Most hunters may not be aware of the health risks associated with eating meat from animals shot with lead ammunition.
In lectures I am often asked whether microwaves are safe. Not if you drop them on your foot! But otherwise, what you put in it matters – sweet potatoes and broccoli or hot bags and pop tarts? Likewise, when I examined the safety of hot sauces in my video Flashback Friday: lead contamination in hot saucesGiven their potential for lead contamination, I had a similar reaction: It matters what you put them on.
When I think of toxic pollutants, the first thing I think of is the aquatic food chain. For example, we know that give People who only get a 7-ounce serving of a mercury-rich fish like tuna or swordfish once a week, which equates to about one and a half cans of tuna per week, can quadruple blood mercury levels in a matter of months. What about lead?
A dietary intervention with not one but five servings per week is evident elevated Blood levels of toxic metals, including lead. Although “background lead intake was already worryingly high”, seafood intake “increased lead intake by about 25%”. From a public health perspective, it is important to recognize that the number of seafood researchers used in the study “far exceeds”[ed] accommodating most of the populations. “
Lead can too bioaccumulate in other animals, but half of our dietary lead exposure probably comes from plant foods. Animals that have been shot at with lead ammunition can, however, represent a special case. I explore that in my video Lead contamination in fish and game.
We know lead is toxic and forbidden from most household items in developed countries – with the exception of lead ammunition, which “is now probably the largest, largely unregulated source of lead knowingly released into the US environment”. However, it is not only released into the environment. It is also released into the meat itself. “People in general reject the idea of injecting poisonous substances into the food, unless it is about hunting game. “
Eighty percent of the venison was made found Contain lead, which is not surprising given the hundreds of metal fragments that end up in deer carcasses after being shot with standard lead bullets – “an impossible number of fragments to pick out by hand, especially since some of those fragments are microscopic.”
As you can see in mine at 2:23 Video, X-ray researchers have shown that lead core projectiles typically expand during penetration publication Hundreds or thousands of fragments – or even millions or tens of millions of microscopic lead particles per gram, so a serving could contain a billion particles, even though they’re nanoparticles, extremely tiny, about the size of a virus.
The only good lead, however, is no trace. Even very low levels of lead can Result for brain and nerve damage, but most hunters may not deliberately Health risks related to the consumption of meat from animals killed with lead ammunition.
Children can be at risk to lose IQ points that could to reduce their future prospects. “When I explain the risk of exposure to lead to hunters, especially when I consider their children,” writes one doctor, “their answer is often: ‘I’ve been hunting for years and I’m fine. My answer to that is, “But just imagine how smart you could have been.”
Bone broth is another topic I cover in Lead contamination in bone broth.
I took a deep dive into Lead recently if you’re interested in a full overview:
- How the leading paint industry got away with it
- Lead in drinking water
- How the leaded gas industry got away with it
- “Normal” lead levels in the blood can be toxic
- The Effects of Low Lead Exposure in Adults
- How to lower lead levels with diet: thiamine, fiber, iron, fat, fasting?
- How can you reduce lead levels with your diet: breakfast, whole grains, milk, tofu?
- Best foods for lead poisoning: chlorella, coriander, tomatoes, moringa?
- Best food for lead poisoning: garlic
- Can Vitamin C Help With Lead Poisoning?
- Yellow Bell Pepper For Male Infertility And Lead Poisoning?
- Given the lead contamination, is lipstick safe?
- Flashback Friday: Can saunas detoxify lead from the body?
- How much lead is there in organic chicken soup (bone broth)?
- Lead in calcium supplements
- Should pregnant women take calcium supplements to lower lead levels?
- The rise in blood lead levels during pregnancy and menopause
- Some Ayurvedic medications are worse than lead paint exposure
- Are aluminum pots, bottles and foil safe?
- How to lower heavy metal levels with diet
- Heavy metal urine testing and chelation in autism
- Lead contamination of tea
- Filled with lead
- Get the lead out
In health,
Michael Greger, MD
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