| Author |
Here's to Your Health:  Aluminum and Alzheimers  |
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 07 2007 : 10:31:16 PM
|
I have heard for years about the connection of aluminum to alzheimers. Autopsies done on alzheimer victims showed high levels of aluminum in their systems. Recently, in my quest to live a healthier, more natural lifestyle, I became convicted of the need for our family to not use aluminum that is unsafe. This means store bought antiperspirants, liquid antacids such as Mylanta, aluminum foil, aluminum cookware and aluminum pop cans. Most canned foods are okay, as the cans are coated so the aluminum is not in contact with the food. In the past toothpaste also had aluminum, but most have recently stopped. Aluminum is also being linked to Parkinson's disease. So I just ordered a large (8 lb) bucket of 92% coconut oil. The 92% is the only one that can be left at room temp without spoiling quickly. Coconut oil is a natural anti-perspirant with no side affects. I found several recipes, but think the one I try is 50% coconut oil mixed with 50% baking soda. Just makes a nice creamy paste that you can apply by hand if you just keep it in a container with a tight lid. I'll let you know how it works. My hubby gets heartburn every now and then . . . surely it couldn't be MY cooking?! Dry tablet antacids, such as Tums and Rolaids are aluminum free, so I will make sure that is all he uses, not the liquid ones. We don't drink canned pop, so no issue there. I use a baking stone for my cookies, etc. not aluminum cookie sheets and I don't have any aluminum cookware. Also, many cities have high levels of aluminum in thier water. I want to check into ours in Spokane and see what kind of filters there might be to help this. I might need to purchase more lidded baking dishes to replace foil.
If you do a search on the web, there have been countless studies done on the connection of aluminum to alzheimers as well as parkinsons. It just doesn't make sense to continue to use things that we know are causing problems. I am also hearing that fluoride treatments given by the dentist have aluminum, but want to confirm this. My kids get 2 treatments a year at the dentist and if this is true, I will discontinue that. I don't do them myself anymore as I always end up sick from it after I leave the dentist. Anyway, just thought others might want to ponder this and think about making our lives safer. I can't imagine a worse way to go, than to actually lose my memory and ability to process my thoughts. If I can do something to lessen the chances of this for not only me, but my family, it will be worth the minor inconveniences. We might all end up smelling like coconut , but at least we will have our minds intact.
Hugs & blessings,
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
JudyBlueEyes
True Blue Farmgirl
657 Posts
Judith
Spokane
Washington
USA
657 Posts |
Posted - Oct 08 2007 : 3:30:14 PM
|
Brenda, I have been thinking about this lately...a lot! In the past year, I have bought 3 aluminum cook pots at the thrifts. Two of them are from the same line that my mom had when we were growing up (hmmm...so there were HOW many years of using only aluminum pots & pans for cooking??? yikes!) and then the other is a lovely Club Aluminum covered soup pot and it is just wonderful...but it IS aluminum. I have been thinking about this, as I have heard about aluminum being a problem for 35 years anyhow (and I know it's been known for longer) but my sentimentality made me buy those pans that were from my childhood. *sigh* Well, I better find a way to display them in the kitchen, and not actually use them anymore, eh? Thanks for bringing this up...Judy
We come from the earth, we go back to the earth, and in between, we garden! |
 |
|
|
Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Oct 09 2007 : 06:23:15 AM
|
I gave up cooking with aluminum pots years ago, Brenda. I used to read Organic Gardening magazine a lot, and they always said they've been preaching against cooking in aluminum pots since the 1940's! It's sometimes very difficult to figure out what is aluminum or has aluminum parts. When bread makers first came out, I wanted one, but when I asked if the baking part inside was made of aluminum, no one seemed to know/care/want to tell me. I've never found one that wasn't aluminum. My mom and pretty much every one from my childhood thought Club Aluminum was the thing to have! Thanks for the recipe for deodorant. Please tell us how it works. I've tried the deodorant 'stone' things in health food stores, and they just don't work for me.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 09 2007 : 06:52:35 AM
|
I still think the jury may be out on this but I applaud anyone who desires to better themselves or the earth-so long as the knee jerk-panicked views are left at home.
