Many people are Iodine deficient, and kids whose pregnant moms do not get multivitamin with Iodine and...

Many people are Iodine deficient, and kids whose pregnant moms do not get multivitamin with Iodine and who don't get Iodine themselves can have an IQ score 12 points lower than the rest ► https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15734706 (Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005;14(1):32-42.).  American IQ scores went up 15 points after the introduction of Iodized salt in 1924 ► http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2013/07/23/how-adding-iodine-to-salt-boosted-americans-iq/ and 

Vegan iodine rich foods include sea weeds, which have 50 times the daily iodine per 100 grams, so you only need to eat 2 grams of that weed.  Too much iodine is bad, so one cannot overeat sea weeds every week.  Many vegans though get too little iodine (plants have less iodine than animal origin foods), if they don't supplement with multivitamins that have Iodine.  Therefore, for vegans it is important to choose a multi-vitamin that has both B12 and iodine.  B12 is needed for all people, even meat eaters, after the age of 50.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12748410 (Ann Nutr Metab. 2003;47(5):183-5.) is a tiny study (good studies have thousands of people or hundreds of thousands, this one had 81 people, 15 vegans, 31 lacto- and lacto-ovovegetarians and 35 omnivores) that shows that vegans are far more likely to have Iodine deficiency than meat eaters.  Granted, meat eaters are far more likely to have phytonutrient, anti-oxidants, flavonoids, polyphenols, potassium, magnesium deficiency which leads to living shorter by 5-10 years on average compared to vegans.  But it's important to know these things so as to maximize the benefits and create the healthiest vegan diet transition if you are moving into veganism or thinking about it.  However, the 97000 people study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3847753/ found that vegan diet is better than vegetarian and meat one for preventing hypothyroidism. This 97000 people study brings more doubt regarding the so called "iodine deficiency" limit of 100 ppm.   Interestingly, most vegan-vegetarian IQ studies in America showed these guys have higher IQ than meat eaters, indicating that health conscious families may care about a lot of things that determine IQ score.  A 2011 Boston study with 141 subjects (78 vegetarians, 63 vegans) found that vegans have  urinary iodine concentration of 78.5 μg/liter - much lower than vegetarians at 147.0 μg/liter ► free full paper at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3206519/.  This is because many vegans do not read the multi-vitamin labels to make sure it has Iodine (many multi-vitamins don't have Iodine).  Another thing that Vegans (and even meat eaters) get less of is Selenium, but this is in most multi-vitamins, including the one in the picture as explained at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8546880/ (Biol Trace Elem Res. 1995 Oct;50(1):13-24.).  Each diet has its own deficiencies that must be corrected if one wants the best health, meat eaters get too little potassium and magnesium usually, too much saturated fat, cholesterol, etc...  Vegans got less DHA-EPA in their diet and blood too, and supplementing with algal oil (has DHA and EPA, DHA converts into EPA too) lead to vast increase in EPA-DHA ► http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19500961/.  What's interesting also is that vegans lose less bones than omnivores ►  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21811293/. Taking a multi-vitamin seems like a must for every vegan (even meat eaters if you ask me), since one cannot test one's blood every week for all kinds of nutrients. :)

The NatureMade multivitamins (see pictures at https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/VPKKuSJajmu)  are on amazon, Walmart or Walgreens - reason I mention this is because they got Iodine, 150 mcg, 100% of the daily recommended intake for adults (pregnant women is 250, lactating women 290, infants 120, kids age 1-11 about 90-120). I highlighted the Iodine.  If you get multi vitamins, it's best to avoid those with artificial colors, due to Aluminum as explained below.  This brand has no Aluminum lake color.  

Many cheap processed foods, most vitamins and medicines have artificial colors called "lakes" which are Aluminum (sometimes Barium or Calcium) salts of the dyes.  If you want to know their chemical formulas, see the list of wikipedia entries at http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/food/artificial-food-colors.htm.  
In the European Union some of these colors are banned, even in their dye form, not the aluminum lake salt form ►http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_coloring#Dyes_and_lakes. 

Aluminum Lake food coloring, used to heavily coat liquid medicines for children, contains dangerous amounts of aluminum and harmful synthetic petrochemicals in trace amounts that were used in the synthesis process but are "impurities left over". These "petrochemicals" are carcinogens containing petroleum, antifreeze and ammonia, which cause a long list of adverse reactions. Each batch of color is tested to ensure it doesn't exceed the FDA’s prescribed limits for impurities. Most impurities are in the forms of salts or acids, but others include lead, arsenic and mercury.  However, given that kids up to 12 may ingest 1-4 pounds of such dyes or their Aluminum lakes, the amount of Aluminum ingested can be truly SHOCKING and enough to cause autism, and all kinds of diseases.

Aluminum poisoning can lead to memory impairments, autism, epilepsy, mental retardation, and dementia.  Just 4 ppm of aluminum can cause the blood to coagulate. These blood clots can cause Alzheimer's Disease and can inhibit learning. Aluminum also facilitates stress fractures.

Most widely used food colors and their damaging actions are listed below.  If these colors are in their salt of Aluminum "lake" form, they are even more dangerous:

• Blue #1: Research shows it causes kidney tumors in mice.

• Blue #2: Research shows even higher incidence of tumors, specifically gliomas in male rates (a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine).

• Red #2: Toxic to rodents, even at modest levels, and causes tumors of the bladder.

• Red #3: FDA recognized it in 1990 as a cause of thyroid cancer in animals. It was banned in cosmetics, but still allowed in food and medicine.

• Red #40: Most popular dye of all. Debilitates the immune-system in mice. Allergic reactions common.

• Green #3: Causes bladder and testes tumors.

• Yellow #5: Affects behavior and induces severe hypersensitivity reactions.

• Yellow #6: Causes adrenal tumors in animals.

Also known as tartrazine, FD&C Yellow Aluminum Lake is a chemical concoction derived from coal tar. It is known to be a reproductive toxin. Many artificial colors contain Aluminum Lake, so when your child gets to pick between red, blue or green medicine, they're really choosing which poison they get to consume. Several chemically enhanced food colorings contain ammonia and therefore produce compounds proven to cause various cancers in animal studies, according to CSPI, the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

There has been a 55% increase in U.S. toxic food dyes just since the year 2000. 

Here are some popular product and "brand" names you may mistake as exempt products: RD&C dyes and colors in baked goods, beverages, candy, cereal, drugs, pet food, personal care products, cosmetics, cough syrups, NyQuil,Tylenol, Robitussin,Jello, gelatins, Cheetos, Skittles, Fruity Pebbles, Marachino cherries, sausage, Mountain Dew, Doritos, chewing gum, and powdered drink mixes.

For more FOOD-VITAMIN-ETC COLORS info see also


http://chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/todays-chemical/2009/7/7/fdc-yellow-5-aluminum-lake.html

http://www.amoils.com/health-blog/the-8-most-common-artificial-food-dyes-and-what-they-can-do-to-your-health-3/

http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ColorAdditives/RegulatoryProcessHistoricalPerspectives/default.htm

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/165315-overview

http://www.feingold.org/Research/dyesinfood.html

http://www.intlfoodcraft.com/color_guide.html

(http://www.amoils.com/health-blog/the-8-most-common-artificial-food-dyes-and-what-they-can-do-to-your-health-3/)

http://healingautismandadhd.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/artificial-food-coloring-is-evil/