In the world we live in today, we assume that everything that we ingest or put on our bodies is safe because we have regulatory groups in the United States that make sure that unsafe products are not being produced and marketed to the public. In addition, we believe that most companies who make products that are either ingested or placed on the skin are safe for use. The fact is that information revealing any negative effects on the human body of any commercial substance may take years or decades to discover.
So, it becomes imperative that we become smart consumers and look out for known toxic ingredients in any products that we put in or on our bodies. Baby boomers are beginning to retire and according to marketing people these retirement years are going to be the best years of our lives. Maybe and maybe not. If we can protect ourselves from heavy metal exposure, we may be able to avoid serious neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease which would clearly destroy our golden years.
I was shocked when I started reading the very informative book, "The Brain Wash" by Dr. Michelle Schoffro Cook. Dr. Cook contends that our delicate brains are under assault from numerous toxins including heavy metals on a daily basis. In fact, Dr. Cook believes that in 15 years there will be more people suffering with brain diseases than with cancer and heart disease combined! This is a frightening possibility that should have every baby boomer quaking in their heavy metal boots! This will be the time that many of us will start to enjoy our goldrn years. It sounds like we there is a large possibility that we may not be able to remembe them or anything else! I am terrified by this possibility so I am going to do everything possible to ensure I protect myself from this terrible fate and I believe most people want to do the same. Therefore, it becomes critical that we know what to protect ourselves from and where these substances are located.
Everyone is familiar with the neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's Disease. I remember hearing in the news about aluminum being found in the brain lesions of Alzheimer's Disease patients. I believe this information has been known for at least 15 years. Since I do not have a relative with Alzheimer's Disease, I had forgotten about this information until I was reading "The Brain Wash." While reading, I decided that I would pay much closer attention to my exposure to a number of toxins including aluminum in hopes that limiting my exposure may reduce my risk for developing any neurodegenerative diseases. Let's start with the heavy metal, aluminum, and discuss how we remove potential exposure to this heavy metal.
As you read on, you may be surprised by the number of products that contain aluminum that you are using on a daily basis. Products such as drugs and personal care products have aluminum salts as primary ingredients. The skin is our largest organ and we absorb most substances that are put on the skin to at least some degree. If you think about the hours, days and even years that you have used any of the he following items on your body, then your will begin to get the idea of how much exposure you have had to aluminum.
Antiperspirants: Almost 100% of antiperspirants are made with a form of aluminum. I now know that I can no longer use an antiperspirant unless I can find one that is aluminum free. However, we could respond to the problem by changing our perception of sweating. Let's make sweating positive rather than negative! If sweating was considered to be a cool thing to do, then we would not even consider using an antiperspirant.! Let's talk about the beauty of sweat! I am not kidding! Sweating is really healthy and it is time that women, especially in the U.S., do not worry about the look and smell of sweat! If we get a case of the vapors, just sweat! Let's make wearing antiperspirants as socially unacceptable as smoking!
Shampoos, body lotions, body creams: A large number of these items have aluminum based ingredients. Spend a few minutes reading the ingredients on the bottles of personal care items at the drugstore and you will be astounded by the number of products that contain aluminum based ingredients. In fact, it should be especially disturbing that so many "personal care" items contain aluminum since the news about aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease has been known for years. Did these companies just not care? If we stop buying antiperspirants with aluminum, they will care. They will care so much that they will find alternative ingredients to keep the business. There are alternative ingredients available and used today so buy aluminum free products instead.
Antacids: There are several different salts that are used in antacids. A very common one is aluminum hydroxide. You can find aluminum hydroxide in Mylanta and Maalox. There are alternatives such as magnesium and calcium carbonate. There is a natural product, Refluxamine that contains a natural source of calcium carbonate and it does a great job relieving heartburn. Let's stop using aluminum hydroxide antacids for heartburn!
To ensure that we enjoy the "best years of our lives" we will need to be alert to the ingredients in products that we use on our bodies. If we have used these products over time, it maybe best to be proactive and try to help our central nervous system heal even before we know there is a problem. We can make sure that our diets contain antioxidants and other phytonutrients that repair cells, before there are so many that we end up with a neurodegenerative disease.
Reference: Cook, Michelle, The Brain Wash, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. 2007
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