(Updated: 21 st August, 2024)
Summary for Busy People:
Prevalence and Concerns:Â Aluminium is widely used in industries and everyday products like deodorants, vaccines, and cookware, raising health concerns.
Health Implications:Â Studies link aluminium exposure to neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's), cancer, autoimmune disorders, and bone diseases.
Sources of Exposure:Â Major sources include food additives, vaccines, personal care products, and occupational hazards.
Criticism of Industries:Â The medical and cosmetics industries are accused of downplaying aluminium's risks, leading to "health-washing."
Practical Advice:Â To reduce exposure, choose aluminium-free products, filter drinking water, and avoid aluminium-based cookware and fertilisers.
Detection and Detoxification:Â Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) can detect aluminium levels. Detoxification using specific nutrients can safely remove aluminium from the body over time.
Aluminium - it is everywhere!
Aluminium, a metal that has become a part of everyday life, is now under the spotlight due to concerns about its potential impact on health. This article explores the worrying connection between aluminium and neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, cancer, bone and joint diseases. We will look at the different ways people get aluminium, including food, deodorants, vaccines, and some occupations. We will also show the possible risks to health. Additionally, we will look at practical ways to reduce aluminium exposure, empowering you to make informed decisions about your health.
Unfortunately, the medical and cosmetics industries rely on aluminium for their products. This creates doubt and confusion where there should be no doubt. Always, when it comes to human health, the precautionary principle of first, doing no harm must be applied. But, in this case of aluminium, this critical principle of care is being obfuscated. I call it "health-washing", or the ploy of attributing health claims to a toxic substance, concealing its presence, minimising its potential for harm, while highlighting and overstating its benefits, and confusing the science around its toxicity.
In our testing (HTMA), we find high levels of aluminium linked to using fertilisers, occupations such as metalworking, some vaccines, and underarm deodorants. Brianna's story is an example of the devastating harm caused when aluminium gets into the body.
The many names of aluminium
Aluminium is an element of great economic importance. Its symbol is Al, and its atomic number is 13. The word aluminium is derived from the Latin word for alum, alumen. Look for these on the labels of your food and especially, your deodorant. Read the labels carefully, looking for "Al" or "Alu", which may be hidden among the long names of chemicals found in products such as deodorants.
In its elemental state, aluminium is a lustrous silver-white metal, known for its remarkable strength-to-weight ratio. This prized attribute has rendered it indispensable across a multitude of fields, from construction to transportation and packaging. Aluminium is a common element in the Earth's crust. It is the third most common element on the planet, after oxygen and silicon. This means it has a big impact on our daily lives.
Yet, for all its ubiquity and utility, the spectre of aluminium's potential health implications has loomed large in recent years. Studies have hinted at a connection between this metal and many diseases, including cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, to name a few. Please do your own research, but here is one example of a search exploring the links between aluminium and cognitive decline.
Aluminium and neurodegenerative diseases
Although aluminium is used in a variety of applications, there is growing concern about its potential role in the development of devastating diseases. Let's look into neurological diseases, for example.
Multiple studies have found a link between high levels of aluminium in the body and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other forms of dementia. These findings have raised questions about the safety of exposure to aluminium from sources such as drinking water, antiperspirants, and vaccines.
A study in the journal "NeuroToxicology" found that those with elevated aluminium in their bloodstream were more susceptible to the ravages of Alzheimer's. The idea is that aluminium may build up in the brain over time, hurting neurons and making it harder to think. Another study, by the University of California, Irvine, showed that exposure to aluminium in work — like smelting and welding — may increase the risk of brain diseases. These revelations beckon us to ponder the implications of protracted exposure to this ubiquitous metal.
Beyond the workplace, aluminium can insidiously infiltrate the body through contaminated water, food additives, and even medications. Aluminium might weaken the blood-brain barrier, and cause brain inflammation. It could also impede the production of neurotransmitters, the brain's chemical messengers vital for intercellular communication. Aluminium exposure could be a factor in the changes that happen in brain cells in conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
Appreciating the potential hazards of aluminium exposure is paramount in the quest for awareness and prevention. If we reduce our contact with aluminium, especially from known sources that have a lot of it, we might be less likely to get neurodegenerative conditions, cancer, and so on. Use deodorants without aluminium. Avoid medications, including vaccines that have aluminium in them. Avoid aluminium cookware. Drink filtered water. These are practical ways to reduce aluminium intake and improve brain health.
Aluminium in vaccines
Questions have been raised about the potential health risks of using aluminium as an adjuvant in some vaccines. Adjuvants are used to make the immune system work better with the vaccine. But their safety has been questioned because they might be linked to conditions like autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. I have seen cases of brain diseases like motor neurone disease (MND) right after getting a vaccine, like the seasonal flu vaccine.
