I want to avoid heavy metals as much as possible for myself or my family. How do I do that?Updated 9 months ago

If you're looking to avoid heavy metals as much as possible, we do have a few suggestions. 

Look for brands on Hive that:

1. Choose ingredients that are certified Organic, Regenerative, Demeter Biodynamic or similar. Each of these certifications is tagged on the relevant products, so you can search for them easily. Although these certifications do not necessarily guarantee lower heavy metal levels, better agricultural practices that prioritize soil health and avoid synthetic fertilizers and pesticides may reduce the overall amount and bioavailability of heavy metals.

2. Test and fall within the EU & CA Prop 65 Guidelines. You can look for products that are Certified by Clean Label Project and NSF Contents Certified, to know they meet or exceed these guidelines. 

3. Feature certifications like MadeSAFE and the Clean Label Project. All the products that carry these certifications are tagged with them, so you can easily search for them on the site.

Above all, continue to eat a healthy, balanced diet: healthy individuals who eat a balanced diet tend to be less likely to absorb heavy metals and more likely to quickly excrete them. There is some research indicating that dietary nutrients Vitamins A, C, and E, polyphenols, curcumin, zinc, selenium, calcium, and iron, catechin compounds may help your body naturally address negative impacts like arsenic toxicity, lead exposure or cadmium absorption. If this is of interest to you, you can shop for those supplements here. 

Just because a product may have a higher risk for heavy metals doesn’t make it bad. Testing is the way to know it’s still safe.  It’s also important to understand what heavy metal level limits mean and your potential exposure based on the foods you eat and how often you eat them, especially for those with higher risk. For most people, the amount you would need to consume to have concern for toxicity is well beyond what you would eat. And foods with ingredients like sweet potatoes, spinach and carrots have loads of other health benefits.

You can check out our “heavy metal tested” and “low risk ingredients- heavy metals” collections to see products that are stars in these areas.

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