What is it About Chocolate?
As I write this blog, I’m enjoying a cup of NUMI chocolate pu-erh tea.
While the tea doesn’t taste very chocolatey, it’s delicious and cozy. What’s not to love about something chocolate?
I adore chocolate and eat it often.
Maybe you’re a chocolate lover, too, but feel like it’s one more food to worry about now that you’ve been diagnosed with ER+/PR+ breast cancer,
In honor of all things chocolate, and the celebration of that chocolate-focused holiday coming up February 14th, I’m addressing a topic striking terror in the hearts of chocolate lovers everywhere.
A week or so before Christmas 2022, a previous client sent me an article about the presence of cadmium and lead in chocolate. Understandably, she was freaked out. She said, “I eat chocolate every day!”
Not long after that, my sister-in-law sent the same article, and this week a current client shared that she’d read it and wondered if it was misinformation.
It’s not.
According to a December 2022 Consumer Reports article, lead and cadmium – two dangerous heavy metals – were found in a number of popular chocolate brands.
As with all articles and headlines about food danger, it makes sense to get a little perspective and context.
Let’s first look at these heavy metals, so you have a better understanding of why they’re considered dangerous.
CADMIUM
Per the World Health Organization, “Cadmium exerts toxic effects on the kidney, the skeletal system and the respiratory system and is classified as a human carcinogen. It is generally present in the environment at low levels; however, human activity has greatly increased levels in environmental media relevant to population exposure. . .human exposure occurs mainly from consumption of contaminated food, active and passive inhalation of tobacco smoke, and inhalation by workers in a range of industries.”
How does cadmium “get into” chocolate? Cadmium in cocoa beans naturally comes from the soil and is directly transported to the beans by the cocoa tree. (1)
LEAD
Per the World Health Organization, “Lead is a toxic metal whose widespread use has caused extensive environmental contamination and health problems in many parts of the world. It is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems, including the neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal systems. Children are particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of lead, and even relatively low levels of exposure can cause serious and in some cases irreversible neurological damage.”
How does lead “get into” chocolate? Researchers conclude that while cocoa bean shells may be one source of lead, most contamination occurs during shipping or processing of the beans and in manufacturing. Further research on those stages of the process will help to isolate the source. (2)
Protective Dietary Strategies
While heavy metal toxicity is one of the oldest environmental problems and remains a serious health concern today, research suggests there is evidence for the protective effects of essential metals, vitamins, edible plants, phytochemicals, probiotics and other dietary supplements. (3)
Further research is necessary, and appropriate and optimal dosages haven’t been identified, yet this is more incentive to include plenty of fruits and vegetables (especially tomatoes, berries, grapes, onions and garlic) and calcium and iron-rich foods in your diet to help prevent absorption of some of the lead and cadmium that exists in a variety of foods.
What to Do?
There’s no need to avoid chocolate, but there are a few chocolate eating strategies you can employ so that you feel comfortable enjoying this delicious treat!
First, it’s important to recognize that there are safe dose levels set for both lead and cadmium.
The Consumer Reports findings are a result of using California’s maximum allowable dose levels (MADL) as reference.
These are limitations set by Proposition 65, and are some of the most protective in the country. These levels are set to be “very conservative” to account for people with higher risk due to their age or medical conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers more flexible recommendations.
5 Tips to Safely Enjoy Chocolate
- Check the Consumer Reports article rankings for the brands you eat most often. If you don’t find your brand listed, try this more extensive listing. Choose brands with the lowest levels of heavy metals.
- Eat chocolate as a treat. An ounce of dark chocolate won’t cause harm, so enjoying a serving (check the package) of a brand low in heavy metals a few times each week is fine.
- If choosing a chocolate that Consumer Reports didn’t test, the recommendation is to go with a lower percentage of cocoa. For example, 70% vs 80%. Testing suggests that cadmium levels tend to increase with the percentage of cocoa.
- Don’t assume organic chocolates are “safer”. Reports suggest they are just as likely to have concerning levels of heavy metals.
- Eat a well-rounded diet that includes protective nutrients like calcium, iron, selenium, vitamin C, and zinc to potentially help decrease absorption of and offer some protection against heavy metals.
Thanks for reading my blog post!
Most women diagnosed with hormone-positive breast cancer get anxious when they think about what to eat, so I’ve created the Peaceful Plate program to help women eat with peace, not panic.
When you eat with peace, you feel free to enjoy your food again.
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This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your dietitian or doctor for guidance specific to your needs.