Lead and Cadmium in Chocolate
Should you be more picky with the type of dark chocolate you are eating?
Do we all need to give up chocolate forever? Let’s discuss the 2 toxins in dark chocolate, and how to go about choosing a good brand for your health.
Consumer Reports: Dark Chocolate Testing
In December 2022, Consumer Reports released results of testing on 28 different dark chocolate bars:
- All the bars analyzed were high in lead, cadmium or both
- 23 of the 28 bars had amounts of lead and/or cadmium in a one-ounce serving that would put the average adult over the allowable daily recommended limit for those metals
You can read the full report here.
Before you go crazy and get rid of all your chocolate – and yes chocolate is a sugar, and sugar is a drug – the devil in drugs is not in whether or not you use them, but it how you use them. Drugs, whether for medicinal purposes or performance enhancement, aren’t “bad” if you control the dosage and duration in which you use the drug. It’s the dose of the drug that makes the poison.
How Does Lead and Cadmium Get Into Chocolate?
One of the reasons the soil in which we grow food is so important is because it can alter the food we eat – i.e cocoa plants suck up cadium through the soil, and lead contaminates chocolate after harvesting. As cocoa beans are dried and fermented in the sun they accumulate lead from dirt and dust. Oh by the way lead contamination also occurs during processing, manufacturing and shipping.
Talk about a deal breaker!
It has been found that apparently the shell and the nibs can contain more.
Organic Chocolate?
In this study of a Greek market, it was found that the organic products had lower cadmium and lead levels than the conventional. Considering the overall benefit of organics, and the reduced exposure to pesticides, I’d choose organic chocolate when possible.
The Health Benefits of Chocolate
Chocolate is my favorite candy, the darker the better! It is rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds. No wonder woman opt in for dark chocolate when they’re feeling down, there is a phytochemical in cocoa called phenylethylamine (PEA) that is the same substance your brain makes when you are in love…
Should We Stop Eating Chocolate?
Technically this world is already saturated in chemicals nearly everywhere, and I don’t see how eliminating dark chocolate will create a ginormous change in blood work. Unless you are heavily eating dark chocolate everyday, which I presume you aren’t, there is no need to eliminate dark chocolate.
Tips for Chocolate Consumption
1. Choose organic
2. Look for safer sources of chocolate. Consumer Reports has a list of the safest brands of all the ones they tested.
3. Don’t over consume chocolate
An ounce of chocolate isn’t going to ruin your health just like eating a nutrient rich diet, exercising 2 hrs/day, and getting enough sleep isn’t all going to magically change you over night. It’s the habits you practice every day that makes the difference.
Be well,
Yelena
