Taking the lead against lead
It's been more than a decade since Flint, Michigan's battle to get "the powers that be" to acknowledge lead contamination in their water supply, but we still hear alarms about risks across the nation. A 2023 Environmental Protection Agency report says half of the 9.2 million pipes that contain lead in this country are found in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and New York. And flaking lead-based paint (from old paint jobs) on window sills and doors is also a common source of contamination.
Then, there were the headlines last fall about more than 500 children getting lead poisoning from cinnamon in apple puree pouches and there's the recent Consumer Reports finding that 12 brands of cinnamon contain dangerous levels of the metal.
In kids, lead can lower IQ, cause behavior problems, slow development and compromise speech and hearing. In adults, it damages internal organs and the reproductive system and leads to high blood pressure, digestive problems, mood disorders and memory loss.
So, what can you do to protect yourself and your children from lead exposure?
-- At home, get lead checked in window casings and sills and around doors. Most municipalities do this for free.
-- Use a water filter certified by NSF, the Water Quality Association (WQA), or another certifying agency. They need to meet Standard 53, for lead. There are under-the-sink filters and ones that attach to faucets or are in pitchers that meet the standards.
-- Follow product recalls at recalls.gov, to hear about lead alerts.
-- Check out "Eliminate Heavy Metals from Your Body" at iHerb.com/blog for more ideas.
Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).
(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2024 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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