Health hazards of aluminium

While it is a common ingredient in the earth’s crust, aluminium is bound mostly to silica in nature and not available in the free form. Aluminium has no demonstrated benefit in humans; rather it is known to damage the blood brain barrier, activate brain inflammation and depress function of mitochondria which generate energy for cells and regulate cellular metabolism. The presence of aluminium in the body is unlikely to be benign, though it may appear as such due to the inherent robustness of human physiology. Aluminium poisoning, with loss of memory, tremor and jerkiness, was first reported in 1921. Aluminum can accumulate in the body and has the potential to do harm wherever it ends up. At some point in time the accumulation of aluminium in the brain could achieve a toxic threshold.

Aluminum's toxicity to the brain and nervous system has been well documented for more than a century. Aluminium is accepted as a known neurotoxin, for example being the cause of renal dialysis encephalopathy (leading to speech disorders, dementia and convulsions) and its accumulation in human brain tissue at any age can enhance any ongoing disease state or toxicity. Chronic or cumulative exposure to aluminium, reflected by increased levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum, may be one environmental factor in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Manufacturers continue routinely and unnecessarily to add aluminium to their products and some water authorities continue to treat water with aluminium sulphate. Many foods, vaccinations, medications, baby products, deodorants and cosmetics, cleaning products and soft furnishings contain aluminum.

Aluminium appears to cause oxidative stress in the brain. It does this in part by increasing inflammatory cytokines. These proteins are crucial cellular messengers that can lead to inflammation. Some neuroscientists believe that Alzheimer’s disease is largely an inflammatory disease and that aluminium may play a role in its aetiology.

Dermal absorption of topically applied antiperspirant aluminium salts has been demonstrated through intact mouse skin and the skin of the human underarm. Aluminium in the form of aluminium chloride or aluminium chlorhydrate has been shown capable of interfering with the function of oestrogen receptors of human breast cancer cells both in terms of ligand binding and oestrogen-regulated gene expression.

According to scientists from Keele University in Staffordshire, recent studies (up to 2016) have confirmed that aluminium plays a role, in some, if not all, cases of Alzheimer’s disease. They also reported that the brains of five deceased individuals who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder were found to contain among the highest levels of the toxic metal aluminium ever recorded.

Aluminium is used as an adjuvant in vaccines despite numerous studies providing compelling evidence that injected aluminium can be detrimental to health. Aluminium is capable of remaining in cells long after vaccination. It binds to transferrin, a molecule necessary for moving dietary iron into the bones which are the site of production of immune system cells and red blood cells. hence its association with autoimmune and neurologic disorders (reduced blood oxygen (anaemia) starves the brain of oxygen. )

During early development, the child’s brain is more susceptible to toxins and young kidneys are less able to eliminate them. Thus, children have a greater risk than adults of adverse reactions to aluminium in vaccines. The US Centers for Disease Control cites an FDA study which found that an infant could be exposed to more than four milligrams of aluminium from required vaccines in the first year of life, in addtion to the aluminium infants already received in utero (from vaccinations being offered to pregnant women).

A US federally-funded study released in 2022 reported a “positive
association” between “vaccine-related aluminum exposure” and
“persistent asthma” in children 24-59 months old. Overall, children in the study who received 3 milligrams or more of vaccine-
related aluminum had at least a 36% higher risk of developing
persistent asthma than kids who got less than 3.