For those new to this website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February 2023 (March 2023 print edition).
Originally published: March 28, 2017
Updated: November 17, 2023
Please note – this list has changed over time and we always re-evaluate certain foods when we learn more information about any certain food.
Tamara, which foods do you feed your family? What do you eat?
How do you avoid Lead in food?
People are ALWAYS asking me what foods we eat and what foods we avoid for our family! I’m going to make this short for now and add to this list as things come up in conversations! Bear in mind that — as with eye color — we have the full spectrum of variations in our little family: Two vegans, two “mostly vegetarians,” one “rabid carnivore,” one “goat” (who will eat nearly anything)!
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Basic principles:
- We eat all organic and
- as a family we avoid most animal products (although our youngest loves meat and dairy — much to his vegan father’s consternation)!
- For eggs (when we get them) we try to go with organic, free-range, pasture-raised (yadda yadda) because chickens confined to traditional (or even the majority of so-called “cage-free”) high-density factory or commercial barn structures have a higher tendency to encounter and eat Lead paint chips, even if they are raised “organic!”
Things we try to avoid entirely:
This is our “Never“ or “Almost Never“ list. Some items are on this list because they are well-documented to be high in Lead, others are because they are naturally high in calcium and Lead bio-mimics calcium, readily absorbed and concentrated via the same natural mechanisms in the plants listed here. Some are on this list because — for other reasons (not necessarily Lead) — we have found them to be unhealthy and not optimal for our family:
- Spinach: I will rarely have spinach when going out to a restaurant, but never feed it to my children. Spinach is high in calcium and if it is grown in soil where there is any trace of Lead it may take up unsafe levels of Lead because Lead bio-mimics calcium in biological structures.
- Himalayan pink salt: This has been shown to have high levels of Lead by independent third party testing. To read more about the concerns for various types of salt, click here.
- Most multi-vitamins: We have not yet found any brands consistently demonstrated to be Lead-free by independent third party testing. This includes specifically avoiding calcium supplements for our children. To read more about my concerns for vitamins and supplements, click here.
- Sunflower seeds: Sunflower seeds have the same issue as spinach. In fact, Sunflowers have been used in phytoremediation experiments working to study the efficacy of intentionally using plants to remove Lead from soil. I will very rarely have sunflower seeds and don’t feed them to my children. We avoid sunflower seed butter (it can be heavily contaminated, even if organic) and instead stick with almonds, cashews, peanuts, and other tree nuts!
- Bone broth (not hard to avoid because we keep a vegetarian home). To read more about the concern for Lead in bone broth, click here.
- Most oils: Particularly seed oils (because of the potential for them to concentrate Lead), but also olive oil especially if it is exposed to high-heat during cooking (due to potential carcinogenic properties). Unheated high-quality olive or coconut oil used sparingly are our go-to exceptions. I also love avocado oil, but it is very hard to find organic avocado oil.
- Peanut butter in plastic jars: You can read more about that concern here.
Things we limit our consumption of:
- Chocolate: If you have seen my film you know that chocolate is one of the most Lead-contaminated foods available. Because it is difficult to find Lead-free sources of chocolate, we try to buy single ingredient, USA-processed cocoa paste, cocoa nibs, or cocoa powder and make our own chocolate treats.
- Bread and flour products: We limit flour products (not just wheat flour, but all flour) because our kiddos’ digestion is messed up from being Lead-poisoned and too much bread has sent Avi to the hospital many times in the past! I have speculated that when he eats flour products, his body does not know how to respond to this “pre-processed” food and his gut just seems to shut down and not bother trying to digest anything. As Avi does love bread products (and he is now almost 16 years old and is doing a good job at self-regulating what he eats), we have a strict rule that a serving of bread must be sandwiched between two servings of either fresh raw fruit or fresh raw veggies. For example, if he has an apple, then a bagel, and then that is then followed by a couple of carrots, he does not tend to have the G.I. issues otherwise associated with flour consumption.
- Refined sweeteners: When absolutely needed for some deserts, we use high quality raw organic coconut sugar or sometimes minimally processed organic agave — used sparingly — as our preferred choices. My family owns a honey farm so we sometimes also use honey. Until recently, we would also use maple syrup — however, in October of 2020 I did a deep dive into the concerns for Lead in maple syrup and specifically learned about the allowable levels of Lead in organic maple syrup and have decided to no longer purchase that for my family. You can read more about the concern for Lead in organic maple syrup at this link.
