Information » Health Risks » Aluminum
Aluminum has long been associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This has been widely reported in the media, making most people aware of this connection. We actually know very little about the health risks of aluminum, but what we do know is not good.
Many people pay attention to the aluminum in cookware. Others take special precautions to avoid aluminum-containing cosmetics and anti-perspirants. There are many foods that contain additives with high levels of aluminum – they include pancakes, muffins, waffles doughnuts and other baked goods. Some vegetables and other plants absorb a lot of aluminum from the soil they grow in; this includes herbs and tea. It is also commonly used in over-the-counter antacids.
Aluminum absorption is enhanced by an acidic environment. This is why it has been such a concern in Norway – their drinking water is more acidic. Interestingly, silica and fluoride appear to decrease the absorption of aluminum in drinking water. The acid factor means that you should take special care preparing acidic foods like tomato in aluminum pots and pans.
Most of the research that has linked aluminum to AD comes from studies correlating risk of the disease with the amount of this metal in drinking water. A recent Norwegian review found an increased risk of AD in 15 out of 20 studies conducted in Newfoundland, Ontario, Norway, England and France. These studies found that people who drank water with more than 0.1mg/L (milligrams of aluminum per liter of water) had a 50-500% increased risk of AD.
One study actually confirmed the diagnosis of AD by examining the patients’ brains after they died . This is an important step that makes the study findings more reliable. In this study, a very consistent pattern emerged of higher risk at higher levels of Aluminum in drinking water:
Aluminum is known to be toxic to cells in over 100 different ways. It is a free radical source, causing many problems with cell function. This includes glucose metabolism, lipid peroxidation, calcium flow across cell membranes and even protein synthesis and signal transduction into the nucleus. The concentration of aluminum is higher in the nucleus of the cell, where DNA is found.
Aluminum may lead to Alzheimer’s dementia in several ways. It is known to phosphorylate the tau protein, making it more likely to clump together and form the neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of the disease. It also affects the way amyloid beta protein is cleaved, creating the clumped beta sheets that are also characteristic of the disease.
The diagnosis of aluminum toxicity is not discussed in the published literature, because it is not really known. The one exception is in patients with kidney failure who undergo dialysis. It was discovered over thirty years ago that in these patients, if special attention is not paid to preventing aluminum from accumulating, dementia rapidly develops. This is called dialysis encephalopathy.
Our approach to the diagnosis and treatment of metal toxicity is based on a chelation challenge test. This involves administering chelators that bind metals in the body; these bound metals are then able to be eliminated in the urine, which is collected and tested.
When we began doing this testing, we found relatively low levels of aluminum in most patients. Things changed considerably when we modified our protocol to include glycine. While most chelation drugs remain in the extracellular space, glycine is a neutral amino acid that moves easily in and out of cells. There is much more aluminum inside of cells, and when we gave glycine to patients before their chelation challenge tests, we began to see approximately 10x the amount of aluminum in their urine samples.
We must admit that there is no evidence at all that taking aluminum out of people improves their health. While most researchers agree that toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic are harmful to human health, the potential benefit of taking them out is relatively ignored. This is unfortunate, because the anecdotal experience of hundreds of physicians around the world is that chelation therapy improves a wide range of health problems.
Intravenous chelation therapy using EDTA and DMPS with supportive nutrient therapy is the basis of our approach in most cases. Sometimes we use oral DMSA. We add glycine to this protocol to improve aluminum elimination, and recommend malic acid as an adjunctive method of chelating aluminum.
One of the fundamental new causes of human illness is an increased burden of toxic substances in the body. Helping the body remove them must be a part of the new medicine. The brain is the most important part of the human body. Protect yours.