Question:
I have a friend who asked me to inquire about the possibility of an
allergy to Iodine. Here is her story that she told me yesterday.
She likes to eat fish, but her hubby doesn't so she eats it whenever
she goes out to eat. she began to notice that she would be "sick"
later, cold symptoms, hoarseness, cough, sore throat, swelling of lips,
sometimes face as well.
She wasn't sure what was going on til a friend mentioned the
possibility of an iodine allergy. she is beginning to believe that
might be the case since even canned salmon will do it, but then she
noticed similar symptoms after eating a scrap of shredded beef jerky.
I thought of sulfites when she said that, but none of the other things
which bother her are dried or are likely to have corn syrup. is there
any way to test to see which it might be?
Answer:
Doesn't beef jerky have a lot of salt in it... and what do they
add to most salt? Just a thought... I have a friend who is allergic to iodine and she
has to buy non-iodized salt.
--now that's a thought, I never thought of that. I know when I make
pickles it calls for non-Iodized salt because the Iodine tends to change
the color of the pickles and blacken them, but I doubt that would be the
case with Jerky. I am allergic to iodine. I can't have iodized salt, no seafood, and
above all else no shellfish. Iodine based dyes used in medical
procedures are a no-no too. Have your friend check the salad dressing
labels. If the dressing contains carageenan and she is allergic to
iodine she will have a reaction. Carageenan is a thickening agent
added to a lot of foods, especially dairy products like ice cream and
half-and-half. It is made from Irish Moss, a type of seaweed and is
high in iodine content. So are Eggman's Best eggs. Iodine is an essential nutrient, so one doesn't want to avoid iodine altogether.
Small amounts of iodine occur in fruits and vegetables, depending on the soil
where the plants were grown. Possibly the allergy could be to animal proteins?
One suggestion is to try a good non-animal source of iodine: vegetarian seafood,
i.e. seaweed. Edible seaweeds may be found at Oriental grocery stores. Health
food stores and some herb dealers may carry some other seaweeds such as dulse,
Irish moss, bladderwrack and a species of kelp.
allergy to elemental iodine does not exist. The reaaction to
the radio-opaque dyes containing iodine are not reactions to the iodine,
and are not even allergic (antibody-mediated) in nature. Allergy to
shellfish is allergy to shellfish, and not to iodine itself. The myth of
the relationship of reaction to iodine-containing dyes used in
radiology, shellfish, and iodine has been perpetuated through
generations of X-ray technicians, but _is_ a myth. You will not find
that relationship referred to in any textbook of Radiology or of
Allergy, and an intensive review of the world's medical literature I
once did, back as far as 1929, showed no support for that myth. You have
had uninformed advice, or uninformed explanation for your symptoms.
Maybe a sensitivity to amines instead? A lot of fish has tyramine
or histamine in it, and dried/fermented beef will have those or free
glutamate as well (probably MSG added in processing as well as the
glutamate naturally present). If so she will probably react to yeast
extract, red wine and beer.
