Why are heavy metals in your cacao and cocoa products?
The answer may suprise you.
Recently, I posted on the lead and cadmium content in dark chocolate. A reader asked some critical questions, such as where the heavy metals are coming from in products that are considered healthier treats, such as dark chocolate.
Cacao or Cocoa. Are they the same thing?
First, let’s clear up the confusion about cacao and cocoa beans.
They are both from the same bean.
Cacao is from the cacao bean that has NOT been roasted, so it is less processed. Cocoa refers to cacao beans that have been roasted.
Cacao is sourced from the raw bean, and cocoa is from the cooked bean.
Both come from the Cacao tree, which produces large pod-like fruit containing 20-60 beans. The bean content is what is used for chocolate products.
Labels can be misleading. If you want authentic cacao, the label should say raw and minimally processed with no added sugar. These products are typically higher in antioxidants. Raw, unroasted cacao will still undergo some processing, such as fermentation, drying, crushing (for nibs), or grinding (for powder).
If your chocolate bar label identifies the bar as having 70% cocoa, it contains the roasted version, which is not necessarily bad. However, you should understand that the product does not contain raw cacao.
Why are there heavy metals in cacao?
Cadmium
The cacao plant takes up cadmium from the soil. The cadmium accumulates in the beans as the tree grows. By the time the beans are harvested, the entire tree and beans contain cadmium. The higher the percentage of cocoa in your chocolate, such as dark chocolate, the higher the cadmium content.
Your cacao beans may have a higher cadmium content if they are harvested from Ecuador, Columbia, or Brazil. Cacao is very efficient at uptaking cadmium from the soil.
Lead
Cacao and cocoa beans have some of the lowest reported lead levels for any natural food.
So where is the lead coming from?
Lead contamination of candies has been recognized as a problem since 1820, when a British study found the poison widespread in London confectionary products. In recent years, documented lead content in candy has ranged from a mean concentration of 21 ng/g in milk chocolate bars in an Australian study to an average of 1,920 ng/g in chocolates seen in research in India.
In Nigeria, a 1999 study found an average of 310 ng/g lead in cocoa powders. (For comparison, the mean U.S. lead concentration for apples is 20 ng/g, 200 ng/g for dry table wine, and 100 ng/g for canned pineapple.)
The source of lead does not appear to be from the actual bean, but some lead may be coming from the shell.
The lead concentrations for cocoa beans ranged from less than 0.103 to 1.78 ng/g, averaging 0.512 ng/g—among the lowest lead concentrations reported for any food. The average concentrations found in the cocoa bean shells, however, was about 320-fold higher (160 ng/g).
The researchers found that the source of lead in the cacao bean shell may be from leaded gasoline.
Cocoa bean shells are known to be very effective at removing lead from solutions. So, although they provide excellent protection of the bean inside, the shells may also serve to contaminate the cocoa beans during fermentation or drying.
The team also compared the cocoa beans with finished cocoa products and found much higher lead concentrations and greater variability in the isotopic composition among the finished products. They therefore deduced that most of the contamination occurred after the cocoa left the farm stage.
The 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.
After the harvesting of the beans, lead contamination occurs when the beans are left to dry out in the sun, which becomes magnets for dust and dirt particles containing lead. The metal can adhere to the bean’s surface.
The high cadmium and lead levels are not just in dark chocolate. Cocoa solids and cocoa butter make cacao. The more cocoa solids and butter ingredients in your product, the higher it will be in heavy metals. Any cocoa or cacao powder product, such as baking mixes, chocolate chips, or hot chocolate, will contain some cadmium and lead.
How much of these heavy metals does your body absorb?
Brown rice contains higher amounts of arsenic than white rice. So, you would think that eating white rice is the preferred option?
But then I read a study that even though brown rice contains more arsenic than white rice, the body’s uptake of arsenic from white or brown rice is the same.
The FDA states that heavy metals in food products, such as lead in chocolate, are “nothing to worry about.”
Why am I not surprised?
I could not find a study specifically looking at lead and cadmium uptake from chocolate products.
However, Dr. Gregor’s site had research that indicated that eating foods with heavy metals helps to reduce heavy metal absorption (that is, less heavy metal absorption when the stomach is full, not empty).
However, a higher amount is absorbed if the heavy metals are consumed via water on an empty stomach.
Foods that can assist with less heavy metal absorption
Foods that can assist with detoxifying and chelating include sulfur-rich foods (i.e., garlic, onions, broccoli, cabbage), fiber, spirulina, and chlorella, to name a few.
Just about every food we eat will contain some heavy metals (sadly). Therefore, understanding your total burden and your body’s detoxification ability becomes vital for your health.
As I mentioned in the previous post on heavy metals in dark chocolate, support your detox pathways via various natural means such as exercise, movement, sweating, hydration, and sulfur-rich foods.
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This is NOT information allopathic practitioners will share with you.