Recently a new study showed a disturbingly high percentage of chocolates were positive for heavy metals.

The research, led by scientists at George Washington University and published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed Frontiers in Nutrition, examined over 70 dark chocolate products from retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Amazon and GNC. The products were tested to see whether the heavy metals lead, cadmium or arsenic were in them. Unfortunately, the study found that organic cocoa products were more likely to have higher levels of cadmium and lead.

Overall, 43% of the products studied exceeded acceptable levels of lead and 35% exceeded cadmium levels, according to the study, which was based on a California law that sets maximum allowable dose levels for heavy metals in food. Food researchers often use the 1986 regulations, known as Prop 65, as a safety standard because the US Food and Drug Administration doesn’t set limits on heavy metals in most foods, said

NBC News reported: “Organic food doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s been checked for exposure to toxic metals like lead, cadmium and arsenic,” said Manish Arora, vice chairman of the department of environmental

Author and Nutritionist Sina McCullough points out in her Epoch Times article that multiple studies have shown high levels of toxic and heavy metals repeatedly in chocolate; “Consumer media outlets and

Consumer Reports found heavy metals in popular chocolate brands including Hershey’s, Theo, Trader Joe’s, Godiva, Hu, and Equal Exchange, according to their 2022 report. A report by As You Sow also revealed elevated heavy metals in various chocolate products tested between 2014 and 2017. These earlier reports raised concerns about the safety of dark chocolate consumption, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women.”

School lunches, fast food, vaccines, baby formula, and tampons have also been found to contain toxic and heavy metal contamination.These exposures could be largely from agrochemical farming. Other sources could be machinery, packaging, and industrial pollution—all things the FDA should be carefully regulating and is not.

Our exposure to heavy metals is contributing to mental health issues, which are rising at an alarming rate.

Nearly 40% of youth are not flourishing; meaning they have learning, behavioral, or mental health issues and are not functioning well in school or life. 25% had a major depressive episode this past year.

https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america

A Georgetown University article reported that:

Even before the pandemic, anxiety and depression were becoming more common among children and adolescents, increasing 27 percent and 24 percent respectively from 2016 to 2019. By 2020, 5.6 million kids (9.2%) had been diagnosed with anxiety problems and 2.4 million (4.0%) had been diagnosed with depression.

About 5 million kids also experienced behavior and conduct problems in 2020, a 21 percent increase from the previous year.

Exposure to heavy metals can also lead to physical health issues such as cancer. One out of two men and one of of three women in America are expected to get cancer.

The Harvard Gazette reports:

“Among the 14 cancer types on the rise that we studied, eight were related to the digestive system. The food we eat feeds the microorganisms in our gut,” said Ugai. “Diet directly affects microbiome composition and eventually these changes can influence disease risk and outcomes.

Toxic ( some metals such as aluminum are considered toxic metals, some such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead are heavy metals) metals can also lead to infertility and miscarriages, which are also on the rise.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/10/9/1473

So what can we do?

Sweating and reducing exposure to petroleum products in body care is important. Consuming food that either helps draw out heavy metals from the body or supports liver function, which is the main organ that detoxes contaminants in the body, is a great way to support daily detoxification.

Detoxing supplements can be very helpful in binding and drawing out toxins. Consult with your physician and consider Primary Detox by BioRay or Dr. Ed Group's, Toxin Binder, or  Global Healing's 30-Day Heavy Metal and Chemical Cleanse program.

According to Dr. Axe:

Foods to eat during a heavy metal detox include leafy green veggies, other non-starchy veggies, herbs, spices, algae, bone broth and other superfoods.

Detoxifying treatments and certain supplements can also be incorporated into a natural heavy metal detox diet plan to help support your brain, nervous system, liver and other vital organs.

According to nutritionists, other foods that detox heavy metals:

• Cilantro
• Wild Blueberries
• Lemon
• Spirulina
• Chlorella
• Garlic
• Beets
• Artichokes
• Turmeric
• Ginger

Do your research and consult a nutritionist to determine the amounts to take and how often to do it, especially if you are doing a cellular or parasite detox. Parasites, which can cause a host of health complications, eat heavy metals (that's a good thing!), and doing a parasite detox before a heavy metal detox can exacerbate health issues. Often, incorporating foods such as garlic, honey, pumpkin seeds, and papaya seeds naturally eliminates parasites from the body. Reducing exposure to heavy metals in the first place is important and can only be done if organizations and government regulators are able to test and determine the foods that are contaminated and the source of the contamination.

Moms Across America asks:

• Farmers to be more vigilant about where they source their fertilizer ( a common source of heavy metals).
• Manufacturers to be more rigorous in their determination of which machinery they are using in the processing of chocolate, baby formula, food, cotton, etc, and eliminate exposure to machinery that grinds items and can shed heavy metal particles into the product.
• Packaging companies also need to be responsible for their packaging - is it leaching heavy metals like aluminum into the food product?
• We ask food brands to require batch testing from their suppliers. This can be a simple $85 dollar test for most heavy metals - what are the levels? What can the farmers do to lower the levels?

Whether the FDA is doing its job or not, food and product manufacturers must be responsible for quality control testing and determining the safety of their products. Consumers want safe products. Mothers buy 85% of the foods, and women make 90% of household purchasing decisions. As an organization committed to amplifying the voice of mothers and creating healthy communities, we ask the food manufacturer industry to hear us now. We want safe, nontoxic, nutrient-dense food.

That is all that matters. We don’t care as much about the certification, the fancy packaging, touching commercials, or the celebrities that promote it. If your product tested positive for toxins, we don’t want it. If your products test clear of toxins, we will buy it, tell our friends about it and support your brand. Put your money into testing and determining how to get your products cleaner, not marketing a product you know (or don’t know) is contaminated with toxins.

Thank you.