Answer · 2026

How can a vegetarian tell if they get enough iodine from food?

Adults need 150 mcg of iodine a day. NIH ODS, updated May 1, 2024, says dairy, eggs, and iodized salt are the usual vegetarian sources. Sea salt, kosher salt, and Himalayan salt are not usually iodized. A food log adds the micrograms you recorded. It is not a blood test.

Updated October 15, 2026 · Written by LAYERTWO, the makers of NutriCam. We make NutriCam. The iodine amounts on this page are from NIH ODS and the USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH iodine database. This is not medical advice.

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How to check iodine from the foods you eat

Check	What to look at	What it does not tell you
The daily target	NIH ODS, updated May 1, 2024: adults need 150 mcg a day	Pregnancy is 220 mcg. That is a clinician’s job, not a food log
Dairy, eggs, iodized salt	NIH names these as the usual sources once seafood is off the plate	Most fruit, vegetables, beans, and grains are poor sources. Amounts vary with soil and the cow’s feed
The salt label	The pack says iodized or lists iodide. NIH: sea, kosher, Himalayan, and fleur de sel usually do not	Canned soup and other processed foods almost never use iodized salt
The Nutrition Facts panel	Iodine appears only when the maker added it	Milk, eggs, and seaweed usually omit iodine even when they contain it
A food-diary total	Adds the micrograms in the foods you logged	Iodine data is sparse. Cronometer staff said tracked values may run lower than intake. A diary is not a blood test

Those checks answer the food question: did today’s meals add up toward 150 mcg? They do not answer whether your thyroid is healthy. NIH’s health-professional sheet, read October 15, 2026, says spot urinary iodine is a population tool, not a test that diagnoses one person. See a clinician if you need a medical test.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2025 position paper, read the same day, says plant foods are not a good iodine source except seaweed. Vegans more often show mild or moderate iodine deficiency than vegetarians. A lacto-ovo vegetarian who still eats dairy and eggs has those foods on the table. Someone who dropped both, and who cooks with Himalayan or kosher salt, has taken the usual sources off the plate.

Vegetarian foods that actually carry iodine

Food	Serving	Iodine (mcg)	Share of 150 mcg
Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat	¾ cup	87	58%
Milk, nonfat	1 cup	84	56%
Iodized table salt	¼ teaspoon	78	52%
Seaweed, nori, dried, flaked	2 tablespoons (5 g)	116	77%
Egg, hard boiled	1 large	31	21%
Cheddar cheese	1 ounce	14	9%
Bread made with iodate dough conditioner	2 slices	296	197%
Bread made without iodate dough conditioner	2 slices	1	1%
Soy beverage	1 cup	3	2%
Sea salt, noniodized	¼ teaspoon	0	0%
Broccoli, boiled	½ cup	0	0%
Lima beans, boiled	½ cup	0	0%
Pasta boiled without iodized salt	1 cup	0	0%
Pasta boiled with iodized salt	1 cup	30	20%

Numbers are from Table 2 on NIH ODS for health professionals, which draws on the USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH iodine database, Release 4.0 (2024), read October 15, 2026. They are guides, not a lab report on your carton.

A cup of milk plus a ¼ teaspoon of iodized salt is already past 150 mcg on that table. One large egg is 31 mcg. Two slices of bread can be 1 mcg or 296 mcg, depending on whether the baker used iodate dough conditioner. NIH says about 20% of U.S. bread labels list iodate. Pasta picks up iodine only when it is boiled in iodized salt. Noniodized sea salt is zero.

Seaweed is the plant exception, and it swings. NIH reports commercial seaweeds from 16 mcg/g to 2,984 mcg/g. Nori in the table is 116 mcg in two tablespoons. Kelp and kombu can overshoot. The adult upper limit from all sources is 1,100 mcg a day. Reed Mangels, RD, for the Vegetarian Resource Group, read October 15, 2026, says a half teaspoon of U.S. iodized salt is about 150 mcg, and that kombu and hiziki are easy to overdo. Cronometer’s plant-based post, by Susan Macfarlane, RD, published May 14, 2018 and read the same day, calls iodized salt the most reliable food source and says kelp can be excessive.

NIH also names goitrogens in soy and cruciferous vegetables. For people who already get enough iodine, reasonable amounts of those foods are not a concern. They are not a substitute for a source.

