What If You Consumed Uranium?

Take a glance at the periodic table, and you’ll notice many elements that also appear on food labels, such as potassium, iron, and calcium. However, at the very bottom, you’ll find something more commonly linked to nuclear headlines than your morning meal: uranium. It’s hard not to imagine—what would happen if you scooped some up and ate it?

To understand better, let’s examine atomic number 92. Uranium is a heavy, slightly radioactive metal naturally present in soil, rocks, and water. Once extracted, experts process its three isotopes to create depleted and enriched forms. The depleted version, less radioactive, is used in bullets and armor, while the enriched type fuels nuclear weapons and reactors.

You don’t need to be involved in defense or nuclear industries to encounter uranium. In reality, consuming it is one of the most frequent ways people are exposed. Foods like potatoes and turnips are among the richest sources of uranium in our diets, but they’re not alone. The Environmental Protection Agency states that the average person ingests between 0.07 and 1.1 micrograms of uranium daily [source: EPA].

The good news is that you don’t need to avoid root vegetables anytime soon. The tiny amount of uranium consumed daily is far from harmful, especially since your body struggles to absorb it in the first place [source: Keith et al]. In fact, 95 to 99 percent of ingested uranium is expelled through feces, and 70 percent of the remainder is flushed out in urine within a day [source: ATSDR]. A minimal amount may linger in your bones for months or even years, but consuming uranium is far less dangerous than breathing it in.

But what if uranium wasn’t just a trace element in your food but the main ingredient? Unsurprisingly, consuming large amounts of this radioactive substance significantly raises the risk of cancer. However, the immediate threat isn’t radiation—it’s chemical toxicity. Uranium primarily harms the kidneys: Ingesting 25 milligrams can cause damage, while doses exceeding 50 milligrams may lead to kidney failure and even death [source: Argonne National Laboratory]. Long-term studies on rats also reveal alterations in brain chemistry from uranium ingestion [source: ATSDR].

Thankfully, while high doses of uranium are undoubtedly deadly, there are no recorded human fatalities from consuming it orally [source: Keith et al.]. So, instead of indulging in uranium-based yellowcake, you’re better off enjoying the kind of cake topped with chocolate frosting.