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Nutrition and Health

Alzheimer's disease, aluminum content impact

Does aluminum cause alzheimer's disease? first of two parts

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

July 8, 1990

The facts are staggering and the disease is terrifying. 4,000,000 Americans and 300,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer's Disease. And one fact keeps reappearing in medical literature. Subcellular fractions within the brains of Alzheimer patients are found to contain nine times as much aluminum as in the brains of those without this disease. In view of the extent of this problem we'll discuss the possible role played by aluminum in this column and the one next week. How can we decrease our exposure to this common metallic element? And is acid rain killing brains as well as fish?

Professor Donald R. McLachlan, Director of Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto, is a world authority on aluminum. He says that years ago aluminum was generally considered to be non-toxic and he relates the following story.

In the late 1930's McIntyre Mines asked Sir Frederick Banting, the discoverer of insulin, how to prevent silicosis in gold miners. Banting suggested blowing aluminum powder into their lungs. This method was approved for use in 1941. But it was discontinued in 1979 because miners complained it made their skin black.

Professor McLachlan began publishing papers on the toxic effects of aluminum on animals in the 1980's. He says that aluminum in its metallic form isn't harmful. However, when aluminum combines with other compounds it becomes, "bioavailable" and can become toxic to the brain. Sulphuric acid in rain releases bioavailable aluminum from the soil.

Acid rain doesn't just affect fish. Norwegians living in areas where the lakes are very acidic have a higher incidence of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. C.N. Martyne, member of the British Research Council, also showed that there's a positive correlation between Alzheimer's Disease and the aluminum content of water.

McLachlan points out that the people of Guam also live in an environment rich in aluminum. And they suffer from degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

What about aircraft workers who are exposed to high levels of aluminum? McLachlan reports that many 30 and 40 year old males in this industry have been seen with memory difficulties. He describes another environmental hazard in the State of Washington.

An aluminum smelting plant was built in Washington by French engineers. They advised workers not to work there for more than 10 years or they would get the shakes. McLachlan was there 20 years later and concluded their prediction was right. Workers had developed "Pot Room Palsy". It's a bizarre condition in which patients shake as they begin walking. Workers told him that when pigeons flew into the smelter they died within 24 hours! McLachlan believes the workers absorbed aluminum through the skin and developed degenerative brain disease.

Research shows we normally do not collect aluminum in the brain as we age. If you're 90 years of age and functioning well there will be no increase of aluminum in the tissues. But the older the patient with Alzheimer's Disease the more aluminum he or she accumulates. McLachlan believes the normal barrier that prevents the movement of aluminum into the brain has been lost or damaged in those with this disease.

The efficiency of the barrier was put to the test on July 7, 1988 in England. A truck driver inadvertently dumped 20 tonnes of liquid alum into the water supply of Camelford, a small English village of 1200 people in Cornwall. It killed 130 chickens, 35 ducklings and 10 lambs on one farm.

One finding made national headlines. Hairdressers at the Cat's Whiskers in Camelford noted an influx of customers whose hair had turned green. Others developed muscle cramps, diarrhea, mouth ulcers and rashes.

Initially health authorities conducted a huge cover-up. Later they admitted the amount of aluminum in the water supply was 6,000 times approved limits. Bone biopsies have since shown aluminum in the bones of Camelford residents. It 's the first time aluminum has been found in bones after oral consumption by a healthy individual. Professor McLachlan says it's too early to predict the long-term effects of this environmental disaster.

How much aluminum is safe? Professor McLachlan says the ideal amount is about 2 mg. daily, the biologically normal amount in the foods we eat. But the average North American consumes 10 mg. (milligrams) a day. Some people reach levels of 80 mg. a day.

McLachlan is convinced we should all strive to reduce our intake of aluminum. But next week you're in for a shock when you see the aluminum content of many foods and commercial products.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod