Healthy Living; Aluminum Overdose

Think of all the things in your life that contain the soft, silvery metal aluminum. The thirteenth element on the periodic table is a light, durable material that has plenty of commercial applications, and you can find it in everything from that roll of aluminum foil in the kitchen and cooking pots to antacid tablets and personal products such as deodorant.

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Though it’s one of the most widely distributed metals in the environment, it’s not a nutritive mineral, meaning that unlike calcium or sodium, our bodies don’t need aluminum to survive. In fact, in very large doses aluminum can become toxic, and therein lies a concern about how it may have a negative effect on the brain.

We know that they use aluminum as a binder in vaccines so they stick in the body. This fact leads me to believe that aluminum continues to build in our bodies throughout our lives, making the risk of high doses of aluminum exponentially increase with age. So how many health issues are related to large doses of aluminum?

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Aluminum and Alzheimers

For years, aluminum has been suspected as potentially playing a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, but conclusive evidence has been difficult to find.

Dr. Douglas Scharre, a neurologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says, “I think that what is pretty well established is that if you have too much aluminum in your brain, that’s not healthy. Aluminum can be a neurotoxin, and if you ingest it or get it into your brain, it can cause a dementia-like condition.”

 “There have been some large studies which show individuals with higher and chronic aluminum exposure in drinking water and especially occupational exposure were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. However, there are other studies which show no association and further, it is unclear exactly how this research translates into risk for the average person.” Alex Mroszczyk-McDonald, a practicing family physician with Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center in Fontana, California.

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Aluminum and Autisim & Asthma

A new study funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that aluminum compounds found in childhood vaccines are linked to an array of illnesses, including neurological disorders, asthma, and the Big A: autism.

Though the study’s authors tried their best to minimize the link, they were unable to sidestep a “positive association” between “vaccine-related aluminum exposure” and “persistent asthma” in children aged 24-59 months. Overall, children in the study who received 3 milligrams (mg) or more of vaccine-related aluminum had a 36 percent higher risk than children who took other vaccines to develop persistent asthma.

“In the paper I did with Neil Miller (SAGE Open Medicine, 2020), we saw an odds ratio of 4.49 (statistically significant) for asthma in vaccinated children versus unvaccinated children. This was limited to vaccines in the first year of life. The CDC seems to be confirming my results here.”

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Aluminum and Breast Cancer

Liz Pevytoe

As a nurse and the daughter of a stage 3 breast cancer survivor, this is a topic I’m very passionate about.

I’ll take moist pits over breast cancer. Not stinky but sweaty.

What would your children choose? To see their momma sweat or go through chemo?

Wake up and quit putting a METAL on your pits. #duh.

Fun fact: I sweat less now using deodorant only than I did when I used antiperspirant. Go figure. I think my body was overproducing sweat trying to get the aluminum out.

Why Use Natural Deodorant 

Have you seen what is in conventional deodorant? Likely you’ve glanced at the bottom at least once in your life and seen a list of ingredients that appear to be written in a different language. But did you know that many of these ingredients can be incredibly harmful for your body?

Let’s go through a couple of them:

–aluminum: this is the ingredient that clogs your sweat glands and prevents sweating (more on this below). Aluminum exposure has been linked to Alzheimers as well as to build-up of estrogen in the body which can also be correlated with increased chances of breast and prostate cancer.

–parabens: these ingredients are used as a preservative in deodorants but can also mimic estrogen in your body. This leads to hormonal disruptions and is also linked to breast and prostate cancers.

–phthalates: these chemicals are used to make other ingredients more flexible and are also used as fragrance ingredients for artificial fragrance. They primarily affect the endocrine system and exposure can lead to early onset puberty as well as breast cancer later in life.

-Triclosan: An antibacterial chemical that can also disrupt the hormone system and is associated with increased chance of breast cancer. It was actually banned by the FDA in hand soaps but for some reason they still allow it in deodorants?!

Aluminum-Containing Antiperspirants and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study

The study published in the Lancet in 2017 titled Use of Underarm Cosmetic Products in Relation to Risk of Breast Cancer, found that self-reported use of underarm cosmetics was significantly associated with breast cancer risk. Similarly, aluminum concentration in extracted breast tissue was significantly associated with underarm cosmetic use. Aluminum concentrations were also significantly higher in the subgroup of breast cancer cases where the tumor was localized to the upper, outer quadrant of the breast. 

PS. I stopped using aluminum based antiperspirants when my moms surgical oncologist recommended the cessation in 1993. She had stage 3 mucanous adeno carcinoma with 7/10 lymph node involvement. When I was in nursing school 23+ years ago, she had a RADICAL mastectomy, chemo, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. I studied for my nursing exams on the toilet in her room of the transplant floor. So yes, I’m a bit passionate about this subject.

Humble, Lume, Native brands are a few aluminum free options. But you can also make your own and know exactly what you are putting on your body.

DIY Deodorant

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
• 2 1/2 tbsp unrefined shea butter
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp baking soda
• 6 drops lavender essential oil
• 6 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 1 drop tea tree essential oil (optional)*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place coconut oil and shea butter in a glass bowl or jar and place the bowl/jar inside a medium sauce pan.
2. Add water to the saucepan (enough to surround bowl/jar but not to overflow it) and bring to a boil.
3. As water is heating up, ensure to stir coconut oil and shea butter and continue to do so until it melts.
4. Once melted, add in arrowroot starch, baking soda and essential oils.
5. Place in a small glass jar (or pour into empty deodorant stick(s)) and allow to cool at room temp or in fridge (will harden faster in fridge) until it’s reached a solid state. Cover with lid until use.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE:

1. Wet underarms slightly (this helps with even application)
2. Spoon out a pea-sized amount with a wooden scoop or with fingers and rub between fingers before applying directly to underarms.
3. For a regular day, one application in the morning should be fine. For hotter days, workouts or if you’re particularly sweaty, feel free to reapply as needed.

*Certain people are sensitive to tea tree oil so be sure to test your skin with a drop before adding to mixture. It is not necessary to include but tea tree is antibacterial and it is the bacteria in your underarms that leads to smell so it is a nice addition if you are not sensitive.

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Magnesium… a secret weapon to help your body detox.

Magnesium is most known for it’s relaxing properties, but it’s also involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in your body and critical for metabolic processes, cell growth and reproduction, and your body’s natural ability to detoxify.

Here’s 3 ways magnesium supports a healthy detoxification process:

1. Magnesium (specifically the malate form), binds to heavy metals such as aluminum or lead and excretes them from your body (1).
2. Magnesium supports healthy bowel movements to remove toxic waste from your body.
3. Magnesium is an important cofactor to your entire liver detoxification process to eliminate harmful toxins from your body (2).

Unfortunately, magnesium is one of the most depleted minerals in soil, making it difficult to get required amounts of magnesium from the fruits and vegetables we eat (which could help explain why many experts believe approximately 80% of the U.S. population is magnesium deficient).

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Although these findings raise red flags for most of us, it’s not clear to the medical community whether higher levels of aluminum exposure over the course of a lifetime raises risk, nor is it clear what level of exposure to aluminum is unsafe.

Nevertheless, it’s probably not a bad idea to limit your exposure to aluminum, and indeed any other potential toxin in the environment. Take action and do a heavy metal detox then avoid aluminum products from your deodorant to your pots and pans.