Can Vitamin C Supplements Help with Lead Poisoning?

“Even when a dietary manipulation is confirmed efficient in lowering blood lead ranges, reliance on such an intervention locations a lot of the burden for prevention on these most affected and least answerable for the underlying environmental causes of lead toxicity. Dietary interventions, subsequently, mustn’t ever substitute for efforts to cut back lead publicity to protected ranges. Then again, when used as an adjunct to environmental measures, some dietary adjustments could show to have advantages past any affect on lead toxicity.” For instance, consumption of vitamin C-rich meals could assist with “blood stress, blood lipid profiles, and respiratory signs,” along with maybe influencing “lead toxicity by an affect on absorption of lead, elimination of lead, transport inside the physique, tissue binding, or secondary mechanisms of toxicity,” that’s, even simply serving to ameliorate a number of the harm. However what is that this based mostly on?

In 1939, a outstanding research was revealed, entitled “Vitamin C therapy in lead poisoning,” during which 17 lead trade employees got 100 mg of vitamin C a day, the quantity present in one or two oranges, and “with virtually all of them there was a marked achieve in vigor, coloration of pores and skin, cheerfulness, blood image, urge for food and talent to sleep nicely.” The 17 employees have been chosen as a result of they appeared to be in fairly dangerous form and presumably even had scurvy, so it’s no surprise a bit vitamin C helped. However vitamin C is an antioxidant, and oxidation is “an vital mechanism underlying lead toxicity,” so it’s conceivable that it could have mediated a number of the hurt. However, the vitamin C didn’t seem to simply scale back the harm from the lead—it additionally decreased the lead itself. As you’ll be able to see from 1:43 in my video Can Vitamin C Help with Lead Poisoning?, the quantity of lead in a painter’s urine over a interval of a month after beginning 200 mg of vitamin C a day exhibited a five-fold drop, suggesting he was absorbing much less of the lead into his physique. He was one in all three painters researchers tried this on, and evidently all three painters’ ranges dropped. The researchers concluded that these “uncovered to steer…must be suggested to incorporate of their weight loss plan loads of such wealthy sources of vitamin C as tomatoes (recent or canned), uncooked cabbage, oranges or grapefruit, uncooked spinach (and even cooked, in little or no water), uncooked turnips, inexperienced bell peppers, cantaloupe, and so on.”

Now, this drop in lead within the topics’ urine was seen with solely three painters, and the research didn’t have a management group of painters who didn’t take vitamin C, so maybe everybody’s lead ranges would have dropped for another motive or maybe it was only a coincidence. You don’t know…till you place it to the check.

These unique information have been so compelling that others have been impressed to attempt to replicate them. I imply, if it truly labored, if vitamin C might assist with lead poisoning, grapefruits might be handed out on the manufacturing unit door! The sooner research didn’t have management group, however the researchers weren’t going to make that very same mistake this time. On this research, half of the group received 100 mg of vitamin C a day—not only for a month however for a yr—and the opposite group received nothing. The end result? “Cautious research of a giant group of lead employees failed to disclose any impact of ascorbic acid vitamin C…on the lead focus within the blood…or urine” (emphasis added). There was no distinction of their bodily situation and no adjustments of their blood work, so “no motive has been discovered for recommending using ascorbic acid vitamin C to attenuate results of lead absorption.” What a disappointment. It seemed so promising!

Each time I research a subject, I attempt to learn the analysis chronologically so I can expertise the discoveries as they occurred all through historical past. At this level, although, I used to be so tempted to leap to a current evaluation to see what had occurred within the intervening 74 years since that first research was revealed, however I didn’t wish to spoiler alert! myself, so I stored studying the papers sequentially. There have been in vitro research the place researchers dripped antioxidants on lead uncovered cells and it appeared to assist, so that they jumped on the cantaloupe bandwagon, too, however these have been check tube research.

The primary inhabitants research was revealed in 1999, and, as you’ll be able to see at 4:02 in my video, researchers did discover that these with excessive vitamin C ranges of their blood tended to have decrease lead ranges. Youths with the very best vitamin C ranges had a virtually 90 % decrease prevalence of elevated blood lead ranges in comparison with these with the bottom vitamin C ranges. Now, this was a cross-sectional research, only a snapshot in time, so we don’t know if the vitamin C induced a drop in lead or if maybe the lead induced a drop in vitamin C. Lead is a pro-oxidant, so possibly it ate up the vitamin C. And who has larger vitamin C ranges? Those that can afford to have larger vitamin C ranges and eat numerous vegetables and fruit. “It’s also attainable that larger ascorbic acid ranges could symbolize more healthy life or higher socio-economic standing.” Certainly, possibly decrease vitamin C ranges are only a proxy for being poor, and that’s the actual motive for larger lead ranges.

