Does rosemary contain iodine?

Question

I'm concerned about allergic reactions.

Answer 1

Rosemary is evergreen leaves of this shrubby herb are about 1 inch long, linear, revolute, dark green above and paler and glandular beneath, with an odour pungently aromatic and somewhat camphoraceous. The flowers are small and pale blue. Much of the active volatile principle resides in their calyces. There are silver and goldstriped varieties, but the green-leaved variety is the kind used medicinally.

The plant contains some tannic acid, together with a resin and a bitter principle and a volatile oil. The chief constituents of the oil are Borneol, bornyl acetate and other esters, a special camphor similar to that possessed by the myrtle, cineol, pinene and camphene. It is colourless, with the odour of Rosemary and a warm camphoraceous taste. The chief adulterants of oil of Rosemary are oil of turpentine and petroleum. Rosemary yields its virtues partly to water and entirely to rectified spirits of wine.

Natually, it doesn't contain iodine but since its processed as supplements, its always recommended to read the label and consult your doctors before consuming.

Answer 2

Nope - normally not. Only if it would grow (Rosemary is a herb) on iodine rich soil or be watered with iodine enriched water. That is purely hypothetical though because there is no use in iodine in agriculture. Land-plants may have only very small traces of iodine in their materials, if any. The reason is that iodine salts dissolve easily in water and a few rainfalls would wash it out of the soil right away. This btw is one reason why people in areas which are far from the ocean suffer from the lack of iodine which enlarges their thyroids. Those areas (Mid Europe) have no Iodine left in the soil since they were washed out over thousands of years.

Now when you say allergic against Iodine - I am not sure whether you mean the Iodine in food (which is the salt form, the ionic) or the element. The element Iiodine is a browinish purple substance, used ealier for desinfection. I think a number of people are allergic to that. And usually it is easy to stay away from it because it does not really exist in nature, only in labs etc.

Having said this - the salt form of Iodine is essential to your body. You need to be careful to not leave iodine away completely (meaning the salt form in your food). You can not function well without it. And too much bcan be poisenous.

Rich with iodine is everything coming from the ocean, mainly seafood, seaweed (wakame for example) and table salt which was enriched with it (slightly only).

Now - the effect of rosemary can be to wake you up a bit and make you more alert. A similar effect is experienced by people with a slight under activity of their thyroid when given iodine (salt). If they are given Iodine their metabolism increases and they become a bit more awake and alert.

But both effects are based on completely different reasons, substances and mechanisms of how those work in the body.

Answer 3

Rosemary is an herb. Just grows plain, no iodine.'

Answer 4

Not likely. Only salt has it.