Dark chocolate isn't the only food with heavy metals

Plus more health news |

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

The heavy metals lurking in your food By Tara Law Health Reporter Every Christmas, I look forward to the box of dark chocolate in my stocking—but this year it might taste a little less sweet. A recent Consumer Reports investigation found troublesome levels of lead and cadmium in a range of popular dark chocolate bars. I wondered if dark chocolate was the only food source to worry about. Turns out, it's not. For reasons both natural and man-made, heavy metals exist in soil, and therefore in many of the foods we eat every day. Limited testing means we have no way of knowing how much is in our food. This is concerning because lead and other heavy metals can harm almost all the body’s organ systems, especially for young children. But don't give up on chocolate (and stuff grown in soil) quite yet. Experts told me some steps to take to limit dietary exposure to heavy metals: Eat a varied diet. This lowers your chances of consuming too much of any single metal, said Katarzyna Kordas, an associate professor of public health at the University at Buffalo. Prioritize nutritious foods. These make your body stronger and promote healthy development in kids, which can help counteract the effects of heavy metals. Do what you can, but don't drive yourself nuts. Steering clear of the chocolate brands high in lead and cadmium is a good start. But keep in mind: “There are measurable amounts [of heavy metals] in pretty much all foods...simply because there are metals in our soil," says Dr. Robert Wright, a professor of environmental medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. READ THE STORY.   Programming note: This will be the last Health Matters newsletter of 2022 as our staff takes a break. We'll be back on Jan. 3, 2023. Happy holidays!

What else to read China's Zero-COVID U-Turn Reveals Xi Jinping's Deep Paranoia By Charlie Campbell / Singapore China's stunning reversal on Zero-COVID underscores the fickleness of strongman rule—from suffocating control to callous inaction. Read More » As Flu Rages, U.S. Releases Medicine from National Stockpile By AMANDA SEITZ/AP The Biden administration said it will release doses of prescription flu medicine from the Strategic National Stockpile to states. Read More » Companies Are Adding Sesame to Foods. It’s an Unintended Consequence of a New Allergen Label Law By JoNel Aleccia/AP A new federal law requiring that sesame be listed as an allergen on food labels is actually increasing the number of products with the ingredient. Read More » Why Does My Sweat Smell Like Ammonia? By Markham Heid A low-carb diet combined with lots of exercise could explain your odd BO. (Originally published in 2015.) Read More » What Casual Drinking Does to Your Body Over Time By Alexandra Sifferlin Enjoy that spiked cider, but keep these tips in mind too. (Originally published in 2015.) Read More »

One Last Read COVID-19 Isn't "Just a Cold" Yet Is your sniffle a sign of COVID-19, a common cold, the flu, or something else? It's getting increasingly hard to tell, as Katherine J. Wu writes for the Atlantic—and not just because many viruses are circulating at once. As it evolves, the virus behind COVID-19 is causing more respiratory symptoms than it once did. But, as Wu writes, it's still too soon to say that COVID-19 is no more worrisome than a common cold. Read More »

If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here. Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and Jamie Ducharme and edited by Mandy Oaklander.

Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters. Subscribe to TIME

TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice.   Connect with TIME via Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters       UNSUBSCRIBE     PRIVACY POLICY     YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS   TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508   Questions? Contact health@time.com   Copyright © 2022 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.