Oklahoma Is America’s Only Producer of One Essential Mineral

There are a lot of things Oklahoma is known for. The world's largest tornadoes. The wind that comes sweeping down the plains. Our domination of both mainstream and alternative country music, and Chuck Norris... but Iodine is not one of them.

It should be.

Oklahoma is the only state in the country that commercially produces iodine, and if you didn't know, it's pretty important to keeping us all alive.

As an essential mineral, iodine helps keep your thyroid healthy to regulate the hormones that control metabolism, growth, and brain development. That's why iodized salt became the new gold standard in the United States in the early 1900s, though, like most health things, there's a population of people who have painted it in a negative light these days. It was a public health fix for widespread iodine deficiency, and apparently it worked.

Today, iodine is used for a lot more than table salt. It is in disinfectants, used in medical imaging, and it shows up in certain medications and nutritional products. Hospitals use iodine-based solutions every single day.

Odds are, if you're getting iodine either in your diet or at your local hospital, it came from Oklahoma. I can admit it, I'm from that area of the state and didn't even know this.

It's such a random flex.

The process of getting iodine does get some pretty large complaints. It's not glamorous at all. It's a byproduct of our oil production, pumped from deep holes underground in north-central Oklahoma. Underground saltwater contains trace amounts of iodine, and after chemical processing, the iodine is refined for our use.

That's the rub. Social media health gurus like to compare it to sugar because it's "refined," but the markets are adapting. I've seen iodized natural sea salt on store shelves for the last few years. You can get all of the nutrients of dead salty plankton, but with the benefit of iodine mixed in.

Places like Woodward and Enid sit near the heart of it. Power players on the world stage next to Japan and Chile - AKA - the other iodine producers for the world. And for a state that is used to being underestimated and branded as "fly-over" country, being the only one in America to produce iodine is a pretty solid line on the resume.

button href="https://z94.com/author/kelso/" title="SEE MORE FROM KELSO" align="center" target="_blank"]