How Dangerous is Lead in Processed Chocolate?
Chocolate is one of those foods that are good for you when eaten in moderation, provided you eat the right kind. And if you want to experience the health benefits of eating chocolate, you’re not getting them from processed chocolate.
The main reason why you should avoid processed chocolate is the high sugar content. But besides too much sugar, there’s another danger that you might not be aware of, and that’s the presence of lead, one of the most common toxic metals.
Raw cocoa is one of the foods known to have the lowest average lead content. Processed cocoa and chocolate products, however, were found to contain alarmingly high levels of lead.
Acute lead poisoning can cause digestive problems like constipation, weight loss and even death. Lead exposure is associated with many adverse health conditions like brain dysfunction and mental retardation in children, neurobehavioral changes in adults (including personality changes and a reduction in cognitive abilities and IQ), hypertension, chronic kidney disease and thinning bones.
Lead contamination is no joke where children are concerned because it can cause irreversible damage. The Centers for Disease Control pegs the maximum level of lead that can be considered “safe” in a child’s body at 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Damaging effects, however, have been seen at lower levels.
While lead poisoning due to consumption of processed chocolate rarely occurs, it doesn’t mean that you should give your child the green light to gobble up those chocolate candy bars to his/her heart’s content (the sugar is bad enough, but that’s another story).
Don’t put your child’s health (and yours) at risk. If you have to give your child chocolate or eat some yourself, choose chocolate products that are from the finest quality natural ingredients and have been made using the least destructive methods.
Dr. Mercola’s new and improved cocoa cassava bars are made using USDA-certified organic ingredients so you can experience the health benefits of chocolate without having to worry about contamination from harmful substances. But the cocoa cassava bar is more than just a great tasting and healthy chocolate bar; it’s a natural energy bar, meal replacement bar and nutritional bar in one convenient snack.
Eating chocolate should be a rich and rewarding gastronomic experience. Healthy chocolate products like the cocoa cassava bar keep it that way. Keep posted because this exciting premium product will soon be available online!
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