How to Avoid Heavy Metals

Some heavy metals have a biological half-life of 16-30 years, meaning they can linger in the body for decades.

At high levels, they’re linked to cancer, heart disease, kidney damage… and many more bad things.

It’s easy to mistake the effects for normal aging: weaker bones, hearing loss, silent heart injury, higher stroke and diabetes risk.

The problem is, some foods and supplements contain dangerous levels of heavy metals. And many companies skip testing or don’t tell you what’s in their products.

In this blog post:

• what are heavy metals
• why they’re bad news
• how to avoid them

What are heavy metals?

Heavy metals are naturally occurring metallic elements.

At low concentrations, some heavy metals (like zinc, iron, copper, and manganese) are essential for human health. At higher concentrations… they’re toxic.

Other heavy metals (like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury) have no biological role and can also be toxic.

You can find heavy metals in:

• tap water
• foods, like fish, meat, dairy, cereals, and chocolate
• supplements, like creatine, fish oil, and protein powders
• tobacco smoke

Dangers of heavy metals

Once inside your body, heavy metals can build up and interfere with antioxidant defenses and cellular processes. Harmful metals can also displace helpful metals, like calcium. This can cause damage to fats, proteins, and DNA.

Heavy metal exposure is linked to:

• lower sperm count
• diabetes
• neurological damage
• cardiovascular disease
• many types of cancer, including skin, bladder, kidney, thyroid, stomach, and lung cancer

How to avoid heavy metals

1. Check your tap water

Tips:

• find out if you have a lead service line: This is the pipe running from the water main to your home. Contact your water utility or a licensed plumber to find out if it’s made of lead. Take extra precautions if it is, like using a filter certified to remove lead.
• get your water tested for heavy metals: Internal plumbing and faucets can also contain lead. Know what you’re working with and whether you need to replace faucets or upgrade filters.
• use a water filter or reverse osmosis system: Even if a filter can’t remove all heavy metals, it can help reduce your overall exposure.
• flush pipes before drinking: If you do not have a lead service line, flush for 30-45 seconds, or 1 min if you have old galvanized iron pipes. If you do have a lead service line, flush for 3-5 min. You can shower or do laundry to flush the service line. Then flush internal faucets for 30-45 seconds. Flush and fill up a container to store in the fridge to drink from throughout the day.

2. Check your food and supplements

Tips:

• if you eat fish, go for salmon, trout, and cod, which contain less mercury than tuna.
• rinse rice before cooking and drain after cooking to reduce arsenic. Rotate with other grains, like oats, quinoa, and barley.
• look for foods and supplements that have been third-party tested for heavy metals. Not all brands do this.

Final thoughts on heavy metals

When we learned how dirty the mainstream food supply was, we started sourcing and testing our own foods. That’s how Blueprint was born.

In the last year alone, we spent over $600,000 testing our ingredients.

Whether you’re buying from us or someone else, check for a third-party certificate of analysis (CoA) to know what you’re putting into your body. What gets in can stick around for decades.