Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute

Improving Community Health Outcomes

Who We Are

What We Believe

Our Mission Statement

Contact Us

Membership

Join Us

Supporters

Our Board of Directors

Executive Director

Friends

Toxic Ingredients

Food Color FAQs

CA Senate Bill 651

Pesticides

High Fructose Corn Syrup

FIHRI News

Publications

Presentations

Press Release 2018

Clinical Trials, Projects

Fort Peck Clinical Trial

Parent Diet Tutorial

HI Bee Rescue Tutorial

Hawai'i Island Projects

Healthy Diet Tutorial

Syllabus

Module One

Module Two

Module Three

Module Four

Module Five

Module Six

Module Seven

Module Eight

Reference List from Book

GMO

Teen Diet Tutorial

Teacher/Parent Resources

Our Western Diet

Pesticides and Disease

Heavy Metals in Food

Reasons for Hope

Feedback Please!

Ingredients That Add Heavy Metals to Your Body
During this module of instruction, you will learn to identify the most common food ingredients that contain allowable heavy metals such as lead, mercury or arsenic. The more you eat these ingredients, the more likely you are to suffer from the toxic effects of heavy metal exposures.

Scientists have determined that the level of heavy metals in your bloodstream match the level of heavy metals in the foods you eat.

Some people have higher levels of heavy metals in their blood and these metals may impact their behavior or health. Children with autism or ADHD commonly have higher heavy metal levels in their blood and can improve their behavior if they avoid eating foods with these ingredients. People with Type-2 diabetes have higher inorganic mercury levels in their blood and can reverse their diabetes by NOT eating processed foods and instead adopting a healthy diet of whole foods.

Learning Objectives

Teens will

1. Recognize the food ingredients that contain allowable heavy metals.

2. Describe how heavy metals may be introduced to food ingredients (e.g. vegetable oils, corn sweeteners, food colors).

3. Explain how exposure to certain heavy metals may lead to changes in zinc status.

4. Become familiar with recipes for preparing zinc rich meals.

5. Prepare a zinc rich meal.

Activities

1. Read Chapter 4 of your Unsafe At Any Meal book.

2. Using all of the tables in Chapter 4, survey your kitchen cupboards and refrigerator to find and write a list of the food products that may contain ingredients with at least one heavy metal. You will need to read the ingredient label on each food product you see.  For example, the food ingredient label below contains two ingredients with allowable or known heavy metal concentrations:

INGREDIENTS: Premium brewed green tea, high fructose corn syrup, honey, citric acid, natural flavors, ginseng extract, vit C.

3. Do a keyword search on the Internet to find foods high in zinc.  Make a list. Find or create a recipe that incorporates two or more of the food ingredients on your list. Share the recipe with your mom or dad and ask them for help in buying the ingredients. Once you have the ingredients, follow the recipe, prepare and eat the meal with your family.

4. Answer the discussion questions below and talk about them with your friend or study group.

Discussion Questions

1. What evidence is there to suggest that consumption of highly processed food contributes to your heavy metal exposure? (Hint: Did the book discuss any human studies that have been conducted to determine the harm certain ingredients cause?)

2. How does heavy metal exposure impact MT gene function and your body's zinc status? From your survey findings, which food ingredients can you eliminate from your diet to improve your zinc status?

3. Share with your friend or study group the recipe you followed when you prepared your zinc rich meal. Which ingredients were high in zinc? How did the meal turn out?

Click on the link below to visit the Reasons for Hope page of this tutorial.

[Reasons for Hope]




Copyright May 2021 by Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, PO Box 1055, Naalehu, HI, 96772
Email questions or concerns to Renee Dufault at rdufault@foodingredient.info