Here’s a good graph you might want to check out, from our neighbors to the north!
Click to see the full graph and search for your favorite foods alongside their Lead content!
If you would like to support our advocacy work so Lead Safe Mama, LLC can keep publishing, sharing consumer goods testing results, please check out this link, as well as this one. Thank you
Things we eat on a regular basis (most or all organic), AKA, our “Yes” list!:
- Organic garlic! Fresh, pickled, powdered, granules, roasted, raw — all the ways. Garlic has been shown (in scientific studies) to remove Lead from tissues in biological organisms (animals and humans) — so we try to get as much garlic into our diets as we can. The kids love it, actually. Here’s an article I wrote with more information about garlic and links to the relevant studies.
- Organic berries! Fresh, local, seasonal, organic raspberries, blackberries, marionberries, mulberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc. We started growing our own organic raspberries and blackberries so we can pick them in the summer, right from our yard — yum! We probably spend three or four times more on berries than the average American family because they are such an important staple of a healthy (vegan/ vegetarian) diet for so many reasons.
- Organic cucumbers! The kids love them sliced with organic red wine vinegar and dill. Charlie likes them whole, too — they are one of his favorite “go-to” snacks. We avoid balsamic vinegar because it is notoriously high in Lead.
- Organic avocados! Usually, organic red wine vinegar fills up the spot where the pit used to be, as a favorite of the kids (although I have recently converted the whole family to being fans of Avocado toast — with lots of garlic and very thinly sliced bread)!
- Organic GREENS! Romaine lettuce, collards, kale, and especially lacinato (“dinosaur”) kale are favorites (usually raw as a snack or lightly steamed with a sprinkling of homemade organic lemon-tahini sauce)! While greens can be contaminated with Lead, the key to greens consumption is: fresh, well-washed and eaten in a VARIETY (not just eating one type from one source every day).
- Organic cherry tomatoes! Any type of tomatoes actually — Charlie loves tomatoes sprinkled with Icelandic sea salt!
- Organic celery sticks! Sometimes with peanut butter (with raisins sometimes too, but we limit raisins because — as they are a dried fruit — they can have unsafe levels of Lead), sometimes with salt, sometimes with umeboshi paste!
- Organic fresh, local corn on the cob! Also with umeboshi paste instead of butter!
- Homemade bean salads. Organic kidney beans, garbanzo beans and red wine vinegar is a favorite of our kids!
- Homemade bean soups and stews! Beans soaked overnight, soak water discarded, pressure-cooked (cooked in our Instant pot these days).
- Organic olives: Preferably packaged in glass.
- Organic peanut butter: Always packaged in glass, never packaged in plastic (read more about that here).
- Organic barley, oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth and other whole grains: (Soaked overnight, soak water discarded, then pressure-cooked).
- Organic potatoes: Little purple Peruvians, yams, and sweet potatoes (well-washed and peeled) — they’re yummy and so much healthier! (We limit our consumption of these even with washing and peeling. We also try to buy smaller potatoes whenever possible.)
- Organic snap peas: Our kids love these and gobble up whole bags of them … raw.
- Organic oranges, clementines, mandarins, and other tasty little orange fruits!
- Organic kiwi fruit! (The kids would eat a dozen of these every day if they could!)
- Organic Washington State apples. (We love Fuji and Honeycrisp when they are in season!)
- Bubbie’s pickles (or Portand’s own MoonBrine)!
- Organic soymilk (Our kids’ favorite is Westsoy Organic, unsweetened plain).
- Nori seaweed! (Our kids LOVE both home-made sushi and also snacking on plain nori!) And yes, we do have concerns about heavy metals and radiation so we limit consumption and make sure kids drink lots of water, too.
- Sea palm fronds! (another favorite snacking seaweed!)
- Organic, dairy-free, sugar-free chips (though we rotate brands and flavors — always organic with no added sugar, preservatives, or artificial ingredients).
