Iodine tablets won't save you in a nuclear attack!

It only took one day for panic to grip many Europeans. And while many people were alarmed immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, some people panicked only when the Russian President put his nuclear weapons on alert. This could, of course, have disastrous consequences and perhaps caution is indeed in order. But does it make sense to buy iodine tablets, which are currently experiencing a huge boom? Would they help you in such a case? That's what we're going to look at in our article today, where we'll try to explain the whole issue as half-way as possible.

What is iodine?

Iodine is an extremely important mineral, of course there is no doubt about that. We mentioned in our earlier separate article that it is important for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, which is absolutely essential for things like brain growth and development, proper metabolic function, cardiovascular health and a whole host of other things. Expert sources then recommend taking 150 μg of iodine daily, with higher doses being recommended for pregnant and lactating women. Given the iodisation of commonly purchased salt in our geographical area and the average amount of salt people consume, it should not be a problem for the average person to get enough of this very important element.

We can find many sources of iodine in the normal diet.

What is the effect of iodine in a nuclear disaster?

Iodine tablets have of course been recommended in the context of radiation for many decades, and the mechanism of the supposed effect is quite simple - you swallow an iodine tablet and your thyroid gland becomes sufficiently "saturated" and no longer wants to take in radioactive iodine that may be concentrated in the air in the event of a disaster. The radioactive iodine would then have many negative effects on our bodies, which is perhaps why many people are panicking at the moment and buying up pharmacies in the hunt for iodine tablets.

Will iodine tablets help with nuclear weapons?

Yes and no. If, God forbid, there is a nuclear power plant explosion, iodine tablets can certainly make a difference. Radioactive iodine would be one of the compounds whose content in the air would be significantly increased by the so-called radioactive cloud. This is not the case for the use of nuclear weapons. An insider in this case is, for example, the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SNS), which directly stated on its Twitter account:

"You don't need iodine tablets in the current situation. They are used when there is a risk of a significantly elevated concentration of radioactive iodine in the air."

"While we still consider the likelihood of a nuclear weapon being used to be slim, we note that in this case radioactive iodine is insignificant in terms of health risks," the aforementioned institutionadded in another tweet.

Not to mention that iodine tablets have a very limited effect - they protect the thyroid gland from radioactive iodine, but cannot protect other parts of the body from a variety of other substances. Nuclear weapons, unlike the radioactive cloud resulting from a nuclear power plant accident, would primarily have thermal and mechanical destructive effects.

In the case of nuclear weapons, iodine tablets are more or less useless.

But I can buy them, right?

You can buy iodine tablets, of course, although, as with respirators at the start of a pandemic, you may end up paying more for them than they would have cost just a few days ago. But as we have explained to you, based on the statements of the expert institutions cited above, iodine tablets have no justification in this type of attack. You can have them at home, of course, but the chances of actually needing them for anything are actually the same as they have been up to now - because the risk of complications at one of Europe's nuclear power stations is still the same. And people who are at increased risk (because they live in close proximity to the plants) have always been given iodine tablets.

Should I take iodine tablets as a preventive measure?

Absolutely not. Iodine (like any other substance) doesn't last forever in the body, and since you most likely don't have a deficiency problem, there's no need to supplement. On the contrary - taking potassium iodide contained in tablets on some regular preventative basis could disrupt both thyroid and salivary gland function.

"They should be used the moment the population is instructed to do so. If someone wants to buy them for their own peace of mind, I warn everyone not to swallow them as a preventive measure," Dana Drábová, chairwoman of the SÚJB, warned in an interview with Echo24.cz magazine.

You can have iodine tablets at home, but you should definitely not take them as a preventive measure. The appropriate institutions would inform you that you should use them if necessary.

So what should I do? What should I take away from this?

Iodine tablets are currently experiencing the same boom as kratom did in its day. This time, however, we are going beyond sports nutrition, and you may get the impression that iodine tablet sellers are lurking around every corner (or rather, every click). You should know, however, that these pills are useless against nuclear weapons and it is much more practical to go somewhere in the basement, as recommended by the aforementioned SNB. The risk of needing iodine tablets is as great as it was before the Russian President's statement. However, once you buy them, they will last for several years in your home - and nobody can stop you from keeping them in your first aid kit for emergencies. But definitely don't use them as a precaution.