TOXIC ELEMENTS WITH NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE - Everything is toxic if the dose is high enough. But there are elements that have no nutritional value, even in trace amounts. Some of these elements accumulate in the body, so there is no truly safe exposure limit for those elements. Barium, and aluminum are examples of elements which can be excreted, at least to a certain extent. Most of these elements are metals. The man-made elements are radioactive and toxic whether they are metals or not. Aluminum serves no known biological function in humans.

Aluminum is one of the most common elements in the Earth's crust, yet serves no biological function in humans. 

...................

Toxic Elements With No Nutritional Value

Do You Know Which Elements Are Toxic?

^{by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.}

Have you ever wondered which elements are toxic?

Everything is toxic if the dose is high enough, so I've compiled a short list of elements that have no nutritional value, even in trace amounts.

Some of these elements accumulate in the body, so there is no truly safe exposure limit for those elements (e.g., lead, mercury). 

Barium, and aluminum are examples of elements which can be excreted, at least to a certain extent.

Most of these elements are metals. The man-made elements are radioactive and toxic whether they are metals or not.

·  Aluminum

·  Antimony

·  Arsenic (metalloid)

·  Barium

·  Beryllium

·  Cadmium

·  Hexavalent Chromium Cr⁶⁺ (Cr³⁺ is necessary in trace amounts for proper nutrition)

·  Lead

·  Mercury

·  Osmium

·  Thallium

·  Vanadium

Radioactive Metals 

·  Polonium (metalloid)

·  Thorium

·  Radium

·  Uranium

·  Transuranium elements (e.g., polonium, americium)

·  Radioactive isotopes of metals that might not otherwise be highly toxic (e.g., cobalt-60, strontium-90)

Surprises on the List

One of the biggest surprises on the list is that aluminum serves no known biological function in humans.

Aluminum is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and the most abundant metal.

Another surprise is that you can't use flavor to identify toxic elements.

Some poisonous metals taste sweet. Classic examples include beryllium and lead.

Lead acetate or "sugar of lead " was actually used as a sweetener until fairly recently.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/toxic-elements-with-no-nutritional-value-609283