Step 4:4 Heavy Metals, Herbs & Spices

Eat with the Seasons Challenge - Week 4 - Fall

Good morning everyone,

In week one, we started our herb gardens, and while our plants may not be fully matured just yet, there is a part two to that article. As I mentioned in our Discovery and Exploration week, a lot of our goals and homework were based around spring and gardening. Naturally, it was by design so that this year you can all benefit from learning another level to harvesting your micro gardens.

Herbs and spices add the magic touch to our favorite dishes, elevating flavours and adding a nutrient boost. But recent discoveries have uncovered a hidden danger lurking within these aromatic treasures: heavy metal contamination. This revelation raises concerns about potential health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated herbs and spices.

Heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury can infiltrate herbs and spices during the processing, drying, and packaging stages of herb and spice production. They can also sneak in through contaminated soil, water, and air pollution if rigorous hygiene and quality control measures are not implemented and the herbs are not tested. The toxic substances pose significant health risks when we eat them, ranging from neurological damage and organ failure to an increased risk of cancer and developmental delays.

Granted, you would have to eat a fair amount of it; however, when you step back and look at the bigger picture of how many other sneaky sources might be carrying these contaminants, it may lead you to the same conclusion I had. "The little things add up, so I'd rather start adding the good little things, eliminating the bad, to eventually tip the scales in my favour."