What a diary, a label, and a photo miss

A running total is useful once you know the foods. It is still an estimate of intake.

Cronometer staff said iodine can be turned on under Nutrient Targets, Minerals, and that primary sources have little iodine data, so tracked values may run lower than intake. Cronometer’s Data Confidence article says branded foods often carry only the roughly 15 nutrients the label reports. Pick a generic or NCCDB entry for milk, yogurt, eggs, and iodized salt. Add the pinch of table salt the recipe used. Stay here if the microgram has to come from a verified entry you will edit. NutriCam vs Cronometer. Apps that name iodine on a vegan diary: best app to track vegan iron, B12, and iodine.

A Nutrition Facts label will not settle this. NIH ODS, read October 15, 2026, says labels usually list iodine only when the manufacturer added it. Milk, eggs, and seaweed usually stay blank. A barcode of oat milk is not an iodine record unless the carton is fortified and says so.

A camera cannot see iodine. It cannot see whether the salt on the tofu was iodized, whether the baker used iodate, or how much iodine was in the cow’s feed. Confirm the dairy, the eggs, and the salt. Photo estimates of mixed bowls are rough. Kitchen tests of photo calorie apps ran low. Details: how accurate are AI photo calorie counting apps. Photographing a bowl without typing every ingredient: how to track nutrients without logging every ingredient. Photo vitamin logs: which app tracks micronutrients from a photo.

Painting iodine on the skin is not a food check. NIH ODS does not describe a skin patch as a way to measure intake or status. Urinary iodine is how researchers describe a population. Multiple 24-hour collections are more accurate for one person, and that is a clinician’s test. None of these apps is a medical device. They do not diagnose iodine deficiency or thyroid disease. See a clinician if you need a medical test. Broader micro diaries: best micronutrient tracking apps. What the app is: what is NutriCam. How a next-meal answer is built: what should I eat next.

Log the dairy, eggs, and iodized salt you already ate, then read iodine against a verified diary entry if that number has to hold. NutriCam is an iPhone advisor: photograph a meal or say what you ate, confirm the estimate, and see vitamins and minerals such as iodine. It is not a blood test, not a medical device, and not on Android.

No app can measure a meal from a photo. A picture cannot show oil, sauces, hidden ingredients, or portion weight. Every number from every app on this page is an estimate until you correct the foods and portions. We have not run an accuracy test across these apps, so this page makes no accuracy ranking.

FAQ

How much iodine does an adult vegetarian need each day?

NIH ODS, updated May 1, 2024, says adults need 150 mcg a day. The same figure applies if you eat vegetarian. Pregnant people need 220 mcg; that is a clinician's job. Iodized salt, dairy, and eggs are the usual vegetarian sources. A food log is intake, not a blood test.

Is Himalayan salt or sea salt a source of iodine?

Usually no. NIH ODS says sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, and fleur de sel are not usually iodized. Noniodized sea salt in the USDA, FDA, and ODS-NIH table is 0 mcg per 1/4 teaspoon. Iodized table salt is 78 mcg for the same spoon. Read the pack for the word iodized.

Can milk and eggs cover iodine without iodized salt?

They can add a lot. NIH's table lists 84 mcg in a cup of nonfat milk, 87 mcg in 3/4 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt, and 31 mcg in one large hard-boiled egg. Dairy amounts vary with the cow's feed. Two of those foods in a day can reach 150 mcg on that table.

Why doesn't the Nutrition Facts label list iodine?

FDA does not require iodine on the label unless the maker added it. NIH ODS, read October 15, 2026, says foods that naturally contain iodine, such as milk, eggs, and seaweed, usually omit it. About 20% of U.S. breads list iodate dough conditioners. Those loaves can be very high. The rest are near zero.

Can a food photo measure iodine in a vegetarian meal?

No. A camera cannot see iodine, iodized salt, or the cow's feed. Fortified plant milk and a pinch of table salt stay invisible. Cronometer Photo Log maps the picture onto a database after you review it. Confirm the salt and the dairy. A diary total is still not a blood test.

Does painting iodine on my skin show whether I get enough from food?

No. NIH ODS does not describe a skin patch as a status test. Urinary iodine is used for populations. Spot samples are not for diagnosing one person. Check the foods you eat against 150 mcg. See a clinician if you need a medical test.

Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from that app’s own site, help center, or store listing, checked October 15, 2026. Prices and features change. Check the live listing before you buy.