Children Are Especially Vulnerable to Lead

Dear Dr. Blonz: The outside of our house was recently sanded in preparation for repainting, and we subsequently found that the paint contained lead. Some of the lead dust got inside the house, and we are now concerned about lead poisoning. We have taken steps to clean up, and we have a good air filter to help pull any airborne lead out of the room air, but I want to know what I might do from a nutritional / food angle to help my family out. I have two young children, and I know that lead is very dangerous to growing bodies.

--R.S., Berkeley

Dear R.S.: The dangers of lead are indeed a threat to growing children--it is the No. 1 environmental hazard they face--but it can play havoc with adults as well. Although leaded house paint is a principal danger, food and drink are also important ways that lead gets in the body. What’s more, other nutrients in the diet can help determine how toxic that lead will be.

When this tasteless, odorless mineral enters the body, it enters the red blood cells, where it can interfere with the manufacture of hemoglobin--the oxygen-carrying substance in the red blood cells. Lead also can enter the brain, and it freely passes through the placenta to a developing fetus. The list of lead’s health effects includes kidney damage, harm to the nervous system, high blood pressure, growth retardation and a permanent impairment of mental abilities. Lead is more toxic during periods of rapid growth: pregnancy, infancy and childhood.

Lead is found everywhere, so it’s not unusual for the body to contain small amounts. In fact, our system can eliminate this mineral, albeit slowly. Health problems begin when the intake of lead greatly exceeds the body’s handling abilities. If you have identified the source of the problem and have quickly taken steps to eliminate the contamination, the danger will abate. I would encourage you to work with your health professional, as there are blood tests that can determine the amount of lead that has been absorbed.

Often overlooked in discussions about the dangers of lead is the role played by the other nutrients in the diet. Two in particular--calcium and iron--can decrease the amount of dietary lead the body will absorb. Having a diet that contains recommended amounts of these nutrients is another method of self-defense against dietary lead.

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Ed Blonz is the author of the “Your Personal Nutritionist” book series (Signet, 1996). Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Newspaper Enterprise Assn., 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 or e-mail to: ed@blonz.com. Personal replies cannot be provided.