Arsenic In Drinking Water? A Study Links It To Diabetes

Remember the play Arsenic and Old Lace?  The nice old ladies would serve a drink laced with the poison to unsuspecting victims who promptly keeled over dead.  It turns out arsenic, which is naturally occurring, isn't good in small doses either.  JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) has just published a study correlating a link between onset of Diabetes Type II and higher arsenic levels in drinking water.   

Utility companies in the U.S. are required by law to keep arsenic levels to fewer than 10 parts per billion, but they do not regulate private wells and drinking sources.  The researchers also noted areas in the U.S. that have higher levels of arsenic in the ground and it appears that arsenic levels in Marin County are low.  Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions and accounts for 10% of the total dollars spent on healthcare.  Luckily, there is an inexpensive take-home lab test that consumers can purchase to test their well water.