Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead Found in Commercial Apple and Grape Juice
A new report was recently released by Consumer Reports showing that many common apple juice and grape juice brands actually contain high enough levels of arsenic to increase the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. These chronic illnesses are the top health problems rising today. Unfortunately, children are especially prone increased risks for these diseases as they make up a very large portion of individuals who consume fruit juices such as apple and grape.
The investigation, led by Consumer Reports, tested 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice coming from 28 different brands. What the investigators found was that roughly 10% of samples from 5 different brands had total arsenic levels rising above 10 parts per billion (ppb), a limit set by the FDA for bottled water. To add to the over-contamination, the investigators also found very high levels of lead.
The investigators were also interested to see if Americans consume enough of these juices for arsenic levels to be significantly higher than normal or for other adverse health reactions to occur. They analyzed federal health data from 2003-2008 which tracked what people ate before measuring arsenic levels in urine. CR states:
The resulting analysis of almost 3,000 study participants found that those reporting apple-juice consumption had on average 19% greater levels of total urinary arsenic than those subjects who did not, and those who reported drinking grape juice had 20% higher levels. The results might understate the correlation between juice consumption and urinary arsenic levels because NHANES urinary data exclude children younger than 6, who tend to be big juice drinkers.
This of course isn’t the first report unveiling the true contents of many juices. A study set up by Dr. Oz in September concluded that many apple juice brands contain high amounts of arsenic.
The elevated levels of arsenic consumption also raise concerns of increased
