As the old saying goes, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," and with modern times apple juice became the substitute for the actual fruit. Sporting the same vitamins and minerals, apple juice and other fruit juices became a common sight in different families' homes as an alternative to sodas.

However, fruit juices, more specifically in some select brands of apple juices, have come under fire just recently because of claims of Mehmet Oz, MD, host of The Dr. Oz Show, that arsenic levels in 10 out of 36 apple juices exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's 10 parts per billion rule on public water.

The claims Oz made were done in his show, shocking people and effectively producing an apple-juice anxiety across the United States.

However, his claims were met with criticism from different people and organizations as the FDA itself, after hearing those allegations, did some tests on their own and found much lower levels of arsenic, insisting that apple juice is safe for consumption, ABC News reported.

In addition, FDA holds that the limit for arsenic in fruit juices is 23 parts per billion, far from the 10 parts per billion of water but this is because water is more commonly consumed than fruit juices. With these different limits for arsenic, Dr. Oz believes that the agency should not allow more arsenic in apple juice than the allowed arsenic in drinking water.

Getting to Know Arsenic

Arsenic, for a fact, is actually used to poison pests like rats, and is potentially lethal to any living thing. However, this poison can be found in food, water, and other household items but in safer, lower levels.

According to eSsortment.com, exposure to arsenic may cause many types of cancer such as skin cancer, scrotal cancer, liver cancer, cancer of the lymphatic system, and lung cancer.

Determined through a hair analysis, symptoms of arsenic poisoning begin with headaches, confusion, and drowsiness, and as it develops, convulsions and changes in fingernail pigmentation may occur. Signs of the latter stage of poisoning include diarrhea, vomiting, blood in the urine, cramping muscles, hair loss, stomach pain, and more frequent convulsions.

Treatment for arsenic poisoning range from oxygen therapy, chelation therapy, to saunas and various methods of detoxification of heavy metals, and aside from this, mineral supplements or even nutritional intervention are done to balance the body out and rid of the excess arsenic.