Experts say that the heavy metals even in a relatively low exposure may play a role in the high prevalence of hypertension observed in market populations, and rice meals may be a major source of these heavy metals.
In a new study, the experts said that environmental pollutants such as heavy metals may play a role in the high prevalence of hypertension in our market population, and rice meals may be a major source of these heavy metals.
The researchers had studied the heavy metal content of rice meals sold in Ogbete market in Enugu, a market population with a high prevalence of hypertension. They had obtained five different cooked rice meals from 25 locations of the market and tested them for their mercury, copper, cadmium, lead, and arsenic.
The rice meals included jollof rice, white rice and tomato stew, fried rice, white rice and vegetable sauce, and white rice and palm oil stew (ofeakwu). Accompanying protein (meat, fish, and egg) and vegetable salad were excluded.
Arsenic content ranged from 503 to 550 mg/kg and was comparable across the five rice dishes. Copper was significantly highest (16767 mg/kg) in the white rice and tomato stew dish, while mercury was significantly highest (33 mg/kg) in white rice and ofeakwu. Jollof rice had the highest cadmium content (23 mg/kg), which was statistically significant. Lead was not found in any of the rice dishes.
According to them, “Further studies may be needed to ascertain the sources of these heavy metals as well as their presence in other local meals sold in the market place. This would lead to sensitisation of food contamination with heavy metals which can help prevent deleterious health conditions such as hypertension.
“Given that the market population has a high prevalence of hypertension, and the most commonly consumed food in Nigeria is rice, we propose that the heavy metal composition of the rice meals may be related to the prevalence of hypertension observed in this population.”
Hypertension is a medical condition of chronic elevation in blood pressure, which can lead to other cardiovascular diseases and sudden death. Market populations in Nigeria have been shown to have high prevalence of hypertension.
Traditional risk factors of hypertension include increasing age, male gender, genetic predisposition, excessive salt consumption, significant tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, physical inactivity, diets low in potassium and rich in saturated fats, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and steroids.
Current scientific evidence implicates environmental toxicants such as heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium as risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Their potential to cause cardiovascular toxicity even at low levels that may be considered safe limits has just begun to evolve.
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