You can eat
- Iodized salt for cooking and at the table, always in small amounts.
- Milk, natural yoghurt and fresh cheeses, among the usual sources of iodine.
- White and oily fish several times a week, which also provide iodine.
- Shellfish and eggs as part of a varied diet.
- Herbs, spices, garlic, onion, lemon and vinegar to add flavour with less salt.
- Bread with little or no added salt.
- Legumes, vegetables, rice and pasta cooked at home, salted at the end and sparingly.
- Plain or unsalted roasted nuts. For children under 5, serve only ground or as a nut butter.
What to avoid
- Non-iodized salt at home when iodized salt is available.
- Cold cuts, cured ham and deli meats as everyday staples.
- Large amounts of aged, very salty cheeses.
- Stock cubes, packet soups and commercial sauces.
- Ready meals, pizzas and processed foods on a regular basis.
- Salty snacks: crisps, salted fried nuts and crackers.
- Seaweed as a regular dish, especially kombu, and any seaweed during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- “Special” salts chosen for their supposed minerals instead of iodized salt.
Changes that help
Salt at home
Instead of non-iodized salt, use the same amount of iodized salt, so you get iodine without adding more salt.
Stock for stews
Instead of stock cubes, make homemade vegetable stock with bay leaf and pepper, so you can control how much salt it contains.
Sandwich
Instead of having cold cuts every day, fill your sandwich with an omelette, tuna in water or fresh cheese with tomato, so you get less sodium and add protein.
Snack
Instead of crisps or salted fried nuts, choose plain or unsalted roasted nuts, so you keep the crunch without excess sodium.
Habits that help
- Taste your food before salting it: often it is already seasoned just right.
- Remove the salt shaker from the table and keep iodized salt in the kitchen only.
- Read the label and compare the salt per 100 g in similar products.
Reducing salt is one of the recommendations we give most often in consultations. And the question that usually follows is always the same: if I eat less salt, where do I get iodine? The answer is in the packet you buy. A little salt, but iodized.
What is iodized salt, and how much iodine does it contain?
Iodized salt is ordinary salt with a small amount of iodine added in the form of potassium iodide or iodate. In Spain, the regulations for edible salt set the iodine content at 60 mg per kilo of salt, with a tolerance of 15% [2]. In everyday terms, each gram of iodized salt provides about 60 micrograms (µg) of iodine [2].
It does not change the taste or how you use it. You can cook with it, season food with it and keep it in the salt shaker, just like regular salt. At the supermarket, look for “iodized” on the package; if it does not say that, do not count on it as a source of iodine.
How much salt a day is recommended?
Less than 5 g a day for adults, just under a teaspoon, equivalent to about 2 g of sodium. This is the WHO recommendation [1]. For children and adolescents aged 2 to 15, this amount is reduced according to the energy they need for their age [1].
Excess sodium is associated with high blood pressure [1]. Much of this sodium is already present in processed products [1], such as bread, cold cuts, aged cheeses, sauces, stocks and ready meals. That is why reducing salt is mainly about checking labels and cooking more at home.
If you have high blood pressure, salt is only one part of the plan. Our diet for hypertension explains what to eat to lower it, and our weekly salt-free menu for hypertension lays it out for you, with a shopping list.
Why is iodine so important?
Iodine is the raw material the thyroid uses to make its hormones. These hormones regulate metabolism and, before birth and during the first years of life, are needed for brain development. The body does not make iodine, so it must come from food.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) sets the adequate intake at 150 µg a day for adults [3]. For babies from 7 months, children and adolescents, it ranges from 70 to 130 µg, depending on age [3].
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, requirements rise to 200 µg a day [3]. At this stage, the risk of not getting enough iodine increases, especially if iodized salt is not used [4].
If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, your midwife or doctor will assess whether you need an iodine supplement. If you do, your doctor or dietitian-nutritionist will prescribe it. For other questions about eating during this stage, see our guide to what not to eat during pregnancy and which foods you can eat.
Which foods provide iodine?
The most important sources of iodine in our diet are iodized salt, milk and dairy products, and fish, according to the AESAN Scientific Committee [4]. Shellfish also provides iodine.
The iodine content of these foods varies depending on their origin, and not everyone eats dairy products or fish every day. That is why iodized salt acts as a safety net.
Iodized salt is especially important if you follow a vegan diet or do not eat dairy products because of an allergy, intolerance or personal preference. Without dairy products or fish, iodized salt becomes your main source of iodine, and it is advisable to discuss this with a dietitian-nutritionist.
If you like seaweed
Have it occasionally and in small amounts, more as a seasoning than as a dish. Some brown seaweeds, especially kombu, contain so much iodine that it is easy to get too much, and excess iodine can also affect the thyroid [5].
