UNLEADED PLEASE: WHAT’S LURKING IN YOUR CHOCOLATE

It’s been a couple weeks since Valentine’s Day and we’re all now coming down off of our chocolate highs.  Just in time for Easter!  But before you start heading out to face know that chocolate might not be the only thing you’re eating.chocolate-4

In a recent study done by As You Sow, an independent, nonprofit, watchdog group, says single servings of twenty-six products it tested contain more of the two harmful heavy metals, lead and cadmium, than allowed under California State’s Proposition 65 toxic chemical warning law. The list which can be found here includes many of the big name producers of my favorite chocolates!

“We are getting [lead and cadmium] from multiple sources,” Eleanne Van Vliet, director of toxic chemicals research for As You Sow, said in an interview. “The problem with those toxic heavy metals is they accumulate in the body. It’s terrible for adults, but especially for children.”  Overexposure to lead, of course, can cause all kinds of health problems, including lowering children’s IQ. Cadmium is a carcinogen and can cause kidney and bone damage.

While there is no word from many brands on the list, there is also an “all-clear” list of brands to purchase your chocolate from.  A few of the brands that made the naughty list really shocked me so be sure to check before you buy.

Stay Healthy! 😉

By Healthy Hot Bod

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