Using Nutrition to Fight Lead Poisoning
Good Nutrition is not a cure or a prevention for lead exposure, but healthy food can make it harder for lead to enter a child’s body. Lead sources can include deteriorated paint, soil, water from lead pipes or fixtures.
The Importance of Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin-C
Foods with Iron
● Lean red meats, fish, and chicken
● Cereal products: fortified and without added sugar
● Oatmeal Dried fruits (raisins, prunes)
● Beans, seeds and nuts
Calcium reduces lead absorption. Foods with Calcium include:
● Milk, Cheese, Yogurt
● Non Dairy milk which is fortified with iron.
● Green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, and collard greens
Foods with Vitamin C
● Oranges,
● Grapefruits,
● Tomatoes
● Green peppers
Wise shopping Choices
Fresh food is best, frozen is better than canned. Dried is good.
Caution on juices or fruit flavored drinks which may have high levels of sugar.
Check canned or frozen food labels for high levels of salt or sugar.
Packaged and ready to eat meals may contain lead hazards.
Over the past several years prepared or convenience foods have been found to have high levels of lead depending on where the product is grown and processed.
A note about formula
Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and preparing baby formula. Heat up cold water on the stove or in a microwave if hot or warm water is needed.
Use water from a safe source to mix baby formula. Boiling water does not remove lead from water.