♦ Organic milk is less healthy than regular milk and could cause unborn babies to  have lower IQs because of a lack of iodine, study suggests.

Milk is an important source of protein and nutrients generally, such as iodine. Following an earlier study that showed organic milk had a lower iodine concentration by a third (32.2% lower) than conventionally produced milk and illustrates some of the controversies that still surround organic products. UHT milk was also 30% lower in iodine than pasteurised milk.

Iodine is essential for growth and a vigorous metabolism in all of us and in a baby, essential for healthy brain development especially in the early phases of pregnancy. Most of our sources of iodine come from dairy, especially milk. Iodine deficiency was once endemic in parts of the UK, with hundreds of thousands of people in the 1930s and 1940s suffering from goitre – a condition marked by the abnormal swelling of the thyroid gland in the throat.

Thousands of people in the UK to suffer from iodine deficiency in the 1930s and 1940s exemplified by the appearance of goitre, a condition illustrated by the abnormal swelling of the thyroid gland in the throat. To counter this, iodine was added to salt or bread but in the UK, it was added to dairy cow herds where it passed into milk. Milk was always regularly consumed in these islands.

Experts have warned pregnant women that switching to organic milk might put the development of their unborn child at risk in the past. Previous research had shown that mothers-to-be who are iodine deficient during this critical time can give birth to children with reduced IQs.

Researchers from the University of Reading said the finding could have potentially serious health implications. The lead scientist, Ian Givens, Professor of Food Chain Nutrition and Head of Food Production & Quality at Reading University stated:-

“People are increasingly buying organic and UHT milk for perceived health benefits or convenience. But our research shows that this trend could have serious implications for public health. Iodine deficiency ought to be a health problem from the past, but unless this situation is carefully monitored, we risk sleepwalking into a new health crisis in the 21st century.”

Good sources of iodine are seaweed especially kelp.

Reference

Payling, L.M., Juniper, D.T., Drake, C., Rymer, C., Givens, I. (2015) Effect of milk type and processing on iodine concentration of organic and conventional winter milk at retail: Implications for nutrition. Food Chem., 178 pp. 327-330