While steel and iron often come to mind, it’s actually Aluminum that is the most used and distributed metal on the planet. When you think about it, it’s everywhere! You can find it in such everyday household products like cookware, foil, baking soda, cake-mixes, non-dairy creamers, aspirin, flour, deodorant and even water. Also, common food additives such as E173, E520, E521, E523, E541, E545, E554, E555, E556 and E559 contain aluminum. But did you know that aluminum causes alzheimer’s , dementia, and other serious health problems?
With so much Aluminum in our society, one would think it was established and proven to be harmless, it’s not. Unlike iron and other metals and minerals, the body does not need or want Aluminum. Thus, it is a foreign object to our body and we have no mechanism to process it or use it. So, what happens to the Aluminum we intake? It, like many other toxic chemicals from plastics and pesticides, gets stored by the body and (sine we can’t process it) builds and accumulates over time. The kidneys, brain, lungs, liver and thyroid are all susceptible to damage from Aluminum buildup.
1) Aluminum Damages the Central Nervous System: Damage from Aluminum buildup can be seen in both children and adults. In children, it has been linked to Autism. Baby’s are often exposed to high levels of Aluminum (when compared to their body size) from drinking water (tap water most often). Children have also presented with bone and kidney diseases. In adults, the neurological affects are signs of pre-mature aging, especially cognitively. The neurological disorders from Aluminum resemble Alzheimer’s.
2) Brain Damage: Researchers are pointing to high levels of oxidative stress in brain tissue when patients present with high levels of Aluminum. Since your brain is one of the main places our body stores Aluminum, it tends to be most affected. The results can be MS, Chronic fatigue, epilepsy, ADD and other cognitive disorders. Aluminum causes alzheimer’s and dementia.
3) Aluminum Robs the Body of Essential Minerals: Though Aluminum is not needed by the body, magnesium, calcium and iron are. Unfortunately, Aluminum robs the body of these much-needed substances. “Trace aluminum levels cross the blood-brain barrier and progressively accumulate in large pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, cortex, and other brain regions vulnerable in Alzheimer’s disease. More aluminum enters the brain than leaves, resulting in a net increase in intraneuronal aluminum with advancing age. Aluminum is responsible for two main types of toxic damage in cells. As a pro-oxidant, aluminum causes oxidative damage both on its own and in synergy with iron. Aluminum also competes with, and substitutes for, essential metals-primarily Mg2+, iron and Ca2+ ions-in or on proteins and their co-factors.”
4) Aluminum Can Weaken Bones and Tissues: It is also believed to contribute to osteoporosis.
5) Aluminum Can Cause Premature Aging: Due to the oxidative stress on cellular DNA.
How to Reduce Aluminum Intake: Since it is the most widely distributed metal on the planet, avoiding it completely will be difficult. You can greatly reduce your intake by purchasing products free of Aluminum. Especially products such as cookware, personal hygiene and processed foods.
To help your body reduce Aluminum already consumed, try adding Spirulina to your daily life. By eating spirulina you will boost your red blood cells and their capacity to transport oxygen. More oxygen means a more efficient body to detox! I personally take about 10 gr per day that I add to my food. I mix the Spirulina powder into smoothies, juices, sauces, dips and pretty much anything else. Spirulina, in addition to helping detox the body of heavy metals, is a great energy booster and loaded with proteins, Amino acids, Vitamins, Minerals and Chlorophyll for helping balance pH levels in the body.