You may want to search out reliable studies that have done double blind studies for more than just a few years. Search out publications from the Journal of American Medicine and other big time medicine related journals. If you have done so, I'm sorry for jumping the gun.
I would like to think that if the link were 100% true, there would be a move for bigger change?
Altzheimer's also has been linked to a kind of use-it-or-loose it.
Look at those older folks who have remained active throughout their entire lives, maintain a vast social circle and do not shut themselfes off from society especailly when a spouse dies.
My grandmother became a recluse when my grandfather died and did get dimentia. The tipoff came when my mom made a visit and found her mom sitting in a drained bathtub for who only knows how long. Grammy couldn't remember how long she hd been there or when her last meal was. She did work a crossword puzzle evey day but socailly did nothing. On the flip side, my Dad's mother remained quick as a whip up until her last breath. She had a nice network of friends and was very active in her church. Basically her body pooped out on her before her mind did. Interesting.
Both dimentia and altzheimer's and Parkinson's show that plaque build-up on the brain synapeses (I think).
I had an old boyfriend whose father had parkinson's and died from it. This IS genetic and is passed on by way of the gene pool and can be traced as such just like the gene for alcoholism can be found too. This genetic trait has been proven and is not nececcairly a link to aluminum.
Every case may be slightly different too. We all come from different places and live very differently. If aluminum were linked to say someting like cookware, do you thiink everyone in the same family would be affected? Same goes for mainstream antipersperants. The "earthy" folks are a sad minority when it comes to making the switch, so if the link were true, there would be more altzheimers cases everywhere in all nursing homes.
Continue to research this as it is sad and fascinating and scary. I wonder if high aluminum traces in the body might come from water sources too.
I don't want to come across as mean spirited and close minded and it's hard to convey a soft side on a computer screen, but sometimes, the "green side" uses scare tactics and not hard core proof from tested sources.
In your quest to purify, look at your baking powder too. They do make aluminum free baking powders and each is sold next to the other in mainstream grocery stores.
Do your chemistry. There are several kinds of aluminum and they are not the same.
I know this thanks to fireworks chemistry. (Basic chemistry is where the firework shell makers come up with the color combinations) Not every element that sounds the same does the same thing or reacts in the same way. (Boy is this geeky or what?!)
What KIND of aluminum is the cause?
Antipersperants use a. zirconium, the baking powder uses sodium aluminum sulfate.
And lastly, everyone, please remember: THE DOSE IS THE POISON
|
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 06:04:15 AM
|
Hi Anna,
You are right . . . there are various causes for alzheimers and parkinsons, but aluminum has truly been linked to both and this is from sources that are reliable . . . Ivy league school studies, medical associations, etc. not unreliable sources. The reason it hasn't been pushed more is simply money. Huge companies are behind such things as deodorant, foil, etc. Right or wrong, that does affect the outcome of such causes.
As to the type of aluminum, ALL aluminum is a risk. There is only one type of aluminum, it is simply mixed with other chemicals or alloys. Such as zirconium, sodium, carbonate, etc. The other ingredient is just mixed as a compound but aluminum is still there.
Based on what I have read, I do not agree that the jury is still out. I believe the verdict is loud and clear that aluminum is a high risk. It has been proven in multiple autopsies. It is just that we haven't been pushed to change by "the big guns." If Dr. Phil or Oprah got on this band wagon, everyone would be a believer.
Anyway, this is my little soap box but I think to turn a blind eye to it is not very wise. I would love to hear MaryJane's opinion on this, as I know she has studied a lot of chemicals and is very much a naturalist. Each person must ultimately do what they feel is best, but for me I know it is a risk I am no longer willing to take for my family. Wish the coconut oil would hurry and get here so I can try it. I do hope it works in such a way that we smell nice and don't turn heads to see what jungle bunnies just walked in the room! LOL!
Blessings to all, as we each continue our journies toward leaving healthy and pure farmgirl lives.
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 11 2007 : 06:07:43 AM
|
Oops! On my last line I say "toward leaving healthy and pure farmgirl lives" I meant living certainly not leaving! LOL! It's early and apparently I still have aluminum in my brain . . . LOL!
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2007 : 03:52:38 AM
|
Last night I had an enlightning conversation w/ a lady who is vegitarian, but who is also working on her 2nd doctorate on nutrition and how it affects us. The more she talked, the more we both agreed on the downfall of American culture and how all the garbage we feed ourselves and the bad examples we pass along to the children.
