Special to the News: Aluminum a Problem?

Dear Dr. Meinig:

Since a relative of mine contracted Alzheimer’s disease, I have become very concerned with what I can do to prevent it. I have heard that aluminum is involved. Is it? – P.N.

 

Dear P.N.:

New Alzheimer’s studies recently show that many more people are susceptible to this disease than was previously thought possible. Dr. Dee Lillenfeld recently reported that 10 percent of those 65 and older are probably Alzheimer’s Disease sufferers, but the real shock of her investigation was that nearly half of those over 85 were so affected.

Although heavy accumulation of aluminum is present in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims, some investigators feel it isn’t due to excess ingestion, but that the disease process somehow causes it to accumulate. I have trouble with this theory as Americans are ingesting much larger amounts of this toxic element every day than they realize.

One common source of aluminum occurs from the frequent use of antiperspirants and underarm deodorants, as their formulas are dependent upon it. Unfortunately, people have difficulty believing that aluminum can be absorbed from the skin into the bloodstream.

Another common source of aluminum is antacid formulas. There are hundreds of them available over the counter to choose from. Most of these popular remedies contain aluminum.

Reading of labels is encouraged as you will find aluminum is contained in table salt, chewing gum, aspirin, pickles, soft drinks, flour bleaches and baking powders that contain aluminum hydroxide. The baking industry uses tons of this aluminum baking powder as it is the cheapest form. For home use, buy Royal cream of tartar baking powder or phosphate baking powders.

It is detrimental amounts of aluminum that are absorbed into food from aluminum cooking pots, pans and wraps that I find people have the most difficulty accepting. The facts are easy enough to see if one just looks at the pitting that is possible on their bottoms when the aluminum pots and pans are washed and dried.

The amount entering into food, though small, is by no means insignificant. Numbers of scientific studies have investigated just how extensive a problem it is. For example, four Swedish scientists selected five different kinds of foods to learn how much aluminum was absorbed during cooking. They used brand-new aluminum sauce pans, old ones, and others made with stainless steel. The foods used were liver casserole, spinach, orange marmalade, rice pudding and rhubarb soup.

Each of the foods were checked before cooking for its amount of aluminum present. Originally, the foods contained 0.1 mg. of aluminum to 0.9 mg. After cooking, the amounts of aluminum rose dramatically from two to 30 times the amount initially present in the food.

Just today, I received a report of Dr. J.A. Jackson and his colleagues that appeared in the top British medical journal, Lancet. It specified how the consistent use of coffee and tea pots that contain aluminum heating elements could increase one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Obviously, the gigantic aluminum industry has its high powered professionals belittle these claims, particularly when they come from an Ojai country doctor. A common approach the industrial physicians use is to tell the public that 98 percent of aluminum ingested in food is excreted by the body. What they don’t tell you, and don’t want you to have any inkling of, is the accumulative effect that occurs with that two percent that isn’t excreted each day.

Way back in 1932, Dr. L. Copper reported that several young and middle-aged patients had experienced early senility signs and memory loss. Using one of those good doctor hunches, he suggested that they throw away their aluminum pots. He found that those who did so soon after recovered.

In 1981, the Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry reported on 400 older psychiatric outpatients who were experiencing second childhood, memory loss, and other senility symptoms. All were found to have higher than average aluminum levels.

In spite of how long all this information has been publicized, people just have an awful time giving up their aluminum cooking utensils.

Playing this kind of “Russian roulette” with one’s health doesn’t seem sensible. Not only that, but, the future need for medical care can prove much more expensive than some new stainless steel or glass cooking vessels.

Back in 1985, I was asked to write some dietary suggestions for someone with borderline Alzheimer’s. If you would like a copy, send a long stamp self-addressed envelope to me in care of the Ojai Valley News. Ask for Article #430.