Awareness on iodine in city

GUWAHATI, Oct 21: Global Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day was observed at the Intertiol Auditorium at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati on Saturday.

Delivering a lecture on the importance of iodine in health, Prof. Jyotikha Ojha of the GMCH said: “Iodine is too important to be without in our diet. An expected woman gets much help from iodine. It helps keep children fit, both physically and mentally. Salt with bigger crystals, salt which is unpacked, exposed to sunshine and rains shouldn’t be bought for human consumption. Salt should be kept in glass or plastic containers with their lids airtight. Some people open salt packets and keep it in the packets. It should never be done. Our body needs 100.50 micro gram of iodine a day. One has to buy only salt that has a picture of a smiling face.”

State Health Department’s nodal officer Arundhoti Deka said: “This programme has been centrally observed in Guwahati so as to make people aware of the importance of iodine in our health. In Assam iodine deficiency problems have been solved around 99 per cent. Our medicos and para-medicos have been on the job of awareness programme, and we’re on way get 100 per cent success. Iodine deficiency leads to deafness in children, mental and physical weakness in them, lack of interest in reading and writing, lessen the capacity of perception, cause disorder in the digestive system, etc. Iodine deficiency may lead adults to septic, weakness, lacking producing power, animals may lose ability to reproduce due to lack of iodine, may yield less milk and meat, poultry may lose the power of laying more eggs, etc.”