From: nancym@hardy.u.washington.edu (Nancy McGough)
Date: 30 Jan 1993 20:27:16 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg,sci.med.nutrition

In rec.food.veg harvey@indyvax.iupui.edu writes:

>What's wrong with aluminum?

My information is from about 10 years ago.  I'd love
to hear the latest thinking on this issue is.

Aluminum has no established function in human nutrition.
Aluminum accumulation in the body may be correlated with:

 * neuromuscular conditions such as amyotrophic lateral
   sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson-like syndrome
 * loss of calcium from bone associated with old age
 * memory loss with aging
 * Alzheimer's disease (extreme loss of memory or "presenile dementia")
 * senile dementia


Aluminum can come to be concentrated in the body from:

 * aluminum-containing antacids
 * cooking acid or alkaline foods in aluminum cookware
   for many years
 * water that has been softened with ion exchange
   resins (water softeners)
 * water supply and soil (thus food) high in aluminum

The best way to remove aluminum from the body appears
to be displacing it with calcium, magnesium, and vitamin
D in the diet and using a vitamin C supplement.

I got this information from the book "Nutraerobics" by
Bland which came out in 1983.  I'd love to hear the
latest thinking on aluminum.

Followups are directed to sci.med.nutrition.

Nancy