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Aluminum in Food, Drinks and Cosmetics Might Cause Alzheimer’s Disease

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C7RMK3_2351949bAluminum, the most abundant metal in the environment and ingredient of almost all processed food, cosmetics and medicine, has been associated with development of Alzheimer’s disease. This conclusion was made by a professor from Keele University, who has been studying the influence of over-exposure to the element on brain activity and cancer.

Aluminum is found pretty much everywhere in nature. Being the element with highest concentrations in the earth’s crust, aluminum is present in every natural aquifer, and it is readily taken up by plants. Aside from natural abundance, however, the element is added to foods, as it serves well as a raising agent, it is added to water to purify it, and also used in cosmetics, toothpastes, and fizzy drinks. It is also used in medicine and vaccines as it is believed to increase the body’s immune response.

Naturally, people take up the element through the food and water they consume and the air they breathe, and it is believed that most excess aluminum is discharged by the body. A recent study by professor Chris Exley from Keele University, however, warns that our bodies do accumulate some of the unnecessary aluminum and store it in the brain, liver, and heart.

He believes that the element might be the reason for early development of Alzheimer’s disease, the dangerous condition affecting memory in later stages in life, and even worsen the patient’s condition. The study appears in the journal Frontiers in Neurology.

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are still largely unknown. Although the disease has been known for more than a century now, scientists are still hypothesizing what could trigger it. This is probably the reason why there is no known cure for it either. If you are interested, follow this link to watch a video with further details.

Is Professor Exley right? Should we minimize the addition of aluminum in pretty much everything we use and consume on daily basis? Considering that we are exposed to pollution from thousands of different sources, maybe it will not be all that bad to eliminate at least one of them, especially if there is a possibility to prevent us from developing the dangerous condition. One thing is for certain, there is no risk of taking up less aluminum than our body requires.

Image (c)  ALAMY

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Chimel I cook in glass or stainless, never liked the taste of aluminum in my food or water, which means that it is chemically present. Foil is, IMHO, the ultimate in laziness. Of course, we pay for laziness, sooner or later. :/

  2. I banned aluminum from my life long ago, no aluminum pot or foil at home.
    You just need to wash an aluminum pot once to see how much of it gets into the washing water, so you can guess how much of it gets into our food, hence into our bodies. Certainly nothing good can come from ingesting aluminum in such quantities. Besides health, there’s also an environmental aspect: Mining and refining the aluminum ore is a very polluting industry, generating toxic mud, so reducing our consumption of it and making sure even the foil around the chocolate bars gets recycled too is important.

    I hate these TV cooking shows that are always cooking or marinating meat covered in foil. Can’t chefs buy stainless steel lids for their oven pans? Disposable aluminum is the ultimate waste of resources, especially since most of that foil never gets recycled.

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