More and more scientific research suggests that aluminium can build up in the brain. This could cause neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease. Studies have indicated a heightened risk of these diseases, with increased levels of cerebral aluminium, hinting at a causal link. Animal models have also shown that exposure to aluminium can cause memory problems, forgetfulness, and brain inflammation. This makes people more worried about its neurotoxic properties.
Hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) often shows that aluminium is present. This can be because a person has been exposed to it from things like deodorants and vaccines. This is a consistent finding. Here is a teenager's HTMA. He does not use a deodorant, which is unusual these days, but he has had childhood vaccines that contain aluminium. Could the vaccines be a source of this elevated aluminium?
The implications of aluminium's presence in the brain extend beyond the realm of neurodegenerative maladies. Consider its link to autoimmune disorders. Studies have suggested that aluminium-based vaccines may be linked to the increase in conditions like multiple sclerosis, lupus, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis. The exact mechanisms remain elusive, but the notion that aluminium might instigate an immune system malfunction, resulting in the production of self-directed antibodies, is a compelling hypothesis under scrutiny.
The spectre of aluminium in vaccines has, for some, sown seeds of doubt, blossoming into a collective vaccine hesitancy. While such hesitancy is a choice, a personal one, to vaccinate or not, and one that should be made with the utmost care, weighing the scales of risk and benefit, I feel the weight of the evidence is such that hesitancy is justified. It is the duty of public health authorities and the medical community to rigorously assess the potential health implications of aluminium adjuvants in vaccines and to implement measures to mitigate any associated risks. On this, I feel they are letting the public down.
Underarm deodorants containing aluminium
Underarm deodorants are a staple of daily life for many, yet the potential health hazards of certain constituents, notably aluminium, may elude public consciousness. This neurotoxin has been implicated in a spectrum of maladies, from breast cancer to Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease.
The apprehension regarding aluminium in underarm deodorants is rooted in its capacity to permeate the skin and amass within the body. Studies have illuminated aluminium's potential to disrupt oestrogen regulation, a hormone with established links to specific breast cancers. Also, research has suggested that exposure to aluminium can increase the risk of Alzheimer's and motor neurone diseases. This shows that people should be careful.
Yet, despite all of the evidence and the terrorising of women about breast cancer, the cosmetics industry is still encouraging women to apply a carcinogen to their armpits, where their lymph nodes are prolific. Aluminium-containing deodorant use shows up in HTMA. The test demonstrates that this toxin permeates the entire body, including the brain.
It is imperative to understand that not all deodorants contain aluminium. The discerning individual can select from natural alternatives, such as those composed of baking soda, cornstarch, t-tree oil, or coconut oil, to name a few. These natural ingredients are adept at absorbing moisture and neutralising odours without the potential health hazards associated with aluminium-based products. By choosing safe personal care products, people can avoid getting exposed to harmful metals like aluminium.
Aluminium in fertiliser
New Zealand's agriculture would not exist without fertilisers, such as super-phosphate. Aluminium is found in a wide range of industries, including fertilisers. Its ubiquity and classification as a known neurotoxin have raised concerns about its potential health effects. Its presence in fertilisers poses additional risks to human health and the environment.
Fertilisers often contain aluminium compounds. I understand they are primarily anti-caking agents.
Legumes, encompassing beans, lentils, and peas, are particularly susceptible to the perils of aluminium that may accumulate in soil from fertiliser use. These plants possess a proclivity to draw in and amass aluminium from the earth. The consumption of legumes cultivated in aluminium-laden soils may heighten the risk of exposure and its subsequent health implications. Vegetarians may be particularly at risk. We have found, with HTMA, that most race horses we have tested have elevated aluminium, from eating large amounts of feed such as lucerne.
To mitigate this, using aluminium-based fertilisers should be curtailed, and organic alternatives embraced. Using organic fertilisers, like those made from compost or manure, can be a safe and natural way to feed plants without adding harmful chemicals.
Removing Aluminium - Detoxifying the body
First, it is important to know if a person has a problem with aluminium poisoning. The best test is hair tissue mineral analysis. Aluminium may be hard to find because it may be hidden deep in the body in organs like the liver, kidneys, bone, fat, and the brain. But we can see signs that it is there, but not visible.
If there is too much of this poisonous metal in the body, detoxification is done with nutrients that safely move and remove aluminium from the body. These may include beta-carotene, citrus flavonoids, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C. HTMA testing and consultation best guide the exact process, and bear in mind that it may take years to fully clear this toxin from the body.
Conclusion
While aluminium is an indispensable component of modern life, its potential health risks warrant careful consideration and action. People must be aware of the risks so they can make informed choices about their exposure to this metal. By choosing products without aluminium, looking at the ingredients, and asking for stricter rules, we can reduce the health risks of aluminium. The application of the precautionary principle, "first, do no harm," should guide public health policies and personal decisions alike, but I feel those in charge are letting us down. It remains imperative for everyone to stay informed, and advocate for change in practises that may pose long-term risks to human health and the environment. In the meantime, take the responsibility to look after yourself and your family, because nobody else is.
Comments