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The dangers of aluminum


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So I was reading an article about the dangers of aluminum & how a wide array of food products are contaminated with aluminium; from baking powder, flour, baby formula, coffee creamers & other processed foods, including medicine such as analgesics & also cosmetics. This is aside from food that comes in aluminium cans & tins & such, as well as cooking in aluminum foil.

 

I had no idea about this. I always thought that even though a little bit was safe for our bodies to ingest, it turns out that I was underestimating how much of it I (& we) consume. I bake chicken & fish usually wrapped with aluminum foil & the alarming statistic I read that when it is exposed to higher temperatures, the concentration exudes into our foods by close to 300% more.

 

This is the article I read:

 

Apparently, consistent exposure & ingestion of this cheap metal has been linked to neurological diseases & early on-set Alzheimer as well as other osteo-related diseases.

 

Did anyone else know about these detrimental effects aluminum has on our bodies? Do you cook with it? Wrap hot sandwiches with it, etc? Or does anyone avoid it altogether?

 

 

NB: Had no idea the U.S. spelled it differently ('aluminum' as opposed to 'aluminium.')

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I'm always a little weary of .com sites that try to pass off their own meta analyses in the name of science.

 

A lot of the cited studies on that site reference occupational exposure, which is much, much different than what the general public is exposed to. You're talking about breathing in aluminum dust as opposed consuming a handful of mg's in your diet.

 

I don't think it'd hurt you at all if you wanted to try and cut limit your exposure, but I haven't personally read any peer-reviewed studies that suggest common aluminum exposure is particularly detrimental.

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~looks up information on Dr Mercola~

 

~looks at the studies he's referencing~

 

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about using silver foil. I also wouldn't worry about vaccinating either.

 

 

ETA: Also, % marks are great for scaring confusing people when you don't give an actual value. 99% fat free? Great, 99% of what?

The report he uses to talk about the amount of aluminium you ingest basically states that a 70kg adult could eat 2lbs of bread a week and still be in levels that are tolerable for their body. Cans have coatings that prevent aluminium leaching into their contents, and most people would have a hard time eating too much aluminium through food for it to be any real problem. He misses that part out and goes right to talking about people who have had extreme and uncommon exposures to aluminuim. There's a reason he does that, and it's not because he cares.

 

When you see research linked to articles, ignore the article and go to the report. Most times their contents are very different to how they're being reported.

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~looks up information on Dr Mercola~

 

~looks at the studies he's referencing~

 

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about using silver foil. I also wouldn't worry about vaccinating either.

 

 

ETA: Also, % marks are great for scaring confusing people when you don't give an actual value. 99% fat free? Great, 99% of what?

The report he uses to talk about the amount of aluminium you ingest basically states that a 70kg adult could eat 2lbs of bread a week and still be in levels that are tolerable for their body. Cans have coatings that prevent aluminium leaching into their contents, and most people would have a hard time eating too much aluminium through food for it to be any real problem. He misses that part out and goes right to talking about people who have had extreme and uncommon exposures to aluminuim. There's a reason he does that, and it's not because he cares.

 

When you see research linked to articles, ignore the article and go to the report. Most times their contents are very different to how they're being reported.

 

True. The author does mention the lack of credibility in his 'assumptions' as no significant & extensive longitudinal studies have been completed. Though later he contradicts himself asserting that aluminum contamination in food, that is already existing & added from foil trays, etc; exceed the RDA recommended by the FDA as 'safe.'

 

What is interesting I found is the tabulated report he references, which informs how prevalent the substance is in so many edible products.

 

It's left me ambivalent regarding using the substance. While I am skeptical about the author's claims, it is still something the body does not need (such as mercury in tuna) & after further browsing I disovered it is true that it directly affects the central nervous system.

 

I guess Lisii is right, everything supposedly kills us, even excessive intake of water.

 

Nevertheless, because I rarely eat processed food & only use it for wrapping or baking fresh food I won't be drastically altering my lifestyle because of this. Was just curious if anyone else did.

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A possible etiologic link between aluminum exposure and Alzheimer disease emerged from a 1965 study showing that aluminum causes neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of rabbits. Subsequent research has largely failed to support this hypothesis, however. For example, the clinical manifestations and underlying neuropathology of aluminum-induced encephalopathy in dialysis patients bear no resemblance to those of Alzheimer disease.[14]
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The question is not whether aluminum is harmful to the human body or whether it leaches into our food -- it is, and it does; it's a heavy metal, and these elements are definitely detrimental.

 

The question is, how much aluminum is actually absorbed through the intestine. There is a lot of controversy about this, and the jury is out. It depends on a lot of factors how much aluminum may be absorbed, under what conditions. There is some evidence that it is mostly excreted via urine and feces, and not absorbed in a person with a healthy gut lining and no other organ system problem (especially kidney).

 

Sort of a dated abstract, but an indication of how this is complicated:

 

 

 

I myself use other cooking materials where I can, like in baking dishes, pots, tea kettles, and frying pans. But I use foil for convenience. So to me, it's cut down just in case where you can use other cookware, and also don't use it on your body in products like antiperspirant. Again, how much is absorbed is in question, but this is one of those situations where being in doubt means using alternatives when you can.

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Yeah, aluminum isn't probably all that good for us. It's a heavy metal after all. And it's in everything, right up there with so many other chemicals and toxins if you start reading up on the topic you'll want to go hide in a bunker terrified to eat or drink anything.

 

What you do is try to limit contact, drink a ton of water (seriously, my doctor is at me about this all the time now, a gallon and a half a bloody day) eat decently, take vitamins if you're into that and exercise, exercise, exercise. These things help keep your body functioning and it's got a pretty good filtering system too. Where you can try to limit your exposure in a sane manner without getting scared or so over-zealous you have to live in a bubble.

 

For instance, I am allergic to food dyes used in most candy and many foods. Enough so that it will trigger horrific migraines if I don't limit it. At one point I was fanatical about not ever letting any food dye touch my lips and life got really boring and stressful really fast. So now I just accept there are going to be the odd occasions of exposure BUT I'm not going to race out and buy a bunch of candy or foods with food dye in them. I limit my contact, I don't panic, I move forward.

 

We can all get taken out just as easily by a plane crash or car wreck, so while yes all this stuff is bad for us it's best not to go total freak out, but rather choose how you're going to limit yourself to something if it worries you or has a bad effect on you.

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toxicologist here. unless you live in an area where aluminum is mined or processed, near waste sites, area where aluminum is naturally high (lots of silicates, cryolite, and bauxite rock) or are ocupationally exposed there is no reason to panic. it's okay to limit your exposure by avoiding it but i wouldn't turn it into a mission. popular pseudo-medical sites have caused a lot of panic by linking some low-risk factors to serious conditions.

 

what i find in the workplace is the people with vague diagnoses like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, intolerances etc often suspect some sort of metal toxicity but it more often turns out their underlying problem is infectuous in nature (for example, low iron levels and muscle weakness are also common in some tick-borne diseases, as well some neurological symtoms that people often associate with aluminum toxicity). if you have been feeling icky it would make more sense to invest in a healthy diet and exercise regime, good mental health and sleep hygiene, and if that is insufficient have your doctor look for a common denominator of your symptoms.

 

in the general population, most aluminum exposure comes from water (levels in your area are public data. also keep in mind the aluminum in water has pretty low bioavailability, it's the inhaled aluminum that is more of a risk), and sometimes antacids and buffed aspirin, but you probably don't live off those. household sources are unlikely to affect you but again, nothing wrong with limiting them.

 

ncbi has loads of data and research that you can view without a subscription.

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p.s. as far as food preparation and kitchen utensils, storage containers etc are concerned, you're highly unlikely to exceed acceptable exposure. even if all of your food is stored and prepared with it, you'd reach about 6 mg a day- which is way below risky.

 

there is a study about aluminum levels in the Italian diet but i don't remember the author.

 

Ranau and a few others have published on the fish baking issue too.

