Aluminum and The Brain

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Did you know that Aluminum has been connected to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)?

A review written by Jung Huet et al in 2019 states that “Tiny amounts of non-essential metals…promote severe toxicity as they inadvertently disrupt the physiological activity of essential metals. Because of their high degree of toxicity, cadmium, lead and aluminum rank among the priority metals that are of public health significance. These metallic elements are considered systemic toxicants that are known to induce multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure. Notably, evidence suggests that dysregulation in the homeostasis of essential metals and exposure to non-essential metals have significant impact on the pathogenesis of AD”

They also later state that “Aluminum is not essential for life but is a WELL-ESTABLISHED NEUROTOXIN [in other words, it kills neurons which are necessary cells in the nervous system and of the brain and gut in particular where they are found on abundance]. Exposure to high aluminum content in drinking water causes lifelong cerebral impairments, such as loss of concentration and short-term memory deficits. Mass spectrometry studies have demonstrated that ALUMINUM CROSSES THE BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER AND ACCUMULATES IN A SEMIPERMANENT MANNER. Although no biological process is dependent on aluminum, it can influence more than 200 biologically-relevant reactions and cause various adverse effects on the mammalian brain. These include essential brain processes such as axonal transport, neurotransmitter synthesis, synaptic transmission, phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of proteins, protein degradation, gene expression, and inflammatory responses.”

Furthermore “Aluminum exhibits one oxidation state, Al3+, which has affinity for negatively charged oxygen-donor ligands. Some of the ligands which form strong bonds with aluminum are inorganic and organic phosphates, carboxylate, and deprotonated hydroxyl groups, thereby making DNA, RNA and ATP perfect targets, affecting gene expression, energy metabolism and the action of several kinases and phosphatase. Aluminum can also cause the oligomerization of proteins, inducing conformational changes that can inhibit their degradation by proteases, and thus affect their turnover. For instance, strong binding of aluminum to phosphorylated amino acids promotes the self-aggregation and accumulation of highly phosphorylated cytoskeleton proteins, such as neurofilament and microtubule-associated proteins. These properties make THE PRESENCE OF ALUMINUM IN THE BRAIN TOXIC, causing the apoptotic death of neurons and glial cells. Aluminum affects LTP, the function of enzymes, including those involved in neurotransmitter synthesis. It also affects voltage-gated calcium channels and neurotransmitter receptors, impairing synaptic transmission. The presence of aluminum therefore leads to a signaling imbalance that disturbs brain function.”

The authors go on to tell other ways that Aluminum affects the brain, including neurodegeneration (or the failing of neuron cells in the nervous system). “Several studies reported a higher incidence of AD or AD mortality in areas with high levels of aluminum in the drinking water, suggesting a strong association between aluminum and AD. This was confirmed by later studies which demonstrated the ability of aluminum to induce neurofibrillary degeneration and promote the appearance of tangle-like structures that resembled the NFTs found in the brains of AD patients. Moreover, aluminum accumulation was described in NFT-bearing neurons of AD brains.”

They also found “Interestingly, aluminum is preferentially taken up by glial cells, which induces the production of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6”. Other interesting information they found is that “Aluminum has also been reported to affect neurotransmission. Due to its ability to block Aβ-mediated formation of calcium permeable ion channel, aluminum can inhibit the increase in calcium levels induced by neurotrophic factors such as BDNF. The level of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, glutamate and aspartate, have also been reported to decrease upon aluminum exposure. A lower availability of glutamate induced by aluminum has been attributed to the induction of glutamine synthetase and inhibition of glutaminase activity in astrocytes. Moreover, it has been reported that aluminum affects the cholinergic system, which has been shown to degenerate in AD pathogenesis.”

Okay, now that we have established that aluminum is inherently bad for you and can lead to poor brain functioning, what are some common ways that we are exposed to aluminum? Believe it or not, it’s fairly common in today’s society.

Some sources of everyday aluminum exposure include:

-Aluminum foil/cookware particularly when couple with acidic foods

-Unfiltered tap water

-Antiperspirant deodorant (one of the first things I ditched in my natural journey!)

-Adjuvants in vaccines

-Certain types of sandpaper (something I learned from my husband when he worked at a factory that makes sandpaper)

-Salt/sugar/flour as an anti caking agent

-Antacids

And more from the environment and other sources. So just want can you do to reduce your aluminum exposure? Well, it’s pretty simple for a lot of these, swap them out! Instead of aluminum cookware for example, use stainless steel or cast iron . Consider getting a filter to install on your kitchen faucet other areas of your home. Many people I know swear by a Berkey, but I really love the Halo 5 we have. You can swap out your normal deodorant for a non aluminum-containing mineral deodorant. Note, when you do this you will perspire quite a bit more for a while as your body detoxes and may need to use the Mineral Deodorant Plus for while until your body eliminates the aluminum build up in your armpits. I also recommend using something to move the lymph, such as Lymphatic Cream in combination with the Detoxifying Pit Mask in that area since the armpits contain a major lymph node. You can reduce the need to take antacids by taking digestive bitters with water half an hour before eating and Digest Ease at least once a day. Whenever possible you should buy organic items so there’s no anti-caking agents or any other toxin additives. If you live in a state where vaccines are mandatory or you are on the fence about whether or not you should stop with them, you can help your body reduce the toxic load by using tinctures, creams and other items to help support the natural detox pathways. If you use sandpaper frequently for projects, consider using it outdoors in a well ventilated area or wear a proper fitting mask to avoid the potential of inhaling small aluminum particles. Aluminum shavings from the sandpaper can be pretty tiny, so make sure to do a through cleaning of the area with a vacuum and a good cleaning cloth

Since Aluminum specifically builds up in different body areas such as hair, brain, fat and bone tissue, it can be difficult to remove from the body. So how can you get rid of it? The same study above mentions “the use of deferoxamine, a chelator of aluminum and iron, as well as silicates [such as food grade diatomaceous earth], which couples with aluminum and reduces its toxicity, has been shown to attenuate cognitive decline in AD patients. Despite not being preventative, aluminum chelators could potentially minimize the neurodegenerative effects of aluminum in patients with known exposure throughout their lives.” Some other things that are supposed to help with detoxing include zeolites, fulvic acid, and organically grown chlorella. You can find some items and learn more information about detoxing here and here.

If you would like to check out the aluminum levels and levels of other toxic metals in you or your family’s body, consider doing a Hair Mineral Analysis, which takes a little bit of your hair to measure mineral and metal content in your body

Did you know this about aluminum? What was the most surprising information presented to you?

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6475603/#!po=0.297619

https://myersdetox.com/4-hidden-sources-of-aluminum/

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf

Originally posted in my Facebook group and on my Tumblr on July 21, 2021. Updated and adapted to blog format on June 16, 2023