• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Your Nutrition and Food Safety Resource.
  • Topics
    • Diet
    • Ingredients
    • Labels
    • Nutrients
    • Production
    • Safety
    • Science
    • Sustainability
    • Sweeteners
  • Research
  • Newsletters
  • About
  • SpanishPortuguese

Expert Perspective on Lead and Children’s Health

By Food Insight
June 15, 2017

expert perspective on food and lead_header_0.jpg
Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Lead has been getting a lot of attention in the media recently. Questions linger about lead’s impact on health and ways in which we get exposed to it. To set the record straight, we spoke to a leading expert on pediatric health and nutrition, Dr. Keith Ayoob, Ed. D., associate clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, to get his perspective. Here’s what Dr. Ayoob had to say:

How do children get exposed to lead? 

Children are at an increased risk because they show signs of elevated exposure (toxicity) sooner than adults do. The scientific evidence today shows that exposure comes from non-food ingestion (paint chips and lead dust.) Long-term exposure in children can result in impaired IQ.

How would I know if anyone in my family has elevated blood levels?

A blood test is the only way to know. Have your family, especially children, tested but remember the vast majority of elevated levels of lead and even lead poisoning comes from paint in homes built before the late 1970’s. I’m concerned that the public, especially parents and caregivers, will focus on food where lead is almost never an issue. The real sources of lead contamination are in homes.

How does lead get into our food?

Lead has always been and will be in our environment. It is common to find varying, albeit low, levels in our food supply in fruits, vegetables, and their juices. FDA continually monitors lead levels through the Total Diet Study and will act accordingly should the levels exceed for certain foods. In my 33 years of working with children with special needs, I have never seen a case of a child with lead poisoning from food.

What can we do to limit exposure?

I always recommend a balanced diet which is protective in many ways beyond reducing exposure to lead. Foods high in nutrients like iron, calcium and vitamin C actually help reduce lead absorption which is yet another reason to include fruit, juice, yogurt and cheese and high iron foods like beef, green vegetables, and beans. In more ways than one, being proactive with your families’ diet can be protective in the long-term.

Safety

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • What is Agave Syrup?
  • Agriculture and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  • What Is the GAPS Diet?
  • New Dietary Guidelines Aim To Make Every Bite Count
  • Winter 2020-2021 Newsletter

Footer

SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES!
Subscribe to get timely email updates, including our monthly Food Insight newsletter and other news.

Sign Up
X
FOLLOW US
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • pinterest
  • medium
  • instagram
  • sound cloud
EMAIL
info@foodinsight.org

© 2021 International Food Information Council. All rights reserved.
ContactPrivacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy