Toxic Aluminum

Aluminum, or tin foil is that sheet metal you use in the kitchen to line pans with to aid cleanup, right? It's supposed to make our lives easier, better, and more convenient. Well, that same material can be found in a variety of places in our environment: antiperspirants, antacids, aluminum in cookware and “tin foils”, aluminum used in the deodorant stones and crystals, aluminum in clays like zeolite, bentonite and azomite, and hundreds of other common products made with aluminum. Did you know it is a toxic metal?

What does aluminum affect? You might be surprised to know that the brain is affected more than any other system of the body, impairing memory and cognition in most cases.

Be a detective, and arm yourself with this knowledge. Remove the sources and replace with healthier options:

SOURCES OF ALUMINUM TOXICITY

· beverages from aluminum cans (soda pop, beer, juices) unless the can is coated on the inside

· food cooked in aluminum cookware or foil

· use of aluminum-containing antacids

· use of antiperspirants

· drinking water (aluminum is frequently added to municipal water supplies)

· baking powders used in many baked goods

· table salt – aluminum usually added as an anti-caking additive

· processed cheese

· bleached flour

· fluoridated (most city water has fluoride in it) water increases leaching of aluminum from aluminum pots and pans.

· all prepared foods made with tap water or salt usually contain aluminum. This includes all baked goods, sauces, almost all beverages such as sodas, some juices and thousands of other products.

· children are often born with elevated aluminum that is passed from mother to fetus through the placenta.

Detection of aluminum in the body can be accomplished a few ways. Blood tests are mildly helpful only because serum levels do not indicate total body load of aluminum. Hair mineral test levels appear to correlate well with bone levels of aluminum. Several hair tests may be needed before aluminum is revealed on the test, as it may be hidden in the storage areas within body tissues.

What does this mean to my health if I have a buildup of Aluminum?

According to Dr. Lawrence Wilson, In animal studies, aluminum blocks the action potential or electrical discharge of nerve cells, reducing nervous system activity. Aluminum also inhibits enzymes in the brain (Na-K-ATPase and hexokinase). It may also inhibit uptake of important chemicals by nerve cells (dopamine, norepinephrine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine).

In terms of behavioral effects: dementia resulting from kidney dialysis related to aluminum toxicity causes memory loss, loss of coordination, confusion and disorientation.

Digestion is often compromised too as aluminum reduces intestinal activity. When you use too many antacids the excess may cause colic.

Early symptoms of aluminum toxicity: flatulence, headaches, colic, dryness of skin and mucous membranes, tendency for colds, burning pain in the head relieved by food, heartburn and an aversion to meat.

Later symptoms:

• Alzheimer's disease

• muscular conditions

• loss of memory

• confusion

• amyotrophic lateral

• sclerosis

• anemia

• hemolysis

• leukocytosis

• porphyria

• colitis

• dental cavities

• hypoparathyroidism

• kidney dysfunction

• liver dysfunction

• neuromuscular disorders

• osteomalacia

• Parkinson's disease

While it takes a while for a properly designed nutritional balancing program based on your hair mineral test to remove the build up of toxic aluminum in the body, it's worth the effort. Once the body removes the stored toxic aluminum, it's gone for good unless you reintroduce aluminum back into your environment. Doing both gives the best possible fighting chance for not only longevity, but quality of life in old age.