A Consumer Reports recently discovered that heavy metals can
be found in popular baby food brands. These heavy metals include lead, mercury,
cadmium and inorganic arsenic. Metals being ingested can be dangerous, because it
is absorbed by your body and it stays in your system longer than you’d think.
If your child has consumed contaminated baby food, the
immediate effects could be minimal.
Long-term exposure to these products however, could cause many problems
including developmental issues, bladder, lung, and skin cancer. These metals
have been found in popular baby food brands such as Beech-Nut, Gerber &
Earth’s Best. Products such as cereals,
prepared entrees, and packaged fruits and vegetables were some of the items
found to contain heavy metals.
According to Consumer Reports, children in the U.S. eat
quite a bit of packaged baby food. More than 90 percent of parents with children
three and under use these foods. Here are some of the specific findings from
the report:
·
Each product tested had measurable amounts of
heavy metals.
·
Roughly 2/3 had concerning levels of heavy metals.
·
Fifteen of the food items tested pose potential
health risks to a child eating these regularly.
·
Snacks with rice or sweet potatoes contained the
heaviest metals.
·
Organic foods were just as likely to contain
heavy metals.
While the human body needs some heavy metals to function
properly, such as iron and zinc, other metals such as cadmium, inorganic
arsenic, lead and mercury can be toxic for everyone but especially dangerous to
young children. Exposures to these metals at a young age can lead to several
health issues, including a lower IQ, behavior problems, and even autism and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Making changes to your child’s diet can help reduce the
exposure to heavy metals. Here are some ways to do this:
·
Limit how much infant rice cereal your child
consumes. Instead opt for other cereals that have iron such as oats that are
lower in inorganic arsenic.
·
Be cautious of how you prep your rice! The FDA
recommends 6 to 10 parts water to 1-part rice and draining the excess water.
This can reduce 40 to 60 percent of the inorganic arsenic content, depending on
the type of rice.
·
Limit packaged snacks because many contain rice
flour or have very little nutritional value. Instead choose foods such as
avocadoes, bananas, beans, cheese, applesauce, grapes, hard-boiled eggs,
peaches, strawberries, and yogurt.
·
When choosing fish, stay away from swordfish,
bigeye tuna, shark, king mackerel and orange roughy as these are high in
methylmercury.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding heavy
metals, please do not hesitate to contact the Texas Poison Center Network 24/7
at 1-800-222-1222.
