By- Christina Sandra Singh
A recent study conducted by Tulane University, USA, found that many brands of soda, fruit juices, and plant-based milk at your U.S. grocery stores may be packed with high concentrations of toxic metals. The research study revealed that toxic metals such as arsenic and cadmium were present at varying levels in 60 different store-bought beverage categories that were tested. These beverages included a variety of fruit juices (single and mixed), teas, sodas, and plant-based milks that can be easily found in regular grocery stores. Category-wise, mixed-fruit juices and plant-based milks contained higher concentrations of toxic metals than the other drinks.
Among these beverage categories, five of them were found to have levels of toxic metals above EPA and WHO standards for drinking water. The researchers have not yet revealed the brands, but these five beverages included two mixed juices, a cranberry juice, a mixed carrot and fruit juice, and an oat milk. The researchers who conducted the study warn parents to limit their children’s consumption of such soft drinks to avoid serious health-related problems due to the elevated levels of heavy metals present in these beverages, which can disrupt their brain and development.
These beverages were tested to detect levels of 25 different toxic metals and trace elements. As a result of the tests, seven of these metals were found to be present in the beverages at higher levels than deemed fit for health, especially selenium, strontium, arsenic, boron, magnesium, and cadmium. Even though lead was detected in more than 93% of the total samples, its level was below 1 ppb in most of them. Only lime sports had the highest level of lead—6.3 micrograms per kilogramme, which is still below the federal drinking water standards.
According to the research team, this research raises more serious concerns, which can lead to further study in this area.
What negative health effects are caused to consumers by higher consumption of these soft drinks?
The lead researcher, Tewodros Godebo, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Tulane University, further suggested that adults consume these beverages in lesser quantities than water, which may cause lower health risks for them. However, if children/infants drink high volumes of these beverages daily, this may result in serious adverse health-issues. Therefore, parents should be aware and cautious about what drinks they are allowing or offering their children to drink. Parents, moreover, should keep a close eye on the drinking habits of their younger ones and avoid giving infants and young kids mixed-fruit juices or plant-based milk beverages at high volumes.
These toxic metals, such as arsenic, lead, and cadmium, can give rise to various detrimental health conditions like internal bleeding and organ damage, cancer, cognitive harm in children, and other defects, as they are carcinogenic by nature. Even though these metals are naturally present in our environment, it’s still risky for consumers to drink them repeatedly and in large quantities.