There are many good causes to be consuming extra vegetables and fruit, and we must be consuming extra spinach regardless, however it could be good to know if vitamin C truly helps with lead poisoning. And, to know that, we have to put it to the check.

Sadly, a lot of the revealed interventions should not very useful, with such titles as “Results of dietary vitamin C supplementation on lead-treated sea cucumbers,….”  And, there’s a shocking variety of articles on the consequences of vitamin C supplementation on mouse testicles. Why? As a result of lead could impair male fertility. Certainly, lead employees seem to have a decreased chance of fathering youngsters, however this will partly be as a consequence of oxidative stress. In that case, how about giving an antioxidant, like vitamin C, and placing it to the check(es)? No, I’m not speaking about rat testes or suggesting frog testes. Neither am I proposing crab testes. (I didn’t even know crabs had testicles!) Lastly, right here’s one to debate: “Scientific relevance of vitamin C amongst lead-exposed infertile males.” A research of human males, which I’ll cowl in Yellow Bell Peppers for Male Infertility and Lead Poisoning?.

I’m all the time conflicted about writing these sorts of blogs and producing movies like Can Vitamin C Help with Lead Poisoning?. I can think about some simply need “the reply,” however these with vested and business pursuits usually exploit that pure impulse. That is drawback with science on the whole, however maybe significantly in vitamin. On the subject of one thing as life-or-death vital as what to feed ourselves and our households we shouldn’t simply observe somebody’s opinions or beliefs on the matter. We should always demand to see the science. That’s what I attempt to do: Current the accessible information as pretty and even-handedly as attainable, and allow you to make up your personal thoughts. You’ll be able to think about how simply somebody might cherry-pick only one or two research and current a distorted however compelling case for or in opposition to, on this case, vitamin C dietary supplements. That’s why I really feel it’s vital to current every research of their historic context. Keep tuned for the thrilling conclusion in Yellow Bell Peppers for Male Infertility & Lead Poisoning?.

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 For these of you who’re considering, Why ought to I care about lead? I don’t eat paint chips or use leaded gasoline. Anyway, what’s the large deal?, try my full sequence of lead movies for info on how we received into this mess and a number of the methods we will dig ourselves out:

• How the Lead Paint Business Received Away with It
• Lead in Ingesting Water
• How the Leaded Fuel Business Received Away with It
• “Regular” Blood Lead Ranges Can Be Poisonous
• The Results of Low-Stage Lead Publicity in Adults
• Methods to Decrease Lead Ranges with Eating regimen: Thiamine, Fiber, Iron, Fats, Fasting?
• Methods to Decrease Lead Ranges with Eating regimen: Breakfast, Complete Grains, Milk, Tofu?
• Finest Meals for Lead Poisoning: Chlorella, Cilantro, Tomatoes, Moringa?
• Finest Meals for Lead Poisoning: Garlic
• Is Lipstick Secure Given the Lead Contamination?
• Can Saunas Detoxify Lead from the Physique?
• How A lot Lead Is in Natural Hen Soup (Bone Broth)?
• Lead in Calcium Supplements
• Ought to Pregnant Ladies Take Calcium Supplements to Decrease Lead Ranges?
• The Rise in Blood Lead Ranges at Being pregnant and Menopause
• Lead Contamination in Fish and Sport
• Lead Contamination in Sizzling Sauces

In well being,

Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: In the event you haven’t but, you’ll be able to subscribe to my free movies right here and watch my stay shows:

• 2019: Proof-Primarily based Weight Loss
• 2016: How Not To Die: The Position of Eating regimen in Stopping, Arresting, and Reversing Our High 15 Killers
• 2015: Meals as Medication: Stopping and Treating the Most Dreaded Ailments with Eating regimen
• 2014: From Desk to In a position: Combating Disabling Ailments with Meals
• 2013: Extra Than an Apple a Day
• 2012: Uprooting the Main Causes of Loss of life

Unique supply: https://nutritionfacts.org/2020/09/15/can-vitamin-c-supplements-help-with-lead-poisoning/