Personal Injury Law

Increased Susceptibility to Cadmium - are you responsible?

By Megan Roth

Certain hobbies and habits actually increase your susceptibility to the toxin. As if the nicotine and tar weren't enough, add cadmium to the mix of tobacco's harmful ingredients.

In our previous posts, we've identified several causes and effects of Cadmium (aka the secret, silent killer). However, we've failed to deliver a run-through of how you, yourself, are increasing your own susceptibility...until now.

You know that old expression: "What you don't know won't hurt you"? Don't buy it. In some situations, what you don't know just might kill you, and if it doesn't, it'll make you awfully sick.

Take cadmium, for example. We already know that certain occupations increase exposure to the drug. But did you know that certain hobbies and habits actually increase your susceptibility to the toxin.

Painting, ceramics, and jewelry are all ways to demonstrate creative flex; but, while creating their masterpieces, the artsy folk may actually be harming nature's masterpieces - their bodies. All of these activities involve art supplies containing heavy metals; though the processes of each differ, exposure to those heavy metals in essentially one and the same.

Or how about smoking? As if the nicotine and tar weren't enough, add cadmium to the mix of tobacco's harmful ingredients. And the worst part about this is, inhaling the cadmium-containing toxin is more damaging than ingesting it (like we do when we consume crabmeat...oops - did we forget to mention that certain seafood's contain alarming high levels of cadmium?

That's not to say you can't get all greasy consuming butter-drenched chunks of lobster; however, we recommend combating potential adverse effects of such grub by maintaining a well-balanced diet. Research shows that consuming foods rich with iron, zinc, and calcium works to limit the amount of cadmium retained within your body. While it doesn't necessarily rid your body of the mineral, it does decrease your risk of absorbing the mineral; thus, lessening its adverse effects.

So, go ahead and cuddle up with a steaming bowl of clam chowder; just make sure you're settled up with the other food groups, too.

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on May 03, 2008 (boomark / email).