It is omnipresent in our environment.
“It’s a real public health scourge” Alert liberal doctors in a letter addressed to the government in May 2025, according to information from the Egora site. “”In a context of perfectly documented health emergency, it is our duty to challenge the public power to activate the necessary levers in order to protect citizens, without further ado“, says Dr. Pascal Meyvaert, generalist in the Bas-Rhin. In question, the accumulation of cadmium in the body via food. Some farmers use phosphate fertilizers rich in cadmium. “The floors accumulate cadmium which can only come out by plants. It then penetrates easily in plants by their roots and thus enters the food chain” explain the doctors.
What is cadmium?
Cadmium is a very toxic metal omnipresent in our environment. It is found in many foods such as wheat products including bread, cookies, breakfast bars and cereals, chocolate, soy products, vegetables, rice, potatoes, seaweed, seafood, offal such as liver and kidneys and tap water. According to ANSES and Public Health France, a share of adults and children have food exhibitions exceeding the tolerable daily dose of cadmium: 0.6% of adults, 15% of children aged 3 to 17 and up to 36% of children under 3 years of age. “”Cadmium environmental exposure remains a public health problem in France“, Esides Public Health France in an investigation.
What are the risks to health?
For more than 20 years, cadmium has been recognized as “carcinogenic, mutagen and toxic for reproduction” by the International Center for Research on Cancer. In moderate dose, the kidneys are able to filter it and quickly eliminate blood from the blood. Unfortunately at high concentration, it can accumulate in the kidneys and blood, damaging fragile tissues and cause many damage to health as cancers. “”At high concentration, cadmium is even more toxic than lead and mercury and contributes to a large number of health problems. It is associated with heart disease (myocardial infarction), lung disease (lung cancer, BPCO), kidney diseases, bone (osteoporosis) or even metabolic (diabetes) “diseases”, List Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, researcher and author of the book “Toxic, the solution” (ed. Thierry Souccar). Cadmium is a sneaky substance because it hardly produces symptoms, except in the event of significant exposure. The first clinical indication of its presence at dangerous levels in the body is the appearance of osteoporosis and renal failure. “”Only a medical analysis of blood or urine (test of alt transaminases or homocysteine) makes it possible to detect the amount of cadmium in the body“Continues the specialist.
“Cadmium has long been regulated in France”
“”Cadmium has long been regulated in France“, Indicates an expert to us from the National Institute of the Industrial Environment and Risks (INERIS). ANSES has recommended maximum contents in food and in fertilizers (industrial or natural fertilizers) to reduce the contamination of cadmium soils. It has established a reference toxicology value, in other words, a daily dose below which there would be no risk for health (0.35 µg Cadmium/kg/day).
How to protect yourself on a daily basis?
The best is to vary its diet as much as possible to limit its exposure to cadmium. Dr. Pizzorno also recommends:
► To avoid as much as possible food cultivated with pesticides and to favor products from French organic farming (they contain half less cadmium on average) “If you exclusively consume foods from conventional agriculture, you have a high risk of toxic cadmium load in the body. “
► To season his dishes with certain spices: Curcumin, the active ingredient of turmeric, protects the kidneys from toxic substances, in particular cadmium, and preserves their filtration capacity. According to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, ginger is excellent for preventing renal damage caused by cadmium thanks to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
► to remove your shoes into the entrance to avoid introducing toxic substances at home. “”Plan toilet socks or slippers for guests. Packed and regularly wipe the surfaces, especially if you live in town where there may be a lot of toxic particles. “
Finally, you must avoid cigarettes as much as possible (active or passive smoking) because the cadmium accumulates in the tobacco leaves.