- Organic pasta: As with all flour products, we try to have this very rarely, but with lots of boys, it is hard to avoid! *See flour products above. The thing about pasta is that, because it needs to be cooked/ prepared, the boys are less likely to “perpetually self-feed” (as they might with bread — lol!).
- “Real” bagels: From time to time, but we have a pretty high bar on this and my kids despise BSOs often sold at grocery stores (bagel-shaped objects!). We have a bagel shop around the corner from our house and typically buy fresh bagels 2 or 3 times a month (for breakfast on a Saturday most often)!
- Organic nuts! Organic pistachios, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts. (Trader Joe’s has a good organic nut selection.)
- Edwards & Sons’ instant miso soup (comes in convenient dry packets — just add boiling water, and sometimes a little extra tofu)!
- Organic dried various fruit and veggies (we have a food dehydrator and this saves a TON when we dehydrate tasty delights — especially things like fresh winter Shitake Mushrooms, summer fruits, and berries — for year-round availability and economy)! We significantly limit store-bought, packaged dried fruits and veggies as they are more likely to be contaminated with Lead (from processing, packaging, etc.)
- Coconut Bliss ice cream (Len and the kids like this, but I hate the stuff)!
As always, thank you for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them personally, as soon as I have a moment.
Sincerely,
Tamara Rubin
Owner — Lead Safe Mama, LLC
Mother of four sons
Mother of Lead-poisoned children
What are your thoughts on specifically grapeseed oil?
I don’t have experience with grapeseed oil, it’s not something I have used in my home. Did you check the chart here Suzanne? Perhaps there is something similar from the Canada food studies? I know the study linked here is just from 2007 and I understand they have done additional studies in subsequent years. Sorry to not have a better answer for you. What do you use grapeseed oil for?
We use it in place of olive oil. We love it! The only thing I think I saw was grapes but I’ll have to look again. https://image.slidesharecdn.com/grapeseedoilfactsheet-121101010416-phpapp02/95/wildtree-grapeseed-oil-fact-sheet-1-638.jpg?cb=1351731893
I have been reading that carrots and sweet potatoes are some of the most lead contained foods. What is your knowledge on these two veggies? I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for posting very informative and interesting information!
Is organic corn flour and organic sprouted spelt flour safe options? I want to mske my own bread, chips and pizza dough. Thank you for your help and all your hard work!
Do you avoid Swiss chard as well? Is it too similar to spinach WRT lead? I didn’t see it on the list.
I wouldn’t say we avoid it, but it is not something we eat. 🙂
Have you done any testing on elderberries/elderberry syrup?
I never imagined that unprocessed fruits and vegetables or meat contain lead. I am specially surprised about spinach. I always thought it was a healthy green vegetable to feed to my children. Does it matter if the spinach is organic?
Thanks Tamara for the valuable wealth of information you provide in your entire website!!!
Would it be safe to consume greens, even spinach or any other leafy green, if grown in fabric/plastic pots with home-made compost, “organic” soil, rock dust, little Dr. Earth’s fertilizer, little fish liquid fertilizer?
Thanks,
Lili
I think if you are growing it yourself in known lead-free soil / pots, etc. then that is a great alternative!
Thank You Tamara for all you do and for answering so many questions, you are helping people and shining light with such strength and your intentions are undisputable the best!!!
I found this article about some store bagged soils
http://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-realist7-2009nov07-story.html
This about fabric pots
https://www.kisorganics.com/blogs/news/fabric-pots#temp_created_link
🙁 Growing food made us feel independent and safer, but it is so sad that we have to worry even about this stuff
What sort of salt do you recommend using?
Hi Diana,
Sea salt (not mined salt.)
T
sea salt contains microplatic
How about root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoe, radish?
Love those – but wash well and always peel (unless you know soil is lead-free.)
T
Thanks! I heard that root vegetables can absorb lead in the soil? Not sure if that’s true… also have you tested the green tinted glass bottles that avocado oil is stored/sold in?
What kind of food dehydrator do you have?
Oh that’s a good question Lorinda!
I hate the darn thing because it takes up so much counter space – I am not sure what we did with it (I may have given it away to a friend.) If it is still lurking somewhere in the house I will find it and create a post about it. Thank you for commenting!
Tamara
What are your thoughts on chia seeds?