The good and better things are kept hidden and do not become mainstream due to the almighty $$ and the big buck people who have all the control on the opposing sides.
I live in a small town as i'm sure a lot of us on this site do, but gosh woulsn't it be nice to be able to buy all natural all the time and not have to pay out the wazzooo and travel to the bigger cities to afford such "nicities"
|
|
|
|
Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2007 : 09:34:39 AM
|
I agree. Buying all natural whenever you can is a great goal to have. I guess that is one of the reasons why I am so excited that a place like Costco is starting to carry MaryJane's Budget Mix and why I love her mail-order food.
So now it is just the non-food items that I have to worry about. But I know I can brush my teeth with baking soda, as well as wash my hair and clean my house with baking soda and vinegar. So that takes away a lot of the personal care items and with Brenda's recipe for a the homemade deoderant- Wow! Effectively that cuts out a lot of the specialty stores!
I do like shopping at our local co-op for healthy additons to our pantry though, and I can't wait until we can buy a deep freezer so we can buy hormone-free and free range meat.
Isn't it scary how we have to think about every aspect in our lives because some of the modern trappings of life are so dangerous?
Alee
The amazing one handed typist! One hand for typing, one hand to hold Nora!
|
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2007 : 03:42:22 AM
|
I wonder too if the right/wrong combinations in a person's body pre disposes one over the other. Kind of like smokers who either get cancer at a really young age or smoke 'till they are 90 and never have much ill effect at all.
A dear friend of ours is slipping. She has forgotten how to drive, what a car is or basically the names of every day common items-like a placemat. Her family finally made the decision to place her in a home only a few months ago. And yet, she can still recall who we are, and a few stories from years past. Intersting how she grew and canned a lot of what she ate, and yet also purchased cheaper items and off brands because an off brand grocery store is where she shopped.
and p.s. she too cooked out of one of those old tyme aluminum pans
so you may be onto something |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2007 : 9:46:54 PM
|
I agree about the need for more natural foods and less chemicals. Cancer has increased so much, as have other auto-immune diseases. I think our environment and use of unnatural things is definitely a link to this. To me it just seems whatever we can do that we know is safe over other unknowns is just smarter. So for me that has meant no aluminum that could be absorbed or eaten, no strange chemicals that I can avoid in foods, no chemically dangerous cleaners, etc. As I learn more, I want to be smarter about what I expose my family and myself to. I think it is something, as true farmgirls, we should each strive for . . . to embrace nature and partake of her bounty.
Hugs & blessings,
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
MustangSuzie
True Blue Farmgirl
634 Posts
Sarah
New London
Missouri
USA
634 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2007 : 06:53:07 AM
|
Just an fyi if you are going to try using anything baking soda based for deodorant. I have sensitive skin and every baking soda thing I have tried under my arms burned me. Just for thought. I like to use the mineral salt stick/block, it works great for me. You can also find a few manufactured deodorants without aluminum such as Tom's of Maine, Jason and a few others I forget. One available at walmart is Adidas, the cotton sorb one. Altho it does have triclosan. Which brings up another topic. I am very wary, and have heard an infectious disease doctor speak about, the effects of all the antibacterial products that are available and used. That is helping to make bacteria resisant to most antibiotics. Good old soap and water is the best way to wash. We were not meant to live in a sterile, germ free world.
I"m not sure if I maybe just missed it in the above posts or not, but don't forget that baking powder has aluminum in it. There are a couple of brands that don't ...Rumford's and I think Bob's Red Mill makes an aluminum free b.p.
I was thinking yesterday as I was buying some fresh fruit and I passed a woman with 3 children filling her cart with toaster pastries, frozen pizza, snack cakes etc. Can you imagine the impact it would have on the state of our health if people would fill their shopping carts with fresh fruits and vegetables the way they fill them with soda pop and junk food? wow!
Blessings....
Sarah
www.mustangsuzie.blogspot.com
|
Edited by - MustangSuzie on Oct 15 2007 06:55:02 AM |
|
|
|
greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Oct 16 2007 : 9:31:35 PM
|
| Brenda - I would caution the fluoride treatments. Too much of a good thing causes the opposite - in the case of my teeth, there was fluoride in the water, mom had bad teeth and wanted to be sure I got as much fluoride as I could as a kid - 2 treatments a year plus a rinse with it in there, and the toothpaste. I have no enamel on my teeth. Dentists now are linking that phenomenon with an overdose of Fluoride as a child. Oops. |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 18 2007 : 08:28:27 AM
|
Yes, Lynn, I agree. I think my fluoride treatment days are over. I need to talk to hubby and see if he will agree to not have the boys have any more. I think he thinks I am becoming a fanatic, but I just want to make our home/family as safe as I can.
I also found out that flu shots have a high dose of aluminum. I would rather have a week of the flu than alzheimers or parkinsons . . .
I had heard about Baking Powder having aluminum too. Is there something we can use to replace it for recipes that call for it? I know baking soda is one of it's ingredients, but not sure what else it needs?
I almost tossed out my foil, but then thought I could use it in craft projects, so it has now moved to the basement.
Hugs & blessings,
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2007 : 3:57:48 PM
|
I avoid flu shots not just for the aluminum, but because it is rumored that the government is playing "guniea pig" with its citizens with those shots.
MOST shots contain aluminum, some levels of formaldehyde, and a few other nasty things. Don't have my list handy. If I ever have kids, they are NOT getting those immunization shots. I won't let that happen... there are links to MMR shots and autism... kids who were normal until after they had their round of shots at 2 years old... the drug companies have the American people by the nads - and they wanted to force all our girls to have that shot to prevent cervical cancer, which you only get by being a floozie anyway, but preaching safe sex isn't going to make the drug companies any money.
Seriously, it's really sick. I keep track of what is added to our food, how it is grown, what the effects are. I do the best I can. Plastic is being banned from our home. All of it. Still have to find a non-plastic water bottle for my bicycle, something that maybe won't shatter when I drop it (encase it in cork maybe?).
Our food is wrapped up in wax paper anymore. I won't buy anything else. My hubby can't quite get used to this idea, but he understands. |
|
|
|
mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Oct 22 2007 : 4:06:22 PM
|
| I'm not sure if the scientific validity of this theory either, but here is my experience with my own family. My mom is one of 12 children, four were deceased as children, and of the remaining 8, 6 are in the latter stages of Alzheimers. My mom and her family grew up very poor and ate baking powder biscuits and beans three meals a day, seven days a week. That's a lot of aluminum based baking powder to take it. She continued to make biscuits, almost every day, into her marriage and throughout my childhood. I'm scared to death and I'm not taking any chances with it. It could be a coincidence, but I'm not willing to take that risk. |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 23 2007 : 12:01:24 PM
|
WOW Now those are staggering numbers
And like I said before, the dose is the poison. So in this case, I'd say let the facts speak for themselves.
It bothers me to know that most cookware is aluminum and I wonder if the teflon coating offers any protectant. -- I just read an article in the latest Good Housekeeping about teflon. So far as long as the pan is not super heated to above 400-500 there is minimal risk. The grade of cookware also makes a difference. But I digress
I'm a bit of a food snob, at leat when it comes to cookware and my knives, so I'm gradually making the shift to stainless steel. It's big bucks, but you can't beat a classic. |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2007 : 1:17:52 PM
|
I have had the good old Revere Ware Stainless Steel for years and it is wonderful. I believe most of the newer teflon pans are stainless based, as they are heavier than aluminum would be. But I am not a big teflon fan either . . . it eventually flakes off and eating teflon isn't my favorite . . . DH just doesn't believe me when I tell him it's fresh ground pepper! LOL!
Hugs & blessings,
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
katmom
True Blue Farmgirl
17161 Posts
Grace
WACAL Gal
WashCalif.
USA
17161 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2007 : 10:58:25 PM
|
fresh ground pepper? now why didn't I think of that!!??!! lol!
>^..^< Happiness is being a katmom.
www.katmom4.blogspot.com |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Oct 26 2007 : 03:51:09 AM
|
Yea, and that's partly wht I'm having to make a change anyway. After over 10 years of usage for 2 pots especially, it's beyond time.
good news is, my mom volunteers at a thrift store where sometiems high end stuff come through. She said Revereware is passing through all the time and never sits for long at all.
