Don’t Accept Cadmium Stories from a Layman
When our parents taught us NOT to accept gifts from strangers, it was easy to understand why. But nobody taught us what to do when someone says the proof that Srila Prabhupada was poisoned is in the fact that he had 250X excess cadmium in his hair. When many hear this, they gasp… that means someone was both smart and evil enough to do such a horrible thing without getting caught! However, only those who do not understand what it takes for such large cadmium deposits to occur get fooled by this type of DECEPTION. In the case of cadmium, most of what one consumes just passes out of the body and only very small residual portion get deposited into the hair from the blood.
Toxicologists inform us that it would be impossible for someone to ingest the cadmium necessary for the tiny portions absorbed by the hair to accrue to such a staggering 250X normal. This becomes immediately evident for those who understand chemistry and how the body works. Using averages for metabolism, weight, and general health, the following formula demonstrates this medical fact:
To exceed the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) (175 µg per week for a 70-kg adult), a person would need to consume 10–50 times this amount (e.g., 1,750–8,750 µg/week, or ~250–1,250 µg/day) over several months, perhaps even years, to reach 250 times normal cadmium levels in hair.
When we comprehend how the body deals with cadmium, it becomes obvious that even a single oral dose of 10-20 mg/kg (10,000µg) per kg of body weight would immediately cause: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, kidney damage and in extreme cases, shock or possibly death… and that would happen on the 1st day!
Our parents warned us as children to NOT listen to tempting stories from a stranger promising candy. We should apply that same type of prudence when anyone claims that Srila Prabhupada had 250X what is normal for cadmium deposits in the hair. It just isn’t medically possible for that to ever occur. Therefore, you can be quite certain that those who make statements like this either made a big mistake somewhere, are poorly informed or they have a personal agenda for wanting to deceive you. We all make mistakes which can be quickly forgiven. If after understanding the time and volume of cadmium required to reach 250X what is normal in the hair someone continues to spread this DECEPTION, a wise person would immediately walk away to seek better association.