Good day y’all
The year is in full gear, and as you know the world of science never sleeps.
Recently, some news rocked the nutrition world. It was found that some populations with high intake of lead were turning up with lead poisoning. This is contrary to our general association of turmeric with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, so I did some digging and came up with some findings on the subject.
Turns out that to heighten their color, the rhizomes from which turmeric is extracted are routinely dusted with lead chromate, a neurotoxin. The practice helps explain why South Asia has the highest rates of lead poisoning in the world. At high levels of exposure to lead the brain and central nervous system can be severely damaged causing coma, convulsions and even death.
Note: Lead poisoning, is also known as plumbism and saturnism.
So, if you take turmeric powder with your teas like I do, or use it in seasoning, ensure you are getting organic product . Or better still, buy the roots and process by yourself at home.
Better safe than sorry!
Further Reading:
Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States – PMC (nih.gov)