Following
What kind of pressure cooker do you use?
Hi Jing,
https://tamararubin.com/2018/08/asktamara-does-your-instant-pot-have-lead-xrf-test-results-for-a-6-quart-instant-pot-purchased-in-july-2018-from-amazon/
Tamara
I’m surprised that you list most oils as being high in lead. I understand that when you heat them to a high temperature, they become carcinogenic (different oils have different smoke points) and become trans fats, and they can become rancid after a while, but lead? Does sunflower oil contain lead? Does refined sunflower oil have less lead than the unrefined, flavorful type that is used in borscht? I don’t eat sunflower seeds nor sunflower seed butter, but as of now I eat sunflower oil.
That list looks like raisins, apricots, and chewing gum have a lot of lead, more so than a “chocolate bar” or spinach. Or am I reading it wrong?
I’m wondering if people would be making a mistake to just replace spinach with some other leafy green. Maybe they only tested spinach because that is the most common leafy dark green eaten in the West, and so they’re not going to include greens common in recent diaspora communities or that are just plain uncommon like sorrel, molokhia, callaloo, dandelion greens, rapini, beet greens, etc. Maybe they didn’t have the budget to test all those other dark green leafy vegetables. Doesn’t necessarily mean they are low in lead. Maybe some are higher in lead than spinach?
I had this exact question. Did you figure it out?
Are you concerned at all with arsenic in brown rice/brown rice flour? Does soaking overnight help eliminate the arsenic amount?
I started using this parboiling method that helped ease my concerns with arsenic in rice.
https://nextshark.com/cook-rice-remove-arsenic-study/
I also wash my rice with filtered water instead of tap. I wonder though if I should start soaking overnight also.
Wow I give my toddler so much spinach – this is devastating. So grateful for the work you do . Thank you
What’s the problem with sunflower seeds? Thanks! 🙂
What fat do you use in cooking? No oil…but what else? Butter? It also contains chemicals… What is the alternative to oil and butter in the pan or in the oven please?
I actually don’t use fats in cooking (in general / with rare exceptions.) I might sometimes use Avocado oil – but super rarely.
T
Hi Tamara!
I was so upset to learn this about sunflower oil as my family has been using it (almost exclusively) for OVER A DECADE in our cooking. We’ve now decided to cut it out completely… But here’s my pressing question.
My beloved cast iron skillet has been seasoned using sunflower seed oil since I bought it (new/unseasoned) a few years ago, and we have also cooked with it using spritzes of sunflower oil to keep it well-seasoned. I’m wondering if it is now contaminated with lead and therefore unsafe to continue using. 🙁
Your guidance on this would be very much appreciated!
PS – I’ve purged my kitchen of anything that is not lead-free and this is something that just recently occurred to me.
Thank you ❤️✨
Chrysanthemum
I know this is an old question, but as someone who isn’t super familiar with cast iron use would this be a concern? The ‘seasoning’ basically provides a natural non stick coating right? So I would expect that to break down with time like any other non stick coating, and get into the cooked food. Which means IF the sunflower oil (or whatever used to season it) is indeed contaminated with heavy metals than this would be a health concern.
Does anyone know if there is a way to strip seasoned cast iron and start over? I don’t have any now but I would like to get some pieces in the future. Sounds like something to look in to!
I would strip the coating using normal vinegar. Vinegar is a seasoned cast iron pans worst enemy – meaning it should take most of the sunflower oil off the pan. Soak it a couple times and maybe scrub with steel wool? Then re-season it with another safer oil.
What is your opinion on commercially grown hemp seeds? My kids have dairy allergies and we try to stay away from all other milks because of phytic acid, so we use hemp milk. From what I’ve seen hemp seeds are usually low unless grown in contaminated soil, which is not usually the case for seeds grown for food use.
Thank you!
So do you cook without oil then? We mostly use coconut oil and rarely olive oil (which is of course in a green Bragg’s probably leaded bottle) so I’m unsure what to do for roasting veggies and we use coconut for baking (but we use butter too)? Also do you avoid most spices? I didn’t realize that many of the processing concerns were also for spices, again something we use a lot of. We don’t consume salt except in a few processed food like chips were we avoid pink salt.
Hi Tamara!
