while not directly related to Potassium Iodide, I ran across this on the web today. I have no idea if this is a legitimate research center, but since I like Miso soup I figure It can't hurt to have some in the "go bag".
[snip]
"People who eat miso regularly may be up to five times more resistant to radiation than those who do not eat miso. That is the conclusion of a team of researchers at Hiroshima University’s atomic bomb radiation research center.2
Dr. Kazumitsu Watanabe, professor of cancer and radiation research investigated the radioprotective effect of miso, a fermented soy product, by testing small intestine cells of lab mice. These cells absorb nutrients and are particularly sensitive to radiation, which can easily destroy these cells.
The victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced severe diarrhea after the atomic bomb blasts because of the massive destruction of these cells due to radiation. Even when X-rays at levels lethal to humans were administered to the mice 60 percent of them survived as opposed to nine percent of the mice that were not fed miso soup.
Akihiro Ito, head of one of the research teams at Hiroshima University, found that miso helps eliminate toxins from the body through stimulation of the circulatory and metabolic systems, which may possibly make miso useful when undergoing chemotherapy."
[snip]

Most people usually aren't instantly allergic to anything.

First, I understand you need an initial dose, an exposure. You body has to 'think about it a bit'.

The next time you have an exposure, you could show a reaction, but there's no guarantee.

An allergic reaction could come at any time, even after exposure for years. Consider beekeepers. They get stung, they get an itchy bump, and that's all. They may get stung hundreds of times over the next 20 or 30 years, no real problem. Then one day, they get stung and might go into anaphylaxis. If they're lucky, they get to treatment soon enough to reverse it.

But if they all worried about allergic reactions, we would never have any honey.

Sue

Most people usually aren't instantly allergic to anything.

First, I understand you need an initial dose, an exposure. You body has to 'think about it a bit'.

The next time you have an exposure, you could show a reaction, but there's no guarantee.

An allergic reaction could come at any time, even after exposure for years. Consider beekeepers. They get stung, they get an itchy bump, and that's all. They may get stung hundreds of times over the next 20 or 30 years, no real problem. Then one day, they get stung and might go into anaphylaxis. If they're lucky, they get to treatment soon enough to reverse it.

But if they all worried about allergic reactions, we would never have any honey.

Sue

Somewhere there should appear, if it has not already shown up, an article in a refereed journal. Studies on mice are suggestive, but not definitive, for humans.

I'll bet the stock of miso soup companies will soar....It's nice that it is tasty stuff.

Lucky for me I just got a pound and a half of Miso paste today! Of course, it did come from Japan but I'm sure it was in the warehouse stateside long before the quake. FWIW, there's no reason to buy iodized salt anymore; the stuff just tastes gross, and the modern Western diet contains plenty of iodine. The addition of the substance is just a goofy holdover from an earlier time when it seemed like a good way to get iodine out there. Sort of like how we consider it an employer's duty to provide you with health insurance.