Heavy metals commonly found in food are recorded such as lead, mercury, nickel, aluminum, arsenic, zinc,… These heavy metals, when accumulated in the body over a long period of time, can have a significant impact on health.
Let’s take a look at the list of 8 common sources of heavy metal contamination in food that everyone should know!
1 Fish
is a healthy food with many vitamins like , , , , ,… which can improve heart health, vision, skin, and mood.
However, fish living in water environments can easily contain heavy metals like mercury from the food chain. This is a highly toxic heavy metal if consumed by humans. According to Healthline, excessive mercury intake can lead to impaired nervous system function, vision, hearing, and muscle weakness.
Nevertheless, we should not completely eliminate fish from our daily diet, but prioritize choosing small fish like , anchovy, sardine that contain fewer heavy metals. Limit consuming large fish like , tuna, swordfish, mackerel that are more prone to heavy metal contamination.
Mercury-contaminated fish
Learn more:
2 Prepackaged Fruit Juice
A survey by Consumer Reports tested 45 different brands, each product contained heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury,…which can pose health risks if consumed in the long term.
Therefore, instead of choosing prepackaged fruit juice, it is safer to eat fresh fruits or make your own juice at home.
Prepackaged fruit juice
3 Rice
rice is at risk of being contaminated with arsenic coming from polluted soil and water used for cultivation or excessive pesticide use. Moreover, arsenic usually accumulates on the outer layer of rice grains, so brown rice is the most susceptible to arsenic contamination.
If you consume a lot of arsenic-contaminated foods, it increases the risk of heart, kidney, brain, and diabetes diseases. Therefore, to ensure safety, buyers should choose reputable sources with clear origins.
Arsenic-contaminated rice
4 Dried Tea
Various may contain heavy metals like aluminum, lead from pesticides that stick to tea leaves. Therefore, to ensure safety, you should avoid buying very cheap teas with unclear origins.
Various dried teas with heavy metal contamination like aluminum, lead
5 Spices
Spices make dishes more delicious, stimulate the taste buds, but they also carry the risk of heavy metal contamination. Some spices like , dried onion, turmeric, dry mint have the potential to be contaminated with cadmium, lead beyond the limit. However, the majority will not exceed the limit, so you don’t necessarily have to remove them from your diet, but pay attention to choosing spices with clear and safe origins.
Spices
6 Bone Broth
Bone broth is loved by many and beneficial for human health. However, if animals are exposed to environments contaminated with heavy metals like lead, this substance is also stored in their bones.
Therefore, you should choose high-quality food from reputable sources to ensure health safety!
Bone broth
7 Dark Chocolate
The main ingredient to make chocolate is cocoa, which contains many antioxidants with effective anti-inflammatory properties, good for heart health, blood pressure.
However, cocoa can be contaminated with lead, cadmium during cultivation and production so it is also necessary to be cautious when consuming chocolate with unclear sources!
Dark chocolate
8 Some Vegetables
Some vegetables are at risk of being contaminated with heavy metals from polluted soil, water sources, or excessive pesticide use. Some vegetables such as spinach, kale, lettuce, are highly susceptible to heavy metal contamination. Therefore, to ensure safety, you should choose fresh vegetables from reputable supermarkets or stores.
Some vegetables
Above is a summary of 8 foods with the risk of heavy metal contamination that can harm health. Choose reliable sources with clear origins to ensure safety!
Source: Báo Phụ nữ Việt Nam
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