Which brand of cacao nibs are you buying?
I just spent hours on Internet and seems like it is hard to find a product which is heavy metal tested.
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Oops!!! Forgot to include the actual link.
Here it is 🙂
https://goodfoodfighter.com/why-is-there-lead-in-my-chocolate/#:~:text=There%20is%20lead%20in%20your%20chocolate.%20Dark%20chocolate,the%20toxicity%20of%20lead%2C%20are%20eating%20it%2C%20too.
Hi Ann 🙂
Check out this article I found a few weeks ago concerning lead in chocolate. I found it to be immensely helpful! Hope you find it useful as well. 🙂
https://enzostable.com/collections/olives. Made with only olives, Jacobsen salt, and water 🙂
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/soy-alert/what-can-i-drink-instead-of-soy-milk/. Many people do well on 100% A2A2 dairy milk who are unable to consume other dairy products that turn to soymilk. I felt the need to share because of the talk of soymilk…
https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/. They tested several rice brands. I encourage you to subscribe to learn more…They used the test from Dartmouth College Center for Environmental Health Sciences Trace element analysis core. They tested several brands. These are the only three that came back : Below the limit of detection of 0.002 ug/g. California White Jasmine Rice
Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Basmati
Lundberg Organic California White Rice Basmati
https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/cocoa-powders-and-chocolates-sources-of-flavanols/cocoa-flavanols/ Tested several brands of chocolate for heavy metals and cadium levels. My family and I use this brand because of their testing. I encourage you to subscribe to review their finds.https://www.montezumas.co.uk/absolute-black.
htmlhttps://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/food/pasta/red-lentil/spaghetti-red-lentil-gf/24602?package=PA443 instead of rice pasta… I hope this bless everyone who reads this… Please pray with me to our Father in Heaven for his help to continue to guide all of us for truly safe, nourishing, plus, the right foods for our bodies, family’s health and future in Jesus name we pray…AMEN AMEN AMEN !
hi tamara! first i just want to say how very grateful i am for all the work you’ve done and also how heartbroken i am for everything you and your family have been through. i just discovered your blog today and have learnt quite a lot so far. i am puzzled as to why the issue with heavy metal contaminants is not being tackled more aggressively because it is present in a lot of what we eat and drink and interact with and as such is a clear public health crisis, which unfortunately not many people are aware of. we all expect that what we consume and give our children to consume will be safe but we are being exposed from the most unlikely/innocent sources. i am also astonished by the fact that leaded gasoline and paint are permitted for industrial use and on farms of all places (idk if this is the case in canada where i am tho). as a passionate neuro/psych major, i’ve always recognised lead and other heavy metals as something to be concerned about but recently i’m discovering that exposure is practically inescapable and it’s extremely distressing and sad. all the foods i love so much (chocolate, juice etc.) and have consumed quite a lot of have exposed me to these things and i keep thinking of the potential damages my organs have endured/will endure, especially my brain (nervous system damage is literally my greatest fear in life). i am also extremely worried that should i have children in the future whatever lead is present in my bones will leach out and affect them adversely.
on this post, i wanted to ask if there’s a reason your family includes romaine lettuce and kale in your diets because they are also leafy greens like spinach that’re high in calcium. i also wanted to know whether you pursued any legal action against the contractor that poisoned your family and if you can recommend any sandwich makers/panini presses/waffle makers whose coating is safe. pretty much all the ones i’ve seen have some type of non stick coating so i’m worried about buying. once again thank you so so so so much for all the work you’ve put in the past 16 years. hope you, len and the boys are safe and happy for many years to come.
What are the ball jars you use and can l order them.
Any research on air purifiers. Thanks
In the sunflower seed section, you mentioned sticking to tree nuts. Peanuts grow in the ground, don’t they?
Hello Tamara!
You are an angel in my life ! Thanks for all your knowledge and time to inform us. Could you please tell me a juicer brand ? For hard veggies and fruits.
Thank you! I am actually working on that one. I will let you know when I have figured that out!
