Did you know that the CDC just reduced the exposure limit in kids for lead to 5ug/dL? It was 10ug/dL before that. 5ug/dL: that’s only 50ppb (meaning 50 parts of lead within a solution of 1 billion parts other stuff).
We’re talking ITTY BITTY amounts are toxic. It’s been a long time coming. If you watch trends over time, you’ll see that levels have been lowered and lowered and lowered again. No exposure to lead is safe. I would imagine we’ll see this 5ug/dL be lowered yet again.
When Dr. Betsy Redmond at Metametrix “datamined” lab values from kids tested for lead to see how many more would be toxic at this new level, she found 107 kids at the new level, as opposed to 68 kids at the old range.
To quote Cass Nelson Dooley (also a Metametrix technician), “I just want to point out that the new cutoff set by the CDC of 50 ppb (5ug/dL) is only set there because it is the 97.5% cutoff in the NHANES population of kids ages 1-5. However, they admit that no lead amount is safe for children. In other words, even CDC is stating that optimum lead levels in children is 0 ppb.”
Even CDC is stating that optimum lead levels in children is 0 ppb. Wow.
So, consider getting lead levels checked (annually) on yourself and your kids. If you’re high, any good integrative doc can assist with treatment and help you track down exposure sources. Here’s an easy tip: Make sure you’ve got enough essential minerals! Lead can enter the body through the transport mechanisms our essential minerals use. So, we can inhibit absorption of lead by eating mineral-rich foods, like nuts and seeds.
Kara Fitzgerald, ND, received her doctor of naturopathic medicine degree from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. She completed the first Counsel on Naturopathic Medicine-accredited post-doctorate position in nutritional biochemistry and laboratory science at Metametrix Clinical Laboratory under the direction of Richard Lord, PhD. Her residency was completed at Progressive Medical Center, a large, integrative medical practice in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Fitzgerald is the lead author and editor of Case Studies in Integrative and Functional Medicine and is a contributing author to Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)’s Textbook for Functional Medicine. With the Helfgott Research Institute, Dr. Fitzgerald is actively engaged in clinical research on the DNA methylome using a diet and lifestyle intervention developed in her practice. The first publication from the study focuses on reversal of biological aging and was published 04-12-2021 in the journal Aging. She has published a consumer book titled Younger You as well as a companion cookbook, Better Broths and Healing Tonics and has an application-based Younger You Program, based on the study.
Dr. Fitzgerald is on the faculty at IFM, is an IFM Certified Practitioner and lectures globally on functional medicine. She runs a Functional Nutrition Residency program, and maintains a podcast series, New Frontiers in Functional Medicine and an active blog on her website, www.drkarafitzgerald.com. Her clinical practice is in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
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