Aluminum and Your Body
Aluminum has made its way into all sorts of everyday items – it’s what makes soda cans shiny, foil crinkle, vaccines to get a fast & furious immune reaction, stopping pantry staples from caking, food color dyes, and airplanes staying light enough to soar. But while it has plenty of industrial uses, the natural health community has questions and concerns about its food and wellness uses.
There has been a growing conversation about keeping aluminum out of personal care products, foods, and medicines. The idea isn’t complicated: people like knowing exactly what’s going into and onto their bodies. The conversations aren’t about fear-mongering, but about wanting to live with fewer additives and metals in the body whenever possible. Choosing aluminum-free options is simply one way people feel they can simplify and stay aligned with their wellness values.
Aluminum and Your Body
Aluminum is a naturally occurring, very abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. It’s lightweight, silvery, and doesn’t rust easily, which is why it shows up in so many everyday items. Because it’s so versatile, it’s also put in some foods, medicines, and personal care products.
But here’s the kicker: our bodies don’t need it. We don't actually have processes to use it!
Unlike essential minerals like iron or magnesium, aluminum has no biological role that scientists have found and can accumulate in tissues like the brain, bones, and liver.
Studies, like those from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and others, link high aluminum levels to neurotoxicity (think brain fog, memory issues, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism), bone disorders (like osteomalacia), and even anemia! (1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
Repeated exposure from multiple sources adds up, potentially disrupting enzymes or hormones, especially how the body sends estrogen signals. (8) Not to mention of course that it causes a significant reduction of antioxidants like the “Super Antioxidant” glutathione! (9)
While small amounts from food are mostly filtered out by healthy kidneys, please keep in mind that up to 1 in 3 Americans have or are at real risk of chronic kidney disease! (10)
As a population, many of us do not have optimal detox pathways (liver, kidneys, blood circulation, and lymphatic flow).
This raises a red flag – why invite a non-essential metal into our lives much less our wellness routines? Especially one that we know can interrupt our body’s very important functions!
Risks of Aluminum
There is more research expanding our understanding of our bodies all the time. These are some diseases are definitely linked to aluminum and some less definitively linked but raise concerns due to accumulating research or biological plausibility, especially with chronic low-level exposure from vaccines, deodorants, or food containers.
Dialysis Encephalopathy (Aluminum-Induced Neurotoxicity) (11)
What It Is: A neurological condition often seen in dialysis patients. Symptoms include confusion, speech issues, and seizures.
Osteomalacia (Bone Disease) (12)
What It Is: Weakened, softened bones due to impaired mineralization, causing pain and fractures. Aluminum binds to bone, disrupting calcium uptake.
Anemia (Aluminum-induced anemia) (13,14)
What It Is: Low red blood cell count, leading to fatigue and weakness. Aluminum disrupts iron metabolism, reducing red blood cell production.
Alzheimer’s Disease (15)
What It Is: A progressive brain disorder causing memory loss and cognitive decline. The brain has a known sensitivity to aluminum, especially via direct-to-blood routes like vaccines.
Autoimmune Disorders (16,17,18)
What It Is: Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, where the immune system attacks the body. Aluminum adjuvants might trigger ASIA (Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants).
Breast Cancer (19)
What It Is: Cancer in breast tissue, often near lymph nodes. Aluminum in antiperspirants may mimic estrogen, raising theoretical concerns about breast cancer. This makes daily deodorant use near lymph nodes feel risky to the natural community.
Autism (20,21,22,23,24,25)
What It Is: A neurodevelopmental disorder recognized by persistent challenges in social communication, repetitive behaviors, interest focus, and sensory processing. Aluminum has been seen in high levels in brain tissue, causes inflammation, and crosses the blood brain barrier. It has also shown a potential effect on behavior and cognitive function.
Ingestion vs. Injection
The way aluminum enters your body matters – a lot.
Ingested aluminum passes through your gut, where kidneys may filter out up to 99%. This, of course, makes 2 important and likely unwise assumptions: optimal gut health and optimal kidney health. Do we have that? Do you have that?
We already mentioned above that 1 in 3 Americans have or are at risk to have chronic kidney disease. But a healthy gut? That is a pretty big and frequently looked into topic too. It isn’t as “diagnoseable,” but many consider the potential of Leaky Gut Syndrome and Gut Axis issues to be pretty significant concerns too.
