Heavy Metals & Fruit Juice: What You Need to Know

Exposure to high levels of lead can cause abdominal pain, fatigue, irritability, memory loss, constipation, generalized weakness, anemia, & kidney and brain damage. Lead has the ability to cross the placental barrier, meaning, if a pregnant woman is exposed to any amount of lead – their unborn child is also exposed. Even at low levels, exposure to lead can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, infertility, & behavioral consequences. 

Prolonged exposure to lead, even at small doses, may also lead to depression, distractibility, forgetfulness, nausea, high blood pressure, heart disease, & kidney disease.

Chronic exposure to low levels of cadmium can result in kidney, bone, & lung disease. Whereas mercury, a neurotoxin, can cause skin rashes, mood swings, memory loss, mental disturbances, muscle weakness, muscular atrophy, headaches, tremors, insomnia, impaired speech, & loss of peripheral vision. The list goes on.

The moral of the story here is that these heavy metals can cause lowered IQ, behavioral problems (ADHD), diabetes, cancer, & so much more.

There are a few established limits put in place for reducing exposure to these heavy metals. Back in 2013, the FDA responded to a Consumer Reports study by proposing a limitation on inorganic arsenic in apple juice to 10 parts per billion (ppb) – which is the federal arsenic standard for drinking water. This limit is still not in place.

 In this study, all but one of the juices had inorganic arsenic levels below the proposed 10ppb limit. 

As for lead, the current FDA guideline is 50ppb. To put it into perspective, the standard for lead in bottled water is 5ppb. How does that make sense? It doesn’t, to me.

I mean, I don’t want my child to drink lead, period.

To me, there is no “safe” level of any of these heavy metals. Why? Because no one is considering bioaccumulation. Chemical and food industries are able to get by on the fact that ‘small amounts of toxins are harmless to the body’. But they neglect to consider that since we do not totally detoxify those everyday ‘harmless’ amounts of chemicals and metals that we ingest, they are simply stockpiling (bioaccumulating) in our tissues. Our bodies were not meant to process them.

These metals are not only in our juice. They’re in infant and toddler foods, rice and rice products, protein powder, fish, water, air, & soil. Which means we are exposed to these ‘trace’ or ‘safe’ amounts all the freaking time.

The risk here comes from chronic exposure. Minimizing the consumption of juices and other foods that contain these heavy metals can significantly reduce the risk of adverse health effects for your little human.

So, What Can We Do?

• Limit fruit juice

• If drinking fruit juice, substitute juice for a less toxic option

• Consider replacing juice with something else (see below)

If continuing to drink juice, you may want to consider eliminating the juices the study found to be highest in cadmium, inorganic arsenic, lead, and/or mercury. These include:

• Minute Maid’s 100% Juice Apple Juice

• Juicy Juice’s Apple Juice Box

• Minute Maid 100% juice Fruit Punch

• Trader Joe’s Apple Juice Box

• Welch’s 100% Juice with Antioxidant Superberry

• Great Value (Walmart) 100% Juice, Cranberry Grape

• Welch’s 100% Grape Juice, White Grape

• Welch’s 100% Grape Juice, Concord Grape

• R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Concord Grape Juice

• 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods) Organic 100% Juice, Concord Grape

• Trader Joe’s Fresh Pressed Apple Juice, 100% Juice

• Trader Joe’s Organic Apple Grape Juice

• Juicy Juice 100% Juice, White Grape 

• Great Value (Walmart) 100% Juice, Cranberry Grape 

• 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods) Organic 100% Juice, Grape Cranberry

• R.W. Knudsen Organic Pear 100% Juice

• Gold Emblem (CVS) 100% Grape Juice

• Gerber White Grape Juice

• 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods) Organic 100% Juice, Concord Grape

• Trader Joe’s Organic Apple Juice

• Great Value (Walmart) 100% Juice, Apple

• Gold Emblem (CVS) 100% Apple Juice

Better options the study found are:

• 365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods) Organic Apple Juice, 100% Juice

• Goya Pear Nectar

• Looza Pear Juice Drink

• Simply Balanced (Target) Organic Apple Juice, 100% Juice

• Juicy Juice Organics 100% Juice, Apple

• Honest Kids Organic Juice Drink, Goodness Grapeness

Another great option, and my personal favorite, is to make your own ‘juice’. This is what we do in our home. We take a big pitcher of (filtered) water with ice and add some slices of organic lemon, strawberries, & a few basil leaves. Stir it up. Let it sit in the fridge overnight and, voilà, juice! 

Sometimes we get a little crazy and switch up the fruits – blueberries, blackberries, oranges, you name it. 

My kids love it. It’s refreshing, tasty, and JackJack approved. I mean the kid tugs it out of the refrigerator door. 

The Discovery Doc – Dr. CeCe Brooks – Atlanta Holistic NP

Copyright 2022 The Discovery Doc, LLC®. All Rights Reserved.

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