What makes some heavy metals safe to eat?

What makes some heavy metals safe to eat? Today’s Video of the Day from the American Chemical Society explores the question of why ingesting some heavy metals could potentially kill you, while others are perfectly safe to eat. In fact, some heavy metals are even good for you. 

It is important to consider that when it comes to heavy metals, there is alot of variability involved such as the amount and what other elements it may be combined with. Some of the most common heavy metals are mercury, aluminum and lead. Believe it or not, you are exposed to these heavy metals constantly, from the air, the food you eat and the water you drink.

This can sometimes result in cell death (Hershko et al.,1998). Conclusion In this review we reviewed the effects of some heavy metals, i.e.arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, aluminium and iron, on the environment and living organisms, mainly human beings.

Understanding the risk that harmful metals pose in our food supply is complicated by the fact that exposure to metals comes from many different foods. Combining all of the foods we eat, even low levels of harmful metals from individual food sources, can sometimes add up to a level of concern.

Video Credit: ACS

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer