E541 - Neurotoxic Additives? Dementia?
Aluminum
The last three decades have seen a steady increase of unwelcome forms of aluminum in our environment and diet. Many junk and fake foods contain additives, for example raising agents in muffins and donuts - and most water utilities use aluminum sulphate to clarify drinking water. Other source include antacids, buffered aspirin and anti-perspirants. Colored candies almost always have aluminium enhanced food colors.
Aluminum (European spelling Aluminium) is harmful to all life forms. It damages all types of tissue. "Aluminum is a protoplasmic poison and a pernicious and persistent neurotoxin". No living systems use aluminium as part of a biochemical process. It has a tendency to accumulate in the brain and bones. It is considerably less toxic than mercury, arsenic, lead or cadmium, but it is much more common in our environment, it also appears to be more persistent than most of the other metallic poisons. The danger is one that only manifests itself over long periods of time. It is therefore prudent to avoid consumption. Avoidance is currently the best way of protecting you and your family from the serious, long term damage that can result from ingestion. Pregnant and lactating women, the young and the elderly are at risk. The most effective way of preserving your mental acuity in to your later years appears to be eliminating the sources of aluminum in the diet.
One can take steps to minimise the effects of aluminium in the environment. A sustained, three pronged attack is the most effective response;
- Avoiding it,
- Blocking its uptake with supplements (calcium, magnesium, iron)
- Eating foodstuffs that help to eliminate it from your system. Fruit on its own, green vegetables and some algaes.
Aluminum contaminated consumables are now very common. Being aware of the sources is the first step in elimination. Removing aluminum from your diet can be quite easy if a gradual approach is taken.
The principal symptom of aluminum poisoning is the loss of intellectual function; forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, and in extreme cases, full blown dementia. It is also known to cause bone softening and bone mass loss, kidney and other soft tissue damage, in large doses it can cause cardiac arrest.
Many of those who have gone on to low aluminum diets have reported a reduction in irritability, headaches and significant improvements in memory and ability to concentrate. Parents reported improvements in children suffering from behavioral problems.
One series of tests designed to find out if lead caused ADHD came up with the finding that many of the children suffering from attention deficit disorders had much higher than average levels of aluminium in their hair. Experiments conducted at Toronto University have shown that those Alzheimer's Disease patients given treatment to remove aluminum from their system experience an immediate reduction in the rate of deterioration. Feeding even relatively small amounts of some aluminum salts to laboratory animals results in brain tissue damage identical to that found in Alzheimer's patients. Recent research has identified aluminum fluoride as a particularly nasty substance, shown to cause the deposition of amyloid proteins (the proven cause of the tangled brain cells in most dementia cases) in the brains of rats when they are given drinking water with only 0.5 to 1 parts per millionconcentration.
The following additives contain aluminium compounds: E173, E520, E521, E523 E541, E545, E554, E555 E556, E559. Antacids quite often contain aluminum trisilicate as does buffered aspirin. Foods containing aluminium based additives include dry cake mixes, pastries and croissants made from frozen dough, processed cheeses, some donuts and waffles, check muffins for E541 (sodium aluminum phosphate), and food coloring. The list of substances containing aluminium salts is quite depressing, it even includes toothpaste!, especially tooth whitening products.
The use of aluminum in drinking water is starting to be looked at in Canada and Australia, most utilities in Europe and the United States do exceed the recommended level of 100 microgrammes per litre, some by as much as sixty times! Another obvious and easily avoided source is aluminum cooking pots and pans, this can be quite easily remedied by using enamelled, stainless steel and cast iron pots. Cooking in earthenware and glass containers is another option. There is no need to throw out all of your aluminium pots, it is OK to fry food in aluminium pans - and intact Teflon, non-stick coatings will effectively prevent any of the aluminum from reaching the food.(not that not everyone believes that Teflon is harmless, but that is another story)
Pregnant women also those who are breast feeding their children should avoid all sources as should those on slimming and weight loss diets. Apparently when iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc levels drop, the uptake of aluminium worsens. Taking mineral supplements seems to be a good idea, particularly for vegetarians, absorption is dramatically reduced by the presence of iron in the body. As it is cumulative, slow acting and extremely persistent, older people are at particularly at risk.
Until the water utilities get the level of aluminium down to recommended levels it is prudent to use untreated spring or mineral water for drinking and cooking. Few of us are wealthy enough to spend two months in the year at a health spa, however you can help eliminate toxic metals including aluminum simply by drinking sulfur containing spring water such as "San Pellagrino". Beans and garlic are known to release detoxifying sulfur compounds.
Unfortunately in the USA there is quite a strong and vocal effort by interested parties who use extremely well funded and organised lobbying and proxy organisations to present aluminum compounds as harmless minerals, however is is not all gloom and doom as there are now many independent researchers who are doing their own tests to establish the toxic effects of the metal. Check out the references below
Despite the noise and doubts generated by powerful vested interests there is more than enough evidence to justify avoiding it in our diet.
If you follow some of the links at the foot of this article you will find research that shows that aluminum is twice as effective as cadmium in producing the neurofibrillary tangles that are characteristic of Alzheimer's Disease. There is also a paper that describes tests of a substance, aluminium fluoride which is present in drinking water. Minute quantities, as little as 0.5 parts per million were found to result in the formation of beta amyloid proteins, characteristic of Alzheimer's
Aluminum and Teflon
I found your article about aluminum to be valuable; however it contains one bit of grossly false information that needs to be corrected: in the last line of paragraph #8 you state "it is OK to fry food in aluminum pans and intact Teflon, non-stick coatings will effectively prevent any contamination." Nothing could be further from the truth! Teflon is known to be hazardous to your health and is linked to cancer, autoimmune diseases and more.A great website to visit is Dr. Joseph Mercola's www.mercola.com, where you can sign up for his free email newsletter. His website contains over 50,000 free articles on topics involving natural health. Dr. Mercola has been involved in natural health for over 30 years, and has authored several books. He had a specialization in helping autistic patients, but is no longer involved in private practice. He has a special pdf report, "Exposing The Dangers of TEFLON." This one is sold for $9.97. He also has free articles on his website, "It's Official: Teflon is a "Likely" Carcinogen - Yahoo News, 2006. -
Also please visit Dr. Russell Blaylock's website: http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/
Dr. Blaylock is a neurosurgeon who has written a book, "Excitotoxins: the Taste That Kills", and has an excellent PowerPoint presentation on DVD, titled, "Nutrition and Behavior." -- Best wishes, Debbie Calderón, C. Ht. Certified HypnotherapistEnabling Positive Change Through Hypnosis -Message: (626) 389-4123
Update -- BBC 15th December 2005 Disease link to water poisoning
"A post-mortem test on a woman who drank water during the Camelford water poisoning incident has found abnormally high levels of aluminium in her brain. It is the strongest evidence yet of a possible link between the poisoning and a disease similar to Alzheimer's.
Water in the Cornish town was contaminated with 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate in 1988. Hundreds of people became ill after the toxic chemical was put into the wrong tank at a treatment works.
West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose released the post-mortem examination results on Thursday. He asked leading neuropathologist Prof Margaret Esiri to examine the woman's brain and spinal cord following her death in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, in February last year".
Update -- 6th November 2004
In the UK the uptake of aluminium from cereal products has tripled in the last three years.
Allegedly UK based quality food stores Marks and Spencer's has baked items on their shelves which contain aluminum raising agents. Attempts to regain market share are probably responsible for the drop in standards.
Update -- 17th November 2003
Food colors are changing and some of the newer dyes appear to be more natural, however they are frequently produced using an aluminum treatment to enhance and brighten the color. The new dyes contain small amounts of substances that are likely to accumulate in the brain.Update -- 5th October 2003.
A dangerous new fad is using Alum crystals to rub under arm areas to inhibit perspiration. Even some apparently reputable health food stores stock them, claiming falsely that they do not have the type of aluminum that gets in to the body. Ask if they are from Bauxite and the assistant will usually agree but usually they will be quite unaware that Bauxite is the principal source of aluminum and every bit as harmful as the antiperspirant sprays.Update -- 10th October 2002. As fewer food companies use aluminum additives the manufacturers of the additives are looking for markets in developing countries. Chinese dumplings are one outlet, beware of the trip to the Chinese restaurant. It is not only Monosodium Glutamate that you have to look out for. (Incidentally some experts have identified neurotoxic properties in MSG)
Tips and queries on the Aluminum Problem submitted by readers
Some Web sites and pages containing information on Aluminium as a neurotoxin:
http://home.earthlink.net/~joannefstruve/_wsn/page3.html
http://student.biology.arizona.edu/ad/default.html
http://www.healing.org/Child-TOC.html
http://www.tv.cbc.ca/healthshow/pastitem/adandal.html
http://icmr.nic.in/buaug99.htm
http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_alzheimers.html l
Please let us know if you find any useful links or if you find that some of the above links are broken:
Papers
Varner JA, et al. (1998). Chronic administration of aluminum-fluoride and sodium-fluoride to rats in drinking water: Alterations in neuronal and cerebrovascular integrity. Brain Research 784: 284-298. This paper found evidence that levels of aluminium fluoride as low as 1 part per million had adverse affects on brain development in rats
Avoiding Aluminum
Some tips and Queries received from readers:-
Warning on Food Coloring - Many food colors are being enhanced by the use of aluminum. Cochineal is almost always color enhanced these days. For those trying to avoid aluminium it is extremely difficult to know what is and what is not contaminated. The color source is very small in quantity but is likely to have high bioavailability. Candies that are vividly colored should be a definite negative!! Tim Gore
Aluminum. Understand that fluoride will allow aluminum to pass through the blood brain barrier. Read up on the dangers of fluoride, the fact that it actually causes tooth enamel to become brittle causing fissures in tooth enamel that leads to cavities. No wonder dentists promote it. Beyond that it is the base of most antidepressants. It is a rat poison, and the source these days for industry fluoride is the scrapings of fertilizer incinerator stacks. Avoid it. I found a toothpaste Spearmint flavor of Toms' of Maine brand. Check the label. Most of the Tom's does contain fluoride. Avoiding fluoride will help keep aluminum out of the brain. I use a salt crystal for deodorant, to avoid aluminum. Also vaccines contain mercury as well as aluminum. -- Harold,
Maltol and Aluminum. Thanks for your article on Aluminum, very helpful. It is not only fluoride which will carry aluminium into the brain. Citric acid can increase the amount deposited by over 100 times, so too can the additive Maltol, a sweetener present in drinking chocolate and some beers. Experiments carried out on rabbits show that it can increase the aluminum absorbed in the brain by over 90 times. --Richard Dabrowski
Subject: Aluminium and Alzheimers From Russell Hall and class We are very interested in finding out the link between aluminium and Alzheimer’s and the effects of aluminium on the human body and would be very happy if you could shed some light on this subject for us Thank you -- Chanel College Chemistry New Zealandchanel.col@nspxtra.co.nz
Aluminum as a color brightener is widely used food colors, the aluminium is thought to be in an insoluble form, however the food manufacturers do not advertise the fact that a neurotoxic metal is present in sweets such as M&Ns. Very young children lack some of the protection mechanisms that are present in older children and adults. - Victor Purtill
In your health tips page you suggest that people avoid aluminum, how do I know what foods contains it?. What I have read about it makes me worry that my children are building up the metal in their brains and that they will have problems in later life. essie2000
To Essie2000: It is unlikely that you will completely avoid aluminum in food. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earths crust. The question you should be asking is how any aluminum can enter your brain and what you can do to avoid it. -- "J. B. Rivera" Aug 00
To Essie2000: Water: By using the right bottled water one can eliminate the oral route, what about the water absorbed during a bath? My colleague suggests using a tea bag in your bathwater. -- Jakey Thornton
Aluminum in Antiperspirants Harmful? I've seen much about aluminum being ingested and it's potential for harm. What about deodorant/antiperspirants with aluminum? -- Carolyn B King
Re: Aluminium poisoning in fruit juices I am a high school student in south Africa. I am doing an investigation as to whether fruit juices packaged in drinking boxes with aluminium lining are being contaminated with aluminium. Do you know anything about this subject? Could the juice be contaminated? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Angie, -- Angie Jacobs
Aluminium Poisoning Hi, I've heard from my colleague that sterilising baby products by boiling is not too good as the utensils most likely contain aluminium. Is it true? Thanks for your advice. Regards, Concerned mother Singapore. Tong
Subject; Aluminum allergy? It is a long story how I discovered that I am allergic to aluminum, so I won't go into that.
I have had migraines for 28 years and since being chelated for heavy metal toxicity (lead, copper and aluminum) and avoiding aluminum I have had a 95% reduction in headaches. Aluminum is used as a coating for "buffered " pain relievers among MANY other things. If you are taking coated ibuprofen this may be the problem. Aluminum is also in baking powder, baking soda, (health food stores have alum free) , dark teas, cake mixes, frozen dough, non-dairy creamers, flouride toothpaste, anti-diarheal drugs, and very high in processed cheese of any kind.
If you would like more info, email me. The list I have compiled contains over 40 household items that contain aluminum. -- Nancy -- A list can be viewed at:http://www.moondragon.org/health/disorders/alzheimeralum.html - Ed
Aluminum Water Bottles Safe? Hi Nancy, I just read your comments onhttp://www.qznaz.com/aluminum.htm about aluminum and am interested in your list of household items that contain aluminum. Would you please email it to me? I'm also wondering if you would help me with some questions. I'm interested in purchasing an aluminum sports bottle, but am concerned about aluminum being bad for health. Do you know if storing drinking water in aluminum bottles is safe? What about storing other types of liquids (not acidic ones like orange juice, but what about tea, for example)? And it occurred to me -- if I washed the aluminum bottle with soap and water, would it release aluminum into the drinking water that I put in later? I understand you may not have the answers to these questions -- I would just be glad for any information you can give me on the safety of using aluminum bottles for storing drinking water. Thank you, -- TMC 30 Oct 2003
Dear Hints and Tips,
I have just looked at your website. I have been suffering from terrible memory loss, concentration, and general mental functioning together with a general foggy feeling in my head and a headache (not severe). It has been very worrying as I am only 43 years old and have a business to run and 2 young children to attend to. I thought that one of the reasons for this could be alumunium poisoning brought on by my spanish coffee percolater. I make myself a coffee using this percolator every morning. It is the old
fashioned type - photo attached. When I wash it it does have a 'metal smell' to it. Is this possible? Have you heard of any similar cases? Any help or references would be helpful. Looking forward to your response. Kind regards, -- Mrs Maite BerndesSubject - Aluminum and Milk Hi, I had a question about aluminum, we have a milk cow and am going to buy a cream separator. The stainless steel ones are about $200.00 more than the ones with an aluminum bowl. I've always tried to stay away from aluminum, but I was wondering if the aluminum would leach out in the milk in the 15 or so minutes it takes to spin it. I was also wondering if milk is one of the " more acidic " foods that make it worse to use aluminum. Any advice you have would be much appreciated. Thanks, Trina. 04/08/10
Hair Loss - Aluminum
My son started having clumps of hair fall out and one of the problems he had was too much aluminum in the body. Aluminum bonds with Zinc in the body. The human body needs zinc for brain functions and also the nervous system. After being treated with herbs and special trace mineral and all-around vitamins his condition is improving. He was treated by both an internal medicine doctor specializing in Endocrine systems in the body, and a local doctor in Irrology, that specializes in a Holistic Approach. The Irrologist believes that the secrets of the health of the body can be found by examining the eyes. The Holistic approach is what is curing him. There are certain herbs which will bond with the Aluminum and allow the aluminum to be flushed out of the body.Aluminum is thought to leach out of pots when Tomato Sauce is cooked in it due to the acidic content. This might go for chili and some stews with tomatos. However, the aluminum may already be in canned tomatos bought at the market because the people who can the tomatoes may be using large aluminum vats to cook them in. Of course if you are using a scouring pad a pot may have some aluminum content on it after it is cleaned that can combine with food. I have often seen a rag turn dinjy silver after cleaning an aluminum pot and then trying to wipe it off.
Aluminum is often in things like Antacids, and Antipersperants as well.
After doing some research I found that some forms of powdered aluminum are sometimes added to water at water purification plants as a Clarifier to make the water clearer. I think this is why people are using bottled water so much. It is hard to determine all the different sources of aluminum.
I found a lot of information on studies showing adding flouride to water can have bad effects also 2 different studies managed to kill rats from this. It may be the flouride and the aluminum mix and become deadlier.
Try doing a search using Alzheimer and aluminum.
I think this is an area that local, state, federal, and foreign health officials need to pay more attention to. -- Charles Hammond
Vaccines and Alzheimers - "According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticist and 13th most quoted biologist of our times (nearly 850 papers in peer review journals), if an individual has had five consecutive flu shots between 1970 and 1980 (the years studied), his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is ten times higher than if they had one, two or no shots. I asked Dr. Fudenberg why this was so and he said it was due to the mercury and aluminum that is in every flu shot (and most childhood shots). The gradual mercury and aluminum buildup in the brain causes cognitive dysfunction. Is that why Alzheimer's is expected to quadruple? " - Rich C
Some Web sites and pages containing information on Aluminium as a neurotoxin:
http://student.biology.arizona.edu/ad/neurotoxic.html
http://www.healing.org/Child-TOC.html
http://www.tv.cbc.ca/healthshow/pastitem/adandal.html
http://icmr.nic.in/buaug99.html
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