T
Hi Tamara! I’ve been following your work for years! As someone that has had metal fillings in the past and has most likely been exposed to lead in my old home growing up, I’ve been doing some more continued research lately and really want to start minimizing my heavy metal exposure even more. I am wondering about kale in specific. Isn’t kale high in lead as it’s great at absorbing that in the soil? Or am I possibly misinformed? It’s also high in oxalates and hard to digest, so I’m most likely not going to eat it anymore anyway(although I loooove kale chips), but I was told by some pretty cultured people that kale is on the naughty list for metals. Curious about seaweed or things like spirulina as well. Any help is always appreciated! Sooo much to learn! <3
Kale can also be high in lead – with any dark greens, look for organic and try to buy local or from a farm that you know has had their soil tested for heavy metals (or grow your own in a container garden with known Lead-free soil.)
Tinkyada uses Texas-grown rice, which is highest in arsenic:
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/study-says-arsenic-levels-high-in-texas-rice/#:~:text=He%20explained%20the%20rice%20with,bowl%20weevil%2C%22%20he%20said.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Iris
Date: Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 3:37 PM
Subject: RE: Question
To: Sara Schoen
Cc: Kit
Hi Sara,
Thank you for contacting Tinkyada Rice Pasta.
Rice we use for our rice pasta production is from Texas US, from suppliers whom we have been in business for over 25 years.
Thanks and have a wonderful day!
Iris
for Food Directions Inc. where Quality Improvement is a Continuing Function
http://www.ricepasta.com / http://www.tinkyada.com
Thank you for sharing this.
T
Curious if you’ve identified safer vinegars, Tamara: https://www.ehn.org/amp/special-report-some-vinegars-often-expensive-aged-balsamics-contain-a-big-dose-of-lead-2649749136
We avoid all balsamic.
I trust Jovial rice pasta (Italy) and Lundberg California rice.
I saw a plastic shaker jar of Takaokaya USA Inc. brand rice seasoning (seaweed and sesame). I believe rice seasoning sprinkle in the Japanese language is called “furikake”. Mine uses nori as the seaweed. Printed on the label is a California Proposition 65 warning stating that “CONSUMING THIS PRODUCT CAN EXPOSE YOU TO CHEMICALS INCLUDING LEAD AND CADMIUM WHICH ARE KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER AND BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM.”
Thanks so much for your awesome help!!
Curious why you + yours eat vinegar and soy milk..not good IMO
I didn’t realize that about spinach
Hi ! You listed in recommended food items “ Coconut Bliss ice cream” … I can’t find it . Did you mean “cosmic bliss ice cream”
Thanks I really appreciate your work!!
Thanks for sharing Valeri. It used to be Coconut Bliss but company website confirms they changed their name. I think when they came out they only had vegan options, but I see dairy options now so maybe that’s why they changed it.
Tamara, I was wondering if this page of leaded and lead free foods is updated? I remember reading that you now only eat rice once a month. Thanks.
Apples from Washington I’ve heard are heavily contaminated with lead, though it is hard to find an article on it – what I’ve seen is that Washington use to use lead as a pesticide on their Apple orchards, and the soil / trees are so heavily contaminated that it would take a lot of work and funding to remove about 10 feet or so of soil and replace it in order to fix the issue.
The problem is – it’s hard to find apples NOT sourced from Washington as this info is not very well known 🙁
Hi Tamara,
Wondering where you shop for groceries & how you afford buying allll organic? How do you find bargains to keep the costs down? Thought it was bad enough when so many home goods & housewares contained lead & other toxic chemicals, but wow… never thought this extended to so much of our food supply. YIKES! Thanks so much for all you do to help us navigate this stuff. ❤️
Feeding the family mostly organic is tricky – and expensive. We saved thousands of dollars on food being in France and the UK for most of the past 5 months – our food savings over there (feeding myself and two man-sized teen boys) more than covered any “additional” costs of the trip. We shop local and buy local produce whenever possible (wherever we are).
I thought sweet potatoes like other root veggies were high in lead?
They can be – if not prepared properly.
T
What is proper preparation? Please share and thank you!
Tamara, what percentage of children do you think eat all these foods you say you avoid vs the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels? At a certain point, don’t you think the value of consuming the micronutrients from these black-listed vegetables outweighs the risk of TRACE consumption of lead? The body is amazing and will excrete lead to a degree, the idea is to not overwhelm it to where it can no longer maintain a negative lead balance. Also, I sat on this a while, but I can’t not ask. You don’t let your kids eat spinach, but you let the baby suck on your fingers in your documentary, where you had been handling and testing lead paint chips with your bare hands?
