Chromium, copper, arsenic, nickel, mercury, etc. According to a study by Public Health France, these heavy metals, which present considerable risks to our health, are present in the body of all French people, especially children… Explanations.
This Thursday July 1, Public health France has put online the new French data on metal exposure of the French population resulting from the study ESTEBAN. The exposure is enormous, so much so that the impregnation rates in France surpass other European countries and North America (except for nickel and copper). “Monitoring the impregnation of the population with chemical substances is a public health issue. The repetition of biomonitoring studies is necessary to monitor changes in the exposure of the population over time and thus help estimate the impact of public policies aimed at reducing them ”, indicates in the report Geneviève Chêne, Director General of Public Health France.
27 metals in the body of adults and children
” This new photograph of the impregnations emphasizes that the entire population is concerned ” with “More than 97% to 100% detection” in adult and child participants, the report says. Santé publique France also reveals that these metals can be at the origin of the appearance of chronic diseases, immune deficiency or even cancer.
Fish, tobacco and cereals as the main vectors
The sources of exposure are diverse and the metals may be different depending on the product consumed. Consumption of fish or seafood tends towards arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury. While the consumption of cereals is concentrated in cadmium, when they came from organic farming, it is rather copper.
For tobacco, the cadmium and copper concentrations are high.
How to reduce exposure?
Public health France recommends to fight more against smoking, including passive smoking. In adults, tobacco would cause an increase of more than 50% of impregnation in smokers.
Regarding food, the authors of the report believe that it is necessary to diversify the sources of food, in particular with seafood. Despite the nutritional contributions they provide, they have a high concentration of arsenic. , cadmium, chromium and mercury. Thus, it is recommended to eat fish twice a week, including fatty fish, varying the species but also the fishing grounds.