Injected aluminum, like in vaccine adjuvants, skips this gatekeeper altogether. Here, the aluminum enter the bloodstream or tissues directly with no filtering. This can potentially lead to it lingering in the brain or lymph nodes. This direct route is why vaccines top our aluminum worry list – unlike food, there’s no gut involved to even potentially filter it out!
Why is Aluminum in Vaccines?
Aluminum in vaccines isn’t there as a contaminant or naturally occurring process – it’s intentionally added as an adjuvant. Adjuvants are substances that help “boost” the immune system’s response to increase the likelihood of getting a robust enough immune response.
Main Component: Aluminum binded with other minerals creating a salt such as aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, or alum.
How It Works: Creates a slow release of antigen (the virus or other threat) and stimulates local immune cells. This helps the body recognize the vaccine’s antigens as something to respond to more effectively. Because aluminum brings on a big immune response, vaccines can use smaller amounts of the actual virus or bacteria components.
Vaccines Using It: Aluminum adjuvants are mainly used in inactivated (non-live) vaccines like DTaP, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hib, Pneumococcal, and combined variations of those. This is because these vaccines alone don’t trigger a very strong immune response.
There are several non-aluminum adjuvants used in vaccines today, especially in newer formulations, other countries, and in vaccines for diseases where aluminum alone isn’t enough. These adjuvants help stimulate the immune system in different ways.
What are Safe Doses?
We have established that #1 aluminum absolutely does affect brain health, how our body uses nutrients, immune health, cellular health, and central nervous system health (no doubt many others, too). We have discussed that #2 there is a difference in how aluminum is processed according to accepted science and the drawbacks to the assumptions in potential filtering of aluminum.
Now let’s keep that in mind as we talk accepted “safe limits” and numbers!
Safe daily limits are based on what the body can reasonably absorb, filter, and expel from the body when the filtering and expelling processes (aka your gut, liver, kidneys, etc) are working well.
For oral or ingested exposure:
- WHO sets an intake of 2 mg per kg body weight per week.
- Other agencies have set a somewhat lower weekly guideline about 1 mg/kg/week.
- The FDA’s newly revised safe limit for total aluminum exposure is less than 5 mcg/kg/day. For reference, a mcg is one thousandth of a milligram. This is to protect infants and those with impaired kidney function.
Injected aluminum
- FDA states the daily exposure of 4 - 5 mcg/kg/day is potentially risky – especially for patients with immature or those with impaired kidney function.
- WHO does not have a specific limit for injected or an amount considering more than ingested.
Everyday Exposures
Besides just naturally-occurring aluminum in food, there are other exposures like:
- Leaching out of aluminum cookware (acidic foods especially)
- Aluminum in some deodorants (skips filtering)
- Beverages in aluminum cans
- Food wrapped in aluminum foil
- Medicines (like antacids, buffered aspirin, and some antidiarrheals)
- Anti-caking agents (some baking powders, infant formula, and flours)
- Coloring agents (like Red 40)
Much of that is ideally filtered out, hopefully.
Vaccine Dosages
With injected aluminum like in vaccines, that filtering option is bypassed altogether leaving it all in the bloodstream to go everywhere the blood goes.
An average 1 month old infant weighs about 9 pounds which is around 4 kg. Making the “safe” daily limit of aluminum for an averaged-size one month infant right around 20 mcg.
An average 2 month old infant weighs about 11 pounds which is around 5 kg. Making the “safe” daily limit of aluminum for an averaged-size two month infant right around 25 mcg.
An average 4 month old infant weighs about 15 pounds which is around 6.5 kg. Making the “safe” daily limit of aluminum for an averaged-size four month infant right around 32.5 mcg.
An average 6 month old infant weighs about 17 pounds which is around 7 kg. Making the “safe” daily limit of aluminum for an averaged-size six month infant right around 35 mcg.
An average 12 month old infant weighs about 21 pounds which is around 9.5 kg. Making the “safe” daily limit of aluminum for an averaged-size six month infant right around 47.5 mcg.
Now look at the chart below, what do those numbers suggest to you?
Chart Sources: (26,package inserts on 27,28,29,30,31)
How do those numbers make you feel? Is it potentially concerning to you? Do you feel that, perhaps, other routes could be researched and considered? Do you think we should consider the effect of all of those vaccines being given together to such young individuals? Seriously, it has not been studied in that manner yet!
If you do agree with considering other routes or schedules, welcome to the movement of questioning vaccine safety! It isn’t about the “disease,” it is about the adjuvants! It’s about not harming our children’s bodies and mental health.
The truth is, many people have been wanting these questions to get seriously asked and actually studied as a whole. There are also people who, gasp for effect, would like this researched by people who do not have any stake in the billions of dollars industry of pharmaceuticals.
Natural Ways to Say No to Aluminum
We’re all about empowering you to ditch aluminum and support your body’s natural detoxing flow: Vaccines: Research schedules and alternatives with a holistic doctor, consider spacing shots, waiting until older, not getting certain shots, or not getting any. Deodorants: Swap antiperspirants and aluminum deodorants for aluminum-free options that support detoxing, like our Detoxifying Pit Mask, Mineral Deodorant, and Mineral Deodorant Plus. Detox Support: Eat a whole food diet and support your detox pathways with supplements like our Detox Defense (formerly called Vaccine Detox), Liver Love, UT Relief, Activated Charcoal Capsules, Healthy Heart, Vitality Oil, Gut Health Oil, Magnesium Lotion (formerly Good Night Lotion), Castor Oil, Detox Bath, Candida Cleanse, and Lymphatic Cream. Food Prep: Use glass, stainless steel water bottles, silicone lunch boxes and containers, or beeswax wraps instead of foil. Use cast iron or stainless steel cookware.
How Herbal Supplements May Help
Activated Charcoal: Excellent for gut adsorption. It binds aluminum ions, potentially trapping them before absorption by the body. (32,33) Try our Activated Charcoal Capsules. Chlorella: Traditionally used to support gut health and natural elimination processes, promoting overall detoxification pathways. Lab and animal studies show it may bind to heavy metals (including aluminum) in the gut, supporting excretion. Human trials are sparse, but it’s a go-to in natural detox protocols for its cell wall’s chelating properties. (34,35,36) Found in our Detox Defense. Dandelion Root: Traditionally used for liver and kidney support. (37,38) Found in our Detox Defense and Liver Love. Oregon Grape Root & Yellow Dock: Supports digestive health and microbial balance in the gut, contributing to overall wellness. Found in our Detox Defense. Astragalus Root: Supports immune and kidney function. (39,40) Found in our Detox Defense. Marshmallow Root: Soothes mucous membranes and supports gut lining health for overall detox comfort. (41) Found in our Detox Defense. Peppermint Leaf: Promotes digestive comfort and a balanced gut, supporting overall wellness. (42) Found in our Detox Defense and Liver Love. Magnesium: It competes with aluminum uptake in the body. Aluminum levels may cause a decrease in magnesium levels. (43) Found in our Magnesium Lotion.
Liver, Kidney, & Lymphatic Support:
Cleavers: Supports healthy lymphatic flow and fluid balance, promoting the body’s natural cleansing processes. Found in our Lymphatic Cream. Burdock: Promotes liver health and healthy digestion, aiding natural elimination pathways. Found in our Lymphatic Cream. Plantain: Soothes mucous membranes and supports digestive comfort, fostering a balanced internal environment. Calendula: Promotes skin health and immune function, supporting overall wellness. Found in our Lymphatic Cream. Milk Thistle: Supports liver health and protects against oxidative stress, promoting natural cleansing. Found in our Liver Love. Turmeric with Black Pepper: Supports healthy inflammation response and antioxidant activity, promoting overall vitality. Found in our Liver Love.
Changing the Way the World Sees Health Care
We’re not saying aluminum is the enemy, but its presence in vaccines, deodorants, and foods concerns us. We want more research into safer alternatives, and we want the questions to finally be heard and thoroughly discussed openly. The side effects, from neurotoxicity to hormonal concerns, should push us all toward cleaner choices. At Earthley Wellness, we’re about empowering you to take health into your hands. We want to change the way the world sees health care, and it starts with you.
Sources:
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2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30315448/
3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10139039/
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10 https://www.kidney.org/press-room/37-million-american-adults-now-estimated-to-have-chronic-kidney-disease#:~:text=Kidney%20Disease%20Facts,of%20kidney%20failure.
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15 https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/alzheime.html
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18 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1568997223002434
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25 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12026-013-8403-1
26 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/downloads/child/0-18yrs-child-combined-schedule.pdf
27 https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/vaccines-licensed-use-united-states
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31 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maximum-Dose-of-Aluminum-Adjuvants_tbl2_51635180
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