As you notice in that scene – i clearly say that I washed my hands well… plus those scenes were filmed about a week apart 🙂 Thanks for watching the film.
There is no safe level of lead exposure.
Any amount of lead exposure is unsafe.
The body absorbs lead in the place of calcium and calcium-dependent structures in the body (like Neurons in the brain) are destroyed.
There is no “benefit” to eating things with beneficial properties if those things are contaminated with Lead.
Lead accumulates in the body over time.
We can make informed decisions and do our best with the knowledge we have. The point is to give people information so they can make informed choices. Each person makes different choices with this information.
Everything has some lead – the goal in my view is to minimize exposure, and reducing consumption of foods with the highest contamination levels is a smart way to do that. I feed my kids some cassava but I agree with Tamara that we should get away from it.
The most nutrient-dense foods are animal foods anyway, not vegetables. (I think that Tamara views veganism favorably; I have a different perspective on that.)
Per the film 33% of kids have BLL’s of 2.5 or higher in their lifetime. About 90% likely have a BLL over 1.0 in their lifetime. We’re trying to address and capture (diminish / reduce) those persistent low level exposures so that future generations have a better outcome than we did.
T
Hi! For the past 5 years I have been changing to “healthier” options. Now learning how toxic it is to my family. What brand glass storage containers for nuts, ric, beans, peanut butter etc do you use? I have not been able to locate that. Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for this list! Have there been any. changes or do you still recommend the items on this list?
Where can I find the post on Purity Coffee that you listed as a not so good choice. Please
This is the only other coffee we have tested so far:
https://tamararubin.com/2024/08/four-sigmatic-think-organic-coffee-test-positive-for-lead-august-2024-lab-report/
Are there any approved cereals? I have been living on Cheerios multigrain mixed with chocolate Cheerios every morning. I don’t eat any animals. My ambition at breakfast is zero. So cooking for me is rare. I picked up organic instant oatmeal but it’s maple nut flavor. I thought I was doing good eating spinach but guess not. I am a breast cancer survivor and prefer to stay off the cancer path but still want to enjoy life. Thank you for everything you do. Who knew Cheerios would be bad
I can’t thank you enough! I am reading your updates almost daily and implementing changes. Is Nori Seeweed still okay in light of your new finding of the avocado oil sea weed needing to be illegal? My 8 year old loves seaweed. We are also at a loss for safe dinner recipes to make. Have you ever thought about selling a cookbook? I’m always wondering in my head, what would Tamara make. You are a common name in our household. ❤️
We have some additional testing pending (for nori!) 🙂
Thank you for all you do! Can you please share the proper preparation of root vegetables to minimize lead? Is it simply scrubbing and peeling? Or do you suggest special cooking techniques? What about raw carrots and other root vegetables that are eaten raw? Thank you!
Wash – peel – and wash again after peeling.
T
Thank you for the information on “How to prepare Root Vegetables”. I know a family that soaks grapes and strawberries in a vinegar and water mixture. They say the flavour is much better. Do you know if any combination of “cleaning” fruits, vegetables etc can draw some toxins out? Or are you risking adding toxins?
What are safer brands of Organic, dairy-free, sugar-free chips that you and your family eat?
Any safe drying racks found? Thank you!!!!
Tamara, what are your thoughts on squash? Winter squash like butternut, acorn, kabocha and also summer squash like zucchini? Thanks again!
Hi Tamara,
If you could share how you cook your whole grains and the brands you use for all of them, I also have a dehydrator after reading your page i am motivated to use it please also share your dehdrator recipes with us.
Thank you
PP
We buy our beans and grains in bulk from our local food co-op.
T
Hi, I’m SO amazed (and grateful) for all the wonderful research you’ve done – thank you! I’m a coffee lover but recently had to switch to eliminating caffeine and have been drinking Chicory Root from Frontier Co as a coffee alternative. After reading your findings, I’m now wondering if chicory, due to the fact that it’s a root vegetable, would be unusually high in lead and other heavy metals – do you have any insights on chicory on this?
Thanks in advance! – Jessica