Tag: Aluminum

Why aluminum foil can be a health hazard for you and your family

by: Lori Alton, staff writer | February 21, 2019

Aluminum-foil, lightweight, flexible, versatile and convenient to use, aluminum foil has been a staple of countless American households for over a hundred years.  But, could this trusted product be linked with the soaring rates of Alzheimer’s disease?  Many natural health experts think so and the science clearly warns us about the dangers.

 

The numbers are staggering: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘nearly 35.6 million people live with dementia – with that number expected to double by 2030 and more than triple by 2050.’

 

Keep in mind (no pun intended), some research suggests that cooking with aluminum foil can almost quadruple the aluminum content in food – a truly disturbing finding.  Let’s take a closer look at the real risks associated with aluminum in aluminum foil and other products like, cookware and even vaccines.

Alert: Aluminum is a neurotoxic metal with an undeniable reality related to human health

While aluminum, the third most common element on the planet, exists naturally in the environment, it has no identifiable biological function in the human body.  In fact, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has classified aluminum as a neurotoxin.

 

Although aluminum serves no purpose in the human body, it has no trouble entering the system. With literally hundreds of commercial applications, aluminum is present in health and beauty products, medications, foods – and even infant formula.  And, yes, it’s also used (heavily) as an ‘additive’ in many common vaccines.

 

Over time, aluminum accumulates in the brain, lungs, kidney, liver and thyroid, where it causes the production of excess free radicals.  These, in turn, lead to harmful oxidation, tissue damage and inflammation.  In addition, aluminum can affect skeletal mineralization, and – by interfering with bone calcification and competing with fluoride – contribute to cavities.

 

Aluminum also impairs iron metabolism (contributing to anemia) and interferes with the neurotransmitters needed for restful sleep, stable mood and cognition – such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

 

Research has shown that aluminum affects brain health by reducing the growth rate of brain cells, and animal studies have revealed that aluminum exposure is linked to cognitive problems.

 

Finally, aluminum exposure is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is currently nearing epidemic status in the United States.

 

According to Dr. Edward Group, early symptoms of aluminum exposure include depression, headaches, abnormal heartbeat, dry skin, gastrointestinal complaints and frequent colds and infections. More severe symptoms of aluminum toxicity can include paralytic muscular conditions, memory loss and confusion.

 

Study: Wrapping foods in aluminum foil causes aluminum concentration to skyrocket.  In countless kitchens and backyards across the country, meat, fish and vegetables are routinely wrapped in aluminum foil prior to cooking or grilling. A new study, conducted by researchers in the UAE and Egypt and published in International Journal of Electrochemical Science, highlights the hazards of this common technique.

 

The team found that the use of aluminum foil for cooking contributes significantly to the daily intake of aluminum – with aluminum leaching out into food in levels well above the permissible limits designated by the World Health Organization.

 

Shockingly, the researchers found that foil cooking increased the aluminum concentration in meat by 89 to 378 percent – and in chicken by 76 to 215 percent.  The temperature, cook time and fat content of the foods all affected aluminum concentrations.  Cooking at higher temperatures caused higher concentrations of aluminum, with turkey and chicken breast absorbing more aluminum than less-fatty legs and wings.  In addition, the team found that more acidic foods – such as lemons and tomatoes – garnered more aluminum than more alkaline foods.

 

The researchers concluded that aluminum foil is “not suitable for cooking” – especially where acidic and highly-spiced foods are concerned – and warned that excessive consumption of foil-baked foods may carry a “serious health risk.”

 

Researchers say: Aluminum is a significant cause of brain inflammation and age-related neurological disorders

Research has shown that aluminum triggers oxidative stress in the brain – and creates neurofibrillary tangles similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

 

An increasing body of evidence implicates aluminum in Alzheimer’s disease.

 

A 2014 review published in the peer-reviewed journal Toxicology concluded that prolonged exposure to even low levels of aluminum are associated with brain aging and neurodegeneration.

 

Researchers at the University School of Medicine in Belgrade concur, maintaining that it is “likely” that long-term use of drinking water with a high aluminum content is associated with higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The risk increases with a water pH equal to or less than 7.0, and with low fluoride concentration.

 

Note: “Acid rain” – rainfall made acidic by atmospheric pollution – can heighten aluminum levels in the water supply.  Experts say that acid rain mobilizes aluminum-containing minerals into ionic aluminum – a more soluble form of the element – causing it to find its way into residential water reservoirs.

 

Combat aluminum exposure with natural detoxifiers

You can substantially cut your aluminum exposure by being vigilant about the products you use and consume.  As a top priority, get rid of aluminum foil from your kitchen, and opt for glass, stainless steel or ceramic cookware – whenever possible.

 

Avoid processed & frozen foods – which tend to feature aluminum in their packaging. Choose sea salt rather than table salt.

 

Check labels of all health and beauty products – including antiperspirants, deodorants and facial scrubs – and of medications, particularly antacids.

 

Of course, in order to avoid aluminum in your drinking water, a high-quality water filter is a must.

 

Natural detoxifiers of aluminum include cruciferous vegetables – such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli – and members of the allium family, such as garlic and onions.  These sulfur-rich foods help to produce and recycle glutathione, the body’s ‘master antioxidant.’

 

Other stand-out metal detoxifiers include chlorella, cilantro, high-dose vitamin C and the amino acid N-acetyl-cysteine.

 

Finally, turmeric is an excellent choice for alleviating adverse effects from aluminum. This brilliant yellow spice is high in curcumin, a flavonoid which reduces oxidative stress and targets the beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

 

To address aluminum toxicity, many integrative healthcare providers recommend performing a toxic metal cleanse.  For details about how to do this safely, ask your doctor for help. (caution is required.)

 

While you can’t entirely eliminate aluminum from your life, you can greatly reduce your exposure, mitigate adverse effects – and help to protect yourself and your loved ones from the threat of Alzheimer’s disease plus many other neurodegenerative conditions.

 

Sources for this article include:  NIH.gov, Who.int, GlobalHealingCenter.com, NaturalHealth365, NIH.gov, NIH.gov

At Soups On Main, we never use aluminum foil products for anything. We don’t cook in aluminum.  Stainless steel, glass and ecologically sound paper products are all you’ll find here.  We care.  Your health and wellness depend on it. Share this with friends and family and help us be “A Voice For Change” at Soups On Main.  

 

* Compliments of * Soups On Main, 199 Main St, Hackettstown NJ 07840 * 908-736-6004 * SoupsOnMain.Com *

Surviving in the Aluminum Age

APRIL 24, 2019 BY CHRISTOPHER EXLEY, PHD, FRSB

 

We are living in the Aluminum Age.1 In our school lessons on human history, we learned all about the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, but will school­children in the future be taught about the Aluminum Age? I use this term to describe the period from the late nine­teenth century—when we discovered how to make alumi­num metal and its salts cheaply and efficiently—until the present day, when myriad aluminum-containing products pervade every aspect of our lives.

 

The advent of the Aluminum Age heralded the modern world we know today. Aluminum is a feature of our food, our drinks, our medicines, our cosmetics and our environment. So, in a “Gordon Gekko” sort of way, we might say that aluminum (like greed) is good! However, our expectation with all “good things,” including those containing aluminum, is that they also be safe—at least, as they say, when exposed “in moderation.”

 

We have been brought up to believe in au­thority and to respect the opinions of experts and expert committees. In turn, we expect learned bodies and societies to be committed to our well-being. All of these values may be evident for other facets of modern life, but they do not apply to, nor have they been applied to, human exposure to aluminum.2 Many will be incredu­lous to learn that in the Aluminum Age, there are no health-based standards or regulations relating to human exposure to aluminum. Nor are there laws protecting us from aluminum in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the cosmetics we use, the medicines we need, the supplements we take or—I could go on. Aluminum is everywhere, and the result of living in the Aluminum Age is that every one of the cells that make up our body includes at least a few atoms of aluminum.

 

BODY BURDEN   Why should we be concerned that we are ac­cumulating aluminum in our bodies as we age? The answer is that while the aluminum industry has long perpetuated the myth that aluminum is benign, nontoxic and even safe, nothing could be further from the truth.

 

In fact, there are few more biologically re­active metals than aluminum. The biologically reactive form of aluminum is its free metal ion, known as Al”3+(aq). Aluminum is bound strongly by oxygen-based functional groups in biochem­istry; one example would be the phosphate groups in ATP—the energy currency of our body. Essentially, aluminum (as Al”3+(aq)) is so reactive that we expend energy simply coping with its presence in our body. If there wasn’t any aluminum in our body, all of us would have so much more natural energy.

 

ALUMINUM AND THE BRAIN   If feeling a little more tired than usual was the only repercussion from our body burden of aluminum, we might tolerate this state of af­fairs in exchange for all of the advantages of modernity brought about by the Aluminum Age. However, what happens to our brain cells and our neurons, which are struggling to cope with burgeoning amounts of aluminum? I have written elsewhere about neurons’ role as the longest-lived cells of the human body; with their biochemical advantages, neurons can be viewed as “an ostensibly immortal cell line” that has enabled human beings to live longer.3 Unfortunately, the lifespan of neurons also predisposes them to a lifetime accumulation of aluminum. With constant exposure to aluminum, can we tolerate the early loss (death) of this important immortal cell line?

 

When aluminum loads exceed the body’s excretory capacity, they form deposits and accumulate in tissues. In Alzheimer’s disease, alu­minum accumulates in brain tissue to an extent that the brain’s coping mechanisms begin to fail. Think of your brain aluminum burden (while you still can) as a catalyst of the aging process that is bringing about age-related and eventually catastrophic changes in brain chemistry, well ahead of what should be your normal longevity.4 At a time when we are all living longer, and some dream of living forever, it is noticeable that advancing age is not ushering in better health. We may be living lon­ger—but we are living unwell. In the Aluminum Age, it would seem all but futile to aspire to a healthy older age.

 

NUMBER-ONE THREAT   I have highlighted the role of aluminum in Alzheimer’s disease, but aluminum is everywhere throughout the body and is more than capable of contributing to most chronic diseases, including diabetes, autoimmunity, multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions. To many, it seems fanciful to suggest that human exposure to aluminum is the number-one threat to human health in the twenty-first century, but thirty-five years of thinking about and researching aluminum at the highest level tell me otherwise.

 

ALUMINUM AND AUTISM    Ordinarily, I am somewhat of a skeptic when I am alerted to new health issues purportedly associated with human exposure to aluminum. One recent example would be aluminum and autism. While various studies suggested a link between aluminum and autism—primarily via the aluminum adjuvants in vaccines—at first, I could not easily see a biological mechanism to support such a link. We knew that the accumula­tion of aluminum in brain tissue toward a toxic threshold occurred over a period of decades, so how might this relate to autism in infants? We had to test this link. We did so by obtaining brain tissues from individuals who had died with a di­agnosis of autism. We then measured how much aluminum was in the brain and, significantly, where any aluminum was located in the brain.

 

The rest, as they say, is history. To summa­rize, we found extraordinarily high amounts of aluminum in autism brain tissue, and we made the unique observation that the aluminum was associated with a variety of inflammatory (non-neuronal) cells originating both in the brain (for example, the microglia) and outside of the brain (such as lymphocytes).6 The latter provided a mechanism to link aluminum adjuvants to the rapid accumulation of aluminum in brain tis­sue and, potentially, to autism. Our data—hard science—on aluminum and autism changed my mind; I now had to consider that aluminum could play a role in autism and that aluminum administered as adjuvants in vaccines could be a significant contributing factor.7 I am now, ap­parently, an “anti-vaxxer,” as they say—simply for following the science.

 

PRECAUTION NEEDED   The science that links human exposure to aluminum with disease is now stronger and more robust than at any other time in history. Perhaps this is why research funding for this science is now rarer than the proverbial hen’s teeth. (Do we, by chance, have industry and governments running scared of the science?) Our group is dependent upon philanthropy to continue our research. (If there are any philan­thropists reading this and interested in possibly contributing to our research, please get in touch by email [in bio].)

 

Until the epiphany comes—when all begin to agree that we have been horribly complacent about human exposure to aluminum—we need to adopt a precautionary approach in trying to protect ourselves against the potential ravages of aluminum. I do this in part by avoiding almost all processed foods and drinks, but mainly I use our most important scientific contribution to date. In brief, that contribution is that silicon is the Earth’s natural antidote to aluminum.

 

Our research includes clinical trials in­volving healthy volunteers, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and people with multiple sclerosis.8 These trials have shown that silicon-rich mineral water facilitates the removal of aluminum from the body in the urine. You drink the mineral water, and you pee aluminum. It is that simple, and it is completely safe. Every day, I try to drink at least one liter of a silicon-rich mineral water—that is, a mineral water where the stated content of silicon (as “silica” on the bottle) is above thirty milligrams per liter (ppm).

 

Do not think of this as a one-off “detox” program, however. It is a philosophy for living in the Aluminum Age and for giving yourself the best possible protection against the toxicity of aluminum—protection that no government or other body is likely to afford you in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

Compliments of * Soups On Main, 199 Main St, Hackettstown NJ 07840 * 908-736-6004 * SoupsOnMain.Com

© 2024

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

Protected by CleanTalk Anti-Spam