Thursday, December 11, 2008

Lead in Supplements

I posted earlier today about black ooze that often comes out of vitamins when they are baked. The black ooze is melted synthetic ingredients, fillers, toxins or plastics. Who wants a daily intake of those things?

But lead wouldn't turn black at 350 degrees. Lead is, in fact, a natural ingredient according to most definitions. Natural, but poisonous at certain levels. Keep in mind that lead accumulates in our bodies. So, while we may not be taking a poisonous amount each day, it can accumulate to toxic levels within our body in a short amount of time.

But who puts lead in vitamins? It can be left over from raw ingredient contamination. Or, it can be a byproduct of manufacturing processes. There has been rising concern over the lack of regulation in the supplement industry in the last decade. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition did a study to survey Women's and Children's vitamins for lead contamination. The list of contaminated brands is 19 pages long! Check to see if the supplement you or your children take is on the list. I found my former prenatals that I purchased from a health food store on the list!

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

My prenatals were on there too! Scary, huh? Thanks for such an informative blog!