We are the witnesses of the fast and drastic changes of the way, style and rhythm of the modern life. Industrial development, globalisation, urbanisation, advanced technology impose health and good looking, good physical condition and healthy look as a elementary precondition of the success, which nowadays means survival - because if you are not successful, you practically do not exist. On the other hand, there is a real flood of the different publicities and pieces of advice for regular nutrition and balanced diet. Our ancestors ever since knew that the regular nutrition was the base of good health and long life. Do we know that today? Or we accept uncritically every advice and brief in the magazines. What does the regular and good nutrition mean? Does the healthy mean also tasteless; does the preparation of the healthy food take a lot of time, etc.? Recently, we came up with the numerous new scientific data from the nutritional field which explain to us the causes of the many diseases and we realized that with the adequate intake of the groceries we do not just cure the diseases, but we can also prevent them. The recommendation on healthy food does not rely only upon empirical experience, but also on the facts scientifically confirmed. Many international organizations like WHO (World Health Organization), United Nations and it is sub organizations which occupy with nutrition, health and agriculture, conduct research and collect the information from all over the world on the nutrition and it is melioration, and every 15 years on the basis on the results of this research they recommend the type and amount of each nutrient which are necessary in a human nutrition, and their optimal intake. These recommendations differ according to different regions and they are liable to the changes .They consider local, geographical, climatic, economic, cultural, social, and demographic and the other characteristics. Regular nutrition begins with cognition of what and why we are eating something. Everyone knows that animal fat and refined sugar are not healthy. But, for the good health and long life it is indispensable that we through our nutrition consume enough minerals. Some of them are necessary in very small amounts that we measure them in thousand part of the gram, and that iss why we are calling them in professional literature oligoelements ( oligo - few ) or "trace elements". They participate in the shape of coenzyme in vital process in our organism, and the lack of them causes severe consequences to our health. One of these elements is iodine, which is indispensable for conception, birth and afterwards for the regular development of the life, but which is less known to our public then other elements. Iodine is necessary for the production of the hormone of the thyroid gland, thyroxin and triiodothyronine, which are indispensable for normal physical and mental health, for development, sexual maturation and also development of the musculoskeletal system; they accelerate total metabolism, stimulate the synthesis of proteins (growth and construction of all tissues and organs especially of brain); iodine burns the surplus of fat, increases absorption of nutritive material from intestines, keeps permanent body temperature, increases the consumption of the oxygen and circulation through the organs; also iodine augment the strength of the heart beat (pulsation), increases the pulse, raise the blood pressure. Iodine is essential for survival and adaptation to the stress. Iodine deficiency in nutrition is the most frequent cause of mental and physical retardation. It is also easy preventable - with the adequate choose of grocery and potion which we consume.

Dr Slavica Dautović