Your best defense against lead in your food, according to a toxicologist

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN

(CNN) — Lead shouldn’t be in your food, right?

Exposure to the substance has been linked to a wide range of health impacts, including developmental problems, nervous system damage and hearing problems in children; and high blood pressure, joint pain and reproductive problems in adults.

At the same time, reports continue to document high levels of lead in food products such as applesauce, cinnamon powder, protein powder and chocolate. This year, the US Food and Drug Administration established new guidance on limits of lead content in baby food.

It makes sense to ask: Why would there be lead in your diet at all?

How lead gets into food

Lead is a naturally occurring metal found in our planet, and it has been used in products such as gasoline, paint, plumbing, cosmetics, ceramics and batteries, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.

Often, lead in food comes from the soil. “The most common reason is because lead, like other metals and heavy metals, is a naturally occurring part of the earth and the Earth’s crust,” said Dr. Joseph Zagorski, a toxicologist and assistant professor at Michigan State University’s Center for Research on Ingredient Safety.

Some plants are more prone to absorbing the lead in the soil and storing them in their own tissue, he added. If crops are grown in areas with higher levels of lead in the environment, they may contain more of the metal.

But not all the lead sources in the environment are natural, Zagorski said. Human activities such as smelting frequently lead to lead contamination, and there have been pesticides that contained lead, he added.

Use of leaded gasoline can also lead to contamination of plants through the air, said Dr. Tasha Stoiber, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group. Lead has been phased out of gasoline for cars, but is still used in some fuel types.

Contamination also can occur through someone adding lead to food, as appeared to be the case in 2023 with some applesauce pouches. But that is not usually the case.

Closer to zero

Because the heavy metal is found in the environment, people are unlikely to reach a point of zero lead exposure in our food or anywhere. However, lead –– even in small doses –– can have health impacts, Stoiber said.

For children, the concern is particularly great because their smaller bodies and metabolisms put them at a greater vulnerability for harms caused by exposure, according to the FDA.

The federal agency has been working to reduce dietary exposure to contaminants for children to as close to zero as possible. And no safe level of exposure to lead has been identified, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, the FDA does use a benchmark of 2.2 micrograms per day of dietary lead exposure for children and 8.8 micrograms per day for women of childbearing age. Experts use those numbers to evaluate when an exposure is potentially a concern and a product needs to be alerted.

Your best defense against lead

The guidelines on dietary lead exposure are hard to translate into practical use at home, and you likely won’t know exactly how much is in the food you are eating, Stoiber said.

She recommends looking into brands that regularly test their food products for lead levels. And your best defense against lead –– and any other toxin –– is a diverse, nutritionally dense diet, Zagorski said.

Eating a variety of foods can help in two ways. First, it reduces the likelihood that you are eating too much of one food that may be more likely to contain lead.

For example, earlier this year a report found lead in protein powders. Occasional use of those protein powders isn’t as concerning as a person making protein shakes three times a day.

“Protein powder is intended to be a supplement and not a diet,” Zagorski said.

Second, a nutrient-dense and varied diet also can help with your body’s natural defenses against unwanted elements, he added. Your body prefers absorbing iron over lead — so if you have enough iron in your diet, your digestive system is more likely to let the lead pass through, he said.

“The dose makes the poison,” Zagorski said. “Your body is very good at taking care of itself and getting rid of toxins, so (make) sure that we are giving it the tools it needs and not overconsuming one thing.”

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