is a natural reaction to, you know, eating food).

svachalek 4y ago
Yeah I've seen it in the US too (non-iodized salt being "better"). I'm not celiac but allergic to wheat, and it's kind of annoying when I look for a gluten free option (because it's more familiar than wheat free, and generally equivalent) how quickly other people will jump to follow my "example" as if I've played some kind of moral trump card. But at least in that case it's leading to a wider variety of grain choices without many negatives I know of. In the case of milk and salt it's often blindly reducing the nutritional value.
hnbad 4y ago
Yes, the point isn't just that fewer people cook at home but that people who do cook at home more frequently use non-idiodinised salt because idionised salt is the most boring and conventional option and home cooking has moved from a chore to a recreational activity. So you have people going to restaurants, which often don't use idionised salt; people eating prepared meals, which often don't contain extra iodine; and people cooking at home, who use artisinal pink Hamalayan sea salt or similar fancy salts which naturally don't contain the added iodine. Growing up I always wondered why there was "iodinised" table salt and other salt and why we had "iodinised" salt. Only knowing that some people in my extended family couldn't have iodine and seeing that more expensive salts don't contain iodine, my impression was always that iodinised salt was somehow cheaper and worse quality. I think a lot of people feel the same way about gluten or lactose, especially when they hear about people reacting badly to it. After all if it hurts some people, it must be unhealthy, right? Nevermind that gluten is literally just wheat protein and they had no issue eating a whole plate of seitan "chicken", which is literally almost pure gluten.

svachalek 4y ago

Yeah I've seen it in the US too (non-iodized salt being "better"). I'm not celiac but allergic to wheat, and it's kind of annoying when I look for a gluten free option (because it's more familiar than wheat free, and generally equivalent) how quickly other people will jump to follow my "example" as if I've played some kind of moral trump card. But at least in that case it's leading to a wider variety of grain choices without many negatives I know of. In the case of milk and salt it's often blindly reducing the nutritional value.

hnbad 4y ago

Yes, the point isn't just that fewer people cook at home but that people who do cook at home more frequently use non-idiodinised salt because idionised salt is the most boring and conventional option and home cooking has moved from a chore to a recreational activity. So you have people going to restaurants, which often don't use idionised salt; people eating prepared meals, which often don't contain extra iodine; and people cooking at home, who use artisinal pink Hamalayan sea salt or similar fancy salts which naturally don't contain the added iodine. Growing up I always wondered why there was "iodinised" table salt and other salt and why we had "iodinised" salt. Only knowing that some people in my extended family couldn't have iodine and seeing that more expensive salts don't contain iodine, my impression was always that iodinised salt was somehow cheaper and worse quality. I think a lot of people feel the same way about gluten or lactose, especially when they hear about people reacting badly to it. After all if it hurts some people, it must be unhealthy, right? Nevermind that gluten is literally just wheat protein and they had no issue eating a whole plate of seitan "chicken", which is literally almost pure gluten.