7 Surprising Ways Heavy Metals Get into Your Body

Exposure to heavy metals is an unfortunate fact of life. The comforting thing is that it takes years for heavy metals to make you sick. If you reduce your exposure today, chances are they won’t adversely affect your health.

Arsenic, iron, mercury, copper and lead are some of the heavy metals you may be exposed to. Luckily, some of these metals can actually improve your health. For instance, moderate amounts of iron and copper keep you healthy. On the other hand, exposure to high amounts of mercury, arsenic and lead can ruin your health.

HOW HEAVY METALS GETS INTO YOUR BODY

Here are some surprising ways heavy metals get into your body.

1. Bone Broth

While bone broth is great for boosting collagen levels, it may contain heavy metals. It turns out that animals store toxins like lead in their bones. This study, for example, found that organic chicken bone broth had high concentrations of lead.

Next time you’re looking for a collagen boost, try these plant-based alternatives to bone broth. 

2. Tap Water

Limiting your intake of unfiltered tap water can help reduce exposure to heavy metals. Despite being banned, lead pipes are still common in many parts of the world. In fact, reports show that drinking water in thousands of U.S. communities contains lead residue.

Now, you don’t have to buy bottled water, which might actually just be tap water and is an environmental nightmare. There are affordable water filters designed to remove lead.

3. Fish and Shellfish

Fish that have been bred in contaminated water usually have toxins in their bodies. Many people are aware of the fact that some fish contain mercury, for example. Some kinds of fish actually contain more mercury than others do. They include tuna, shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin and tilefish.

4. Silver Dental Fillings

Did you know that silver fillings contain mercury? Now, that wouldn’t be a problem if they stayed intact. Unfortunately, they break down with time, and you end up swallowing the particles.

5. Pesticide Residue

Some pesticides contain mercury, lead, and arsenic. You may need to buy organic food, especially when it comes to the dirty dozen.

Note that cooking doesn’t help remove heavy metals

6. The Air You Breathe

You have high exposure to heavy metals if you live in a city or next to factories. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about this.

7. Cigarettes

If smokers inhaled all the heavy metals in cigarettes, their health would deteriorate very quickly. Luckily, about 80 percent of the heavy metals in cigarettes are trapped in the butt and ash, according to research. The smoke carries the remaining 20 percent, which still means frequent exposure to heavy metals.

The heavy metals in cigarettes affect even the non-smokers. This study found that secondhand smoke increased heavy metals in children.