Heavy Metal: Is It in Your Diet?

Is heavy metal a part of your diet? I’m not talking about your musical diet. I mean the food you eat every day.

Heavy metals have a specific density (five times heavier than water), and are associated with toxicity. Unfortunately, heavy metals are often found in foods we commonly consume. First, let’s take a look at the more prevalent heavy metals and their dietary sources. Then we’ll look at how to lessen your exposure.

1. Arsenic

[ad#ad-2] Arsenic comes in two forms: organic and inorganic. It is the latter form that poses health risks. In fact, inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen. Some dietary sources of inorganic arsenic include:

• Grapes that are often sprayed with pesticides containing inorganic arsenic
• Wine made from such grapes
• Fish that pick up inorganic arsenic directly from the water via their gills and skin, or by eating smaller fish or microorganisms that have absorbed inorganic arsenic from the water
• Poultry, particularly chicken, can contain arsenic that was present in contaminated chicken feed

2. Mercury

Fish is the main dietary source of mercury, with shellfish close behind. Mercury is a heavy metal that also exists in organic (methyl mercury) and inorganic forms. In the case of mercury, however, the organic form is toxic and binds to the proteins in fish flesh.

3. Cadmium

This metal, familiar to artists in the paint color “cadmium red,” gets into foods in various ways. It can be present in:

• Plant foods, when cadmium in the soil is taken up through the roots and into the aerial parts of the plant
• Meat, as cadmium accumulates in the fatty tissues of animals that ingest it
• Food containers which are sometimes colored with cadmium pigment; it is uncertain as to how much cadmium leeches out of the containers and into the food.
• Fish and shellfish that live in water where cadmium is present
• Refined foods, particularly grains. Cadmium taken up from the soil into the plant is concentrated in the middle of the grain, while zinc, which helps balance cadmium and protect against toxic effects in the body, is found in the germ and bran of the grain. The germ and bran are removed in refining, leaving only the cadmium-containing kernel.

4. Lead

This is a heavy metal that has found its way into the public’s awareness. While its presence in toys and paint is generally known, food sources of lead are less publicized. Lead may be found in:

• Canned foods with lead solder along the seams. While lead solder is banned in the US, cans made in other countries are often still soldered with lead.
• Imported, prepackaged foods, particularly from Mexico (candies, chili, tamarind)
• Lead-containing glazes on ceramics used to hold food. High-acid foods are more likely to contain lead if stored in such containers.

What Can You Do?

Unfortunately, totally avoiding heavy metal exposure is impossible. But here are some tips for lessening your exposure.

Eat fresh, whole, organic food with as little processing as possible.

Few foods contain dangerous cadmium levels if they are grown in healthy soil, haven’t been sprayed with heavy-metal containing pesticides, and have not undergone extensive processing.

Be careful with seafood.

Avoid farm-raised fish, and those fish that are predators (shark, swordfish, king mackerel). Look for wild-caught fish. Salmon, cod, pollock, and tilapia are low-mercury choices.

photo credit: flydime

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