You know, when her mother passed, I seriously missed the boat and didn't latch onto Grammy's Revereware. It had the copper bottoms too. I think mom's best friend got those as a thank you for helping Mom deal w/ the hassle of clearing house. |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Oct 28 2007 : 4:35:55 PM
|
Good luck finding the cookware through the thrift store, Anna. That is really the best way to get it! My revere ware has the copper bottoms too, which I am told makes the pan heat more evenly. I just love the look of the copper!
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2007 : 03:29:52 AM
|
Thanks to this post, while shopping I bought the aluminum-free baking powder and promptly threw the other out when I got home.
Most of my recipes don't call for this, except for the occasional banana bread. We don't eat a lot of biscuits. I'm just not a huge fan of tasteless doughy blobs of flour. 'Cides, they just take up valuable space in the tummy when you can pack yourself silly w/ all the other goodies out there. I'm thinkin' T-Day already! Now put lots of seedy type things and whole wheat in it, and I'll make it disappear in a matter of days!
Point is, making a switch for the better can only be a benifit. I didn't even look for the typical price hike. I was just thrilled to see the good sitting next to the other AND made by the same company. Now isn't THAT interesting!? |
|
|
|
Past Blessings
True Blue Farmgirl
1083 Posts
Brenda
Orchard Prairie
WA
USA
1083 Posts |
Posted - Nov 01 2007 : 07:05:22 AM
|
Anna,
The aluminum free baking powder is on my shopping list for this week too. It just doesn't make sense not to do it. When I mentioned to my mom that aluminum is in flu shots, she stubbornly made it clear she'd rather have the shot than get the flu. Hard to grasp that way of thinking . . . You'd rather risk alzheimers or parkinsons than be sick with a passing virus for a week?! But I have found you can show people the evidence and what they choose is their choice.
Hugs and blessings,
Brenda
Past Blessings . . . Celebrating Life as it used to be . . . when people loved God, loved their families and loved their country. |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Nov 03 2007 : 03:23:47 AM
|
So true. The other side of this coin is......
my personality type already has me desiring home life and being perfectly content to be alone most of the time. Even at this younger age, I force myself to get out socially and do stuff w/ other people. And yes, I have a spouse to talk to and do stuff with, but for him, he'd rather ride his bike and do things that are closer to home. He'll forever be a country mouse and that's fine. I grew up in the suberbs of Cincinnati and desire trappings of the big city every now and again. It's just a little hard, when the big city is 30 miles away and po-dunk Asheboro doesn't cut it. |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2007 : 4:45:19 PM
|
Brenda,
you'd be interested to know, after 10 years of using the same aluminum/teflon coated pot, I threw it out today during an all day marathon jelly making session.
I flipped the pot over and saw it was indeed aluminum. Most of the non-stick is flaking off bad enough now -and after staying with this post for awhile and thinking about it a lot, the pot went by-by and my new juicer system has a bigger capacity that handled the juice and jelly like a champ. And since its stainless steel, it should last a lifetime.
I got to really thinking about it after today's first batch was made. I usually end up wiping the lip of excess drippy jelly residue frequently during the jelly making process. And as a last cleaning step, I pour the boiled water into it for a final scald/clean. (I don't have an automatic dish washer) The whole ring around the top is nearly bald of teflon and the bottom has a ring around it from all the years of circular sturring.
So thank you and may we all have many good years clear thinking--most of the time!  |
|
|
|
Dixie_Amazon
True Blue Farmgirl
125 Posts
Dennise
Baton Rouge
LA
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - Nov 26 2007 : 03:21:15 AM
|
I heard on the news this month that there is a UK study linking the aluminum in antiperspirants to breast cancer plus the aluminum was found in the lymph nodes.
Dennise |
Edited by - Dixie_Amazon on Dec 01 2007 5:43:02 PM |
|
|
|
Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2007 : 4:51:55 PM
|
YEP YEP
Although I'll continue to use the antipersperants and avoid other aluminum sources whenever possible.
My zoo job makes me sweat nearly every day, so any time I have opportunity to not stink and feel funky outside the zoo is fine for now. |
|
|
|
Here's to Your Health: Aluminum and Alzheimers |
|
Aluminum and Alzheimers
