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Originally Posted by OtterBooks
You realize CS is the publication of a non-profit organization, right? So that statement is a bit lol-worthy. CS didn't earn their reputation with sensationalism.
They tested levels of arsenic in at least one supplement that were 16.9 micrograms. That's a tad more than .1 over the 15mcg limit.
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Why? A non-profit can be just as sensational as a profit organization. Especially when they are selling a product.
Yes, one was higher, I was indicating a specific result that they showed, and that was NOT statitically significant. And even 16.9 is probably not statistically significant over 15, depending on the method of analysis.
And what will 16.9 mcg gram per day do to you?
For reference, the OSHA limit for arsenic exposure is 0.5 MILLIgrams per cubic meter of air. You can be exposed to this for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week for your entire working lifetime. The NIOSH ceiling limit is 0.00mg/m3 for 15 minutes. You breath about 0.5L per breath under normal conditions, and breath 12 - 20 times per minute. So at 0.5L and an average of 16 times per minute, you breath 8L per minute, 480 L per hour and 3840L per 8 hour day. One cubic meter = 1000L, so yo breath 3.84 m3, or 1.92 mg (1920 mcg) per day at the OSHA limit.
These limits are for inorganic arsenic. Organic arsenic is 500 times less harmful than inorganic. Which form was in the supplement?
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The World Health Organization recommends a limit of 0.01 mg/L (10ppb) of arsenic in drinking water.
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So if you drink 4L of water per day, that meets the WHO guidelines, you get 0.04 milligrams of arsenic. And you are worried about an extra 1.9 micrograms?
Oh, and finally, the limits that they talk about are PROPOSED USP limits, not established limits. And what were they based on? If the WHO allows you to get 0.03 mg (30 mcg) of aresnic from the 3L of water you used to mix up your 3 protein supplelments, is an extra 1.9 mcg significnat?
And did you know that arsenic has and is used as a medicine?
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In addition to its presence as a poison, for centuries arsenic was used medicinally. It has been used for over 2,400 years as a part of traditional Chinese medicine. In the western world, Arsenic was used extensively to treat syphilis before penicillin was introduced. It was eventually replaced as a therapeutic agent by sulfa drugs and then by antibiotics. Arsenic was also an ingredient in many tonics (or "patent medicines").
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