Do Pesticides Contain Heavy Metals?

Want another reason to buy organic? We got you! Did you know that pesticides on food like fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds may have heavy metals in them? Yes, it is true. You may think grabbing healthy food is a good choice. But with how things are grown now, there is a risk we could get heavy metals from our food. You do not need to feel bad though. We will share a way to help you with this soon.

What Are Pesticides and How Do They Work?

First, let's talk a bit more about this. Let's look at what pesticides are.

Pesticides are things, like chemical or biological products, that help to stop, get rid of, fight off, or keep away pests. Pests here can be things like insects, weeds, fungi, rodents, bacteria, or any living things that are bad for crops, people's health, or property.

There are many types of pesticides. Each type works on a certain target.

• Insecticides → kill or keep away insects like mosquitoes and beetles.

• Herbicides → kill or stop the growth of unwanted plants and weeds.

• Fungicides → help get rid of fungi and molds that can harm crops.

• Rodenticides → work on rats, mice, and other small rodents.

• Bactericides → kill bacteria that can be harmful.

Some pesticides are made with chemicals by people. Others use things from living sources, like bacteria or natural oils.

Pesticides can help farms grow more food and also help stop some diseases, like ones that come from mosquitoes. One example is malaria. But when these chemicals are not used in the right way, there can be many problems for people, animals, and the environment. They can get into the soil and water. They might also hurt bees, birds, and even us.

Do All Pesticides Contain Heavy Metals?

Not every pesticide has heavy metals, but many have them. A lot of pesticides are even based on metals, or they may carry these metal impurities.

In the past, many of the most common pesticides were made with inorganic compounds that had the metal in them. A few pesticides with the metal are still allowed today. But these are usually used only if there are strict rules in place. Modern pesticides that are made with organic (carbon-based) mixtures can also have small bits of the metal from the materials they use or from how they are made.

Which Pesticides Are Metal-Based?

Which ones are the metal based? Here’s a list:

• Arsenicals (As): Fruit growers used to put lead arsenate and calcium arsenate on trees as insect killers for many years. The remains of these chemicals stay in orchard soil because lead and arsenic do not break down. This leaves a long-term problem where people can still get exposed to it, creating a big issue for the future.

• Chromated copper arsenate (CCA): This pesticide protects wood from bugs and fungi by soaking it with chromium, copper, and arsenic. Most uses in homes stopped by choice in 2003, but some factories or other work areas still can use CCA today.

• Copper fungicides (Cu): People have used copper sulfate, copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride, and similar “fixed copper” products as fungicides for many years. These are still allowed, even in some systems that focus on organic ways. But there is growing effort to use less of them or find other options because copper can build up in soil as time goes by.

• Mercury fungicides (Hg): A kind of seed treatment that used organomercury was banned in a lot of countries during the 1970s and 1980s after it led to poisonings. In the United States, mercury used as a fungicide in farming was banned in 1970.

• Metal phosphides: Aluminum phosphide (a gas fumigant) and zinc phosphide (a rodent killer)

Even if the main part that makes the pesticide work is not a metal, there can still be small amounts of metal in the mix. This can happen because of things used to make the product or the way it's made. Some studies have looked at commercial glyphosate-based herbicides. They have found that some of these products have arsenic, chromium, cobalt, lead, and nickel in them. This shows that things in the product that are not a main part, or even what gets in by mistake, can still make the product more harmful.

Why Are Heavy Metals in Pesticides So Concerning?

This can be a risk because metals like lead, arsenic, mercury, chromium, and copper stay in the soil for a long time. They can also get into water or become part of dust. Things that people did in the past, like using lead arsenate in orchards or building with CCA-treated wood, still cause trouble for people working to protect the environment today.

So, pesticides can have heavy metals in them. Sometimes, the makers add them on purpose, like with arsenicals, copper fungicides, aluminum or zinc phosphides, and CCA. Other times, these metals are there as small amounts of impurities. You can even find trace metals in some new formulas.

How Can You Protect Yourself From Heavy Metals in Pesticides?

So what do you do at this point?

• Run a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA): This test lets you see the amount of heavy metals you have and if you have had contact with pesticides or any toxic metals. HTMA gives a long-term view of how metals build up in your body, while blood tests just show what is there for a short time.

• Support detoxification with supplementation: You can use a binder like our Upgraded Detox and Debloat. It has zeolite, charcoal, and shilajit, which can help take out heavy metals from your body in a safe way. Using this with a nano mineral supplement adds important minerals your body needs while you detox.

Hope this helps!