Many chocolate products contain toxic heavy metals: a new study

This is a bitter pill to swallow.

Many US cocoa products contain worrisome levels of toxic heavy metals, warns a new study from George Washington University.

Researchers looked at 72 cocoa-based foods – including dark chocolate, often touted as a heart-healthy treat – over the course of eight years. They found that 43% of the products contained an amount of lead that exceeded the recommendations, while 35% exceeded the cadmium limits.

Surprisingly, organically labeled products had higher levels of lead and cadmium than non-organic products, the researchers said. Contamination can come from the soil or occur during production.

A single serving of these cocoa products may not pose significant health risks, but multiple servings might.

“We all love chocolate, but it’s important to indulge in moderation as with other foods containing heavy metals, including large fish such as tuna and unwashed brown rice,” said Leigh Frame, who led the study.

“While it’s not practical to completely avoid heavy metals in food, you need to be careful about what you eat and how much,” added Frame, director of integrative medicine and associate professor of clinical research and leadership at the GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences. Health.

High levels of lead can be found in shellfish, organ meats and plant foods or supplements grown in contaminated soil or imported from countries with less regulation, such as China, Nigeria, India and Egypt, Frame said.

Lead exposure can cause high blood pressure and brain, kidney and reproductive health problems, according to NYC Health. Symptoms of lead poisoning include headaches, stomach cramps, constipation, muscle/joint pain, trouble sleeping, fatigue, irritability, and loss of sex drive.

Cadmium toxicity can lead to chills, fever and muscle aches. Chronic exposure can lead to kidney, bone and lung disease.

Some seaweeds—especially hijiki, which is used in seaweed salad—are of particular concern for cadmium.

Frame’s report, published Wednesday in Frontiers in Nutrition, follows a 2022 review by Consumer Reports that detected cadmium and lead in 28 dark chocolate bars.

For 23 of the bars, eating just one ounce per day would exceed acceptable limits for at least one of those heavy metals.

However, a June study of 155 dark and milk chocolates by Tulane University found that only one brand of dark chocolate exceeded the international limit for cadmium, and only four dark chocolate bars had levels of cadmium that could poses a risk to small children.

“For adults there is no adverse health risk from consuming dark chocolate, and although there is a slight risk for children in four of the 155 chocolate bars sampled, it is not common to see a 3-year-old regularly consuming more than more than two bars. of chocolate per week,” said lead study author Tewodros Godebo. “What we’ve found is that it’s pretty safe to eat dark and milk chocolate.”