# Low iodine diet tips



## India

Here are some tips from when I was on the LID. I came up with my own version after researching various versions, high-iodine foods, etc. on the internet. The nuclear med department only told me to avoid seafood, so they weren't too helpful.

Most versions of the diet don't mention this, but cranberries are very high in iodine.

If you are making your own bread, muffins, etc. and substituting water for milk, add 1 tablespoon sugar per cup of water to make up for the sugar in the milk. From what I can tell, milk substitutes aren't allowed on the LID (almond milk has salt in it, etc.)

Even though I had Thyrogen shots, I was still somewhat hypo while on the LID due to switching from Cytomel to Synthroid at the same time. I made meals ahead of time and froze them and that was helpful. In particular, I learned to marinate chicken in ziploc bags for an hour in the fridge, then freeze them (putting them directly in the freezer didn't seem to give them enough marinating time). 2 breasts take about 24 hours to defrost in the fridge and can be baked at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Frito-Lay states on their website that they use non-iodized salt (though the Baked Lays products contain soy).

I read a post on another forum from someone who had contacted Earth Balance, and they use non-iodized salt ("pure salt" or whatever it reads on the ingredient list means just that). So I used that and frequently had a baked potato (minus the skin, of course) for lunch. I also used Heinz's no-salt ketchup.

It may just boil down to avoiding the really high-iodine things like dairy, egg yolks, etc. My friend's dad had thyroid cancer and was on the LID but cheated on it. His doctor actually had his iodine levels tested prior to RAI, and once he was strict about cutting out the high-iodine things he was fine.

I also found some helpful things here: http://thelowiodinediet.blogspot.com/


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## Andros

India; how nice to hear from you and thanks for the "TIPS!"

How are you doing?


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## India

Thanks, Andros, I'm mostly okay but hyperthyrodic right now as I'm trying to find the right dose of synthroid. My cancer scan came back all clear, and of 18 lymph nodes taken out during surgery none had cancer, so cancer-wise I'm good.


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## CS2310

I have mentioned this in another post but this was the worst part of my whole papillary thyroid cancer ordeal; the dreaded low iodine diet. If I may add my two cents with respect to a recipe. Slow cook / Boil some chicken breast (shred chicken once boiled), look in the health food section for Quinoa, boil the quinoa. Combine chicken and quinoa, add sliced unsalted almonds and dried cherries (mix), then add balsamic vinegar (the actual vinegar not the dressing) and olive oil to taste. I also added pepper and non iodized salt to mine. Not too shabby, however after the 3rd day straight of eating this I was ready for a hamburger with all the fixings.


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## joplin1975

Re: hamburger -- see if you can find freshly ground ground beef, with no additives, Spice up as needed, you can use no-iodine salt, and serve on LID bread with tomatoes, onion, lettuce, and no salt ketchup. 

Serve with potatoes that have been peeled and fried, for a perfectly good LID meal that is a total slurge.


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