 

hope that helps

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I'm a medical device engineer, this is my experience with aluminum:

 

We are allowed to use aluminum fixtures to build products (cardiovascular use, blood contacting products) but those fixtures must be hard anodized to specific standards. We are not allowed to use aluminum in the medical product itself. Some of these rules I just follow and am assuming our toxicology tests would fail if we didn't do so.

 

Aluminum is a metal that self passivates, it creates its own oxide exterior barrier even if you leave it alone, it's just not very thick apparently.

 

I can tell you products are tested big time to make sure people are not harmed. If there was an obvious problem with aluminum foil it would be well known.

 

I think this article nails this:

 

I personally cook in aluminum foil when I BBQ and it crosses my mind maybe I shouldn't but I do it anyway!

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The question is not whether aluminum is harmful to the human body or whether it leaches into our food -- it is, and it does; it's a heavy metal, and these elements are definitely detrimental.

 

Yeah, aluminum isn't probably all that good for us. It's a heavy metal after all.

 

Aluminum is not a heavy metal. It's atomic number is 13, it is actually one of the lighter elements and doesn't have the atomic properties of the heavy metals like cadmium, mercury, gold (d-orbitals).

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there is a study about aluminum levels in the Italian diet but i don't remember the author.

 

Could that be due to the acidic nature of cooking with tomatoes in aluminum cookware? (tomatoes being ubiquitous in Italian cooking?)

 

I do worry about people's exposure to aluminum from soda cans, as the phosphoric acid I would imagine contributes to leaching of aluminum. Any thoughts from the toxicology experts on this? Not that soda is good to be drinking anyway!

 

Aluminum is not a heavy metal. It's atomic number is 13, it is actually one of the lighter elements and doesn't have the atomic properties of the heavy metals like cadmium, mercury, gold (d-orbitals).

 

I actually did wonder if it was a heavy metal, as I was under the impression it was as you say, one of the lighter elements, but I've seen it included in so many toxic metals tests (biological/tissue/medical tests), I wasn't sure. I did a quick search to find out, and it was listed with mercury, cadmium, lead, etc. in these lists, so I see I made the wrong assumption. I stand corrected.

 

From wikipedia:

 

Health concerns

Some toxicity can be traced to deposition in bone and the central nervous system, which is particularly increased in patients with reduced renal function. Because aluminium competes with calcium for absorption, increased amounts of dietary aluminium may contribute to the reduced skeletal mineralization (osteopenia) observed in preterm infants and infants with growth retardation. In very high doses, aluminium is associated with altered function of the blood–brain barrier.[81] A small percentage of people are allergic to aluminium and experience contact dermatitis, digestive disorders, vomiting or other symptoms upon contact or ingestion of products containing aluminium, such as antiperspirants and antacids. In those without allergies, aluminium is not as toxic as heavy metals, but there is evidence of some toxicity if it is consumed in amounts greater than 40 mg/day per kg of body mass.[82] Although the use of aluminium cookware has not been shown to lead to aluminium toxicity in general, excessive consumption of antacids containing aluminium compounds and excessive use of aluminium-containing antiperspirants provide more significant exposure levels. Studies have shown that consumption of acidic foods or liquids with aluminium significantly increases aluminium absorption,[83] and maltol has been shown to increase the accumulation of aluminium in nervous and osseous tissue.[84] Furthermore, aluminium increases estrogen-related gene expression in human breast cancer cells cultured in the laboratory.[85] The estrogen-like effects of these salts have led to their classification as a metalloestrogen.

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in the general population, most aluminum exposure comes from water (levels in your area are public data. also keep in mind the aluminum in water has pretty low bioavailability, it's the inhaled aluminum that is more of a risk)

 

This was also on wikipedia (article on "aluminum"), RC -- which seems to be in contradiction with what you're saying. Any thoughts?

 

The effects of aluminium in antiperspirants have been examined over the course of decades with little evidence of skin irritation.[8] Nonetheless, its occurrence in antiperspirants, dyes (such as aluminium lake), and food additives has caused concern.[86] Although there is little evidence that normal exposure to aluminium presents a risk to healthy adults,[87] some studies point to risks associated with increased exposure to the metal.[86] Aluminium in food may be absorbed more than aluminium from water.[88]

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