Iodine is a micronutrient, a trace element that occurs naturally in the soil. Although replenished somewhat by the cycle of evaporation and rain, the earth’s soil is gradually being stripped of iodine. Because the human body cannot retain iodine (unlike most other micronutrients), the vegetables and pulses that are iodine-rich must be consumed daily. Hence the worst cases of iodine deficiency are found in the highland regions of the world, areas of greatest soil degradation, where vegetables and pulses have the lowest content of iodine (seaweed, which was used in ancient times as a cure for goiter, has the highest iodine content). However, there is no region in India free of IDD. It is found in the major cities as well as in distant villages.

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