During pregnancy and breastfeeding, AESAN advises avoiding seaweed because of its iodine content [5]. For everyday iodine, it is better to get it from iodized salt, dairy products and fish.
Questions we hear in consultations about salt
“If I have to eat less salt, won’t I get too little iodine?” This is the question we hear most often. The WHO supports both measures at the same time: reducing salt and making sure all the salt consumed is iodized. It considers them compatible [1].
The amount of iodine in salt is designed to help you get what you need when salt is consumed in moderation. If you follow a very low-salt plan, dairy products and fish become more important sources of iodine.
“Is sea salt, pink salt or flake salt better?” First and foremost, they are salt. They provide sodium just like table salt, and the other minerals attributed to them are present in such small amounts that they do not change your diet.
They do not provide iodine unless the label says “iodized”; iodized sea salt is also available. Choose the one you like for its taste or texture, use it just as sparingly, and keep iodized salt at home.
If you have a thyroid condition
If you have hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, nodules or a goitre (an enlargement of the thyroid), your doctor or endocrinologist will decide how much iodine you need. We do not give iodine guidance for thyroid disease here, because it depends on your diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, the advice differs from that for the general population.
We can help you organise your diet around that advice, without eliminating foods out of fear.
Less salt, and make the salt you use iodized. It is one of the easiest changes to make in your kitchen, and it is especially important if you are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant or have children at home.
You add very little salt at home, and that is exactly why it should be iodized.
Do you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a thyroid condition? Our team of nutritionists for metabolic health can help you adjust your salt intake and the rest of your diet. We support you in Barcelona and online, in coordination with your doctor.
Your first step this week
Add salt at the end and taste first
Add a small amount of salt at the end of cooking; often herbs, lemon or garlic do the rest.
Your Mediterranean week to look after your cholesterol
- 7-day menu with the shopping list
- 8 Mediterranean recipes
- How to read labels and what to order when eating out
Where should we send it?
Free PDF, in your inbox in a moment.
Data controller: Alimmenta Tu Vida, S.L. Purpose: to send you the guide and, only if you tick the second box, tips by email on the topic. You can withdraw your consent and exercise your rights at [email protected]. Legal basis, recipients and retention periods are in our privacy policy.
When to see a doctor
When to see a doctor
Iodized salt is a cooking ingredient and does not treat any disease. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor decides on the medication, and diet complements the treatment. If you have a thyroid condition, your doctor also decides how much iodine to take.
Signs that call for medical attention without waiting to change your diet are listed in our guide to eating with hypertension, under “When to see a doctor”.
Tell us about your blood test and what you have already been told
Tell us which values worry you, what medication you take and whether you have had a cardiac event. Patient support helps you choose between an in-person appointment in Barcelona or an online one. To start with general information, read the guide to a cholesterol-lowering diet.
Keep reading
No-added-salt weekly meal plan for high blood pressure: 7 days with a shopping list
When you have high blood pressure, you know you should cut down on salt. The hard part comes…
What not to eat during pregnancy (and what you can eat)
Since you found out you are pregnant, every meal can raise a question: ham, sushi, the cheese in…
High triglycerides: how food choices can help
You have been told your triglycerides are high and wonder whether you need to stop eating bread, fruit…
Diet for hypertension: what to eat to lower blood pressure
You have been told that your blood pressure is high, you feel nothing and the only instruction you…
ConsultationRegistered dietitian for metabolic health in Barcelona and online
Nutrition as part of your treatment
Book a visit →
ConsultationDietitian for cholesterol and heart health
Looking after your heart starts with what you put on your plate every day
Book a visit →
Sources
- World Health Organization. Sodium reduction [fact sheet]. Geneva: WHO; updated el 11 de mayo de 2026. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sodium-reduction
- Real Decreto 1424/1983, de 27 de abril, por el que se aprueba la Reglamentación Técnico-Sanitaria para la obtención, circulación y venta de la sal y salmueras comestibles. Boletín Oficial del Estado. 1983 (texto consolidado). Available at: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1983-15544
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for iodine. EFSA Journal. 2014;12(5):3660. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3660
- Comité Científico de la Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AESAN). Informe en relación con la situación nutricional de la mujer en edad fértil, durante la gestación y la lactancia con respecto a la ingesta adecuada de yodo. Revista del Comité Científico de la AESAN. 2023;37:105-151. English version: doi:10.2903/fr.efsa.2023.FR-0013
- Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (AESAN). Recomendaciones sobre el consumo de algas por su contenido en yodo. Madrid: AESAN; 2021.
Written and reviewed by
How we can help
Now, applied to you
Dietitian for cholesterol and heart healthLooking after your heart starts with what you put on your plate every day
4.9 on Google · 5.0 on Doctoralia · 2,047 reviews
