Kirkman®: Taking the lead in getting lead out of your child’s supplements

Kirkman®: Taking the lead in getting lead out of your child’s supplements

In April 2012, Science Daily reported on an editorial from the Children's Environmental Health Center (CEHC) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine titled "A Research Strategy to Discover the Environmental Causes of Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities." The editorial was published with four other papers that suggested a link between toxic chemicals and autism. CEHC developed a list of 10 chemicals suspected to contribute to autism and learning disabilities that are found in consumer products, which were as follows:

1. Lead
2. Methylmercury
3. PCBs
4. Organophosphate pesticides
5. Organochlorine pesticides
6. Endocrine disruptors
7. Automotive exhaust
8. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
9. Brominated flame retardants
10. Perfluorinated compounds

As I have reported previously, contaminants have also been found in nutritional supplements. The article that you are reading right now will serve as the first in a series where I examine a toxin that is found in supplements and/or other consumer products, correlating the toxin to the contaminants screened for in the manufacture of the Kirkman® Ultra TestedTM line of nutritional supplements.
This time, we are looking at lead, which can be found in both supplements and other consumer products, but for which Kirkman® takes safety precautions in the Ultra TestedTM line.

Lead is a heavy metal and the fifth most utilized metal in the U.S. It is one of the most toxic elements naturally occurring on earth. Human exposure to lead occurs primarily through drinking water and airborne lead-containing particulates and paints. Industrial processes cause lead to get into the air. After lead is airborne for 10 days, it falls to the ground and goes into soil and water. However, the primary source of lead in drinking water is from lead-based plumbing materials. And, even if you live in a country that has gotten rid of or significantly decreased the use of lead-based paint and gasoline, there can still be residual contamination from past use. Proper safety precautions against human and soil contamination should be taken when working (e.g., scraping and sanding) with old structures such as exterior walls and window wells on which lead-based paint was used. There may also be lead in the mini-blinds in some homes.

Children absorb lead more than adults, and they crawl on the ground, suck their fingers, and chew on window sills and toys. Nothing that goes in a child’s mouth should contain lead. Over 90% of inhaled lead is absorbed directly into the blood, where it circulates in the blood stream and is distributed primarily in the soft tissues (kidneys, brain and muscle) and bone. High concentrations of lead can cause irreversible brain damage (encephalopathy), seizures, coma, and death if not treated immediately. Neuropsychological impairment has been shown to occur in individuals exposed to moderate levels of lead. Lead may cause fatigue, irritability, information processing difficulties, memory problems, a reduction in sensory and motor reaction times, decision making impairment, and lapses in concentration; and, at blood concentrations above 70 mcg/dl, lead has been shown to cause anemia. Kidney disease, both acute and chronic, is a characteristic of lead toxicity. Other signs and symptoms of lead toxicity include gastrointestinal disturbances (e.g., abdominal pain, cramps, constipation, anorexia, and weight loss), immunosuppression, and liver impairment.

So, why take it in your supplements? Again, it is particularly important to prevent lead from being ingested by children. From the Huffington Post reporting lead in herbal supplements to ABC and CBS news sources reporting it in calcium supplements, you need to take steps to be confident that your children and other family members are protected. In fact, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association had found several supplements containing as much as 3 micrograms of lead per 1,500 milligrams of calcium, approaching the FDA recommended safety cutoff for lead. Now, here’s the good news: every Kirkman® calcium product or multi-vitamin/mineral product that contains calcium is Ultra TestedTM. What this means is that Kirkman® uses the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment available, including mass spectrometers, for heavy metal testing, screening for contaminants with exacting precision up to parts per trillion.

Kirkman® exceeds FDA requirements so that your family’s health can excel!