Aluminum Toxicity

Excessive exposure to aluminum chloride can deplete a person's phosphorous levels resulting in lowered energy and poor calcium regulation.

Because phosphorus plays many roles that are critical to health, notably the metabolic process known as phosphorylation, which is necessary for energy production, an excess of aluminum chloride can be toxic.

Aluminum chloride toxicity may cause such varied effects as reduced energy production, a decrease in the structural and functional integrity of the cell's membranes, and imbalanced regulation of calcium levels--all of which significantly impair the cell's ability to produce energy, receive nutrients and expell wastes.

In addition to its indirect effects on calcium, aluminum may also negatively impact bone structure formation since it is capable of depositing in the bones and causing osteomalacia (softening of bone tissue). In animal experiments, aluminum chloride has also been found to be neurotoxic, causing the degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain.

Primary sources of exposure are deodorants and cookware, but aluminum is also used in the manufacture of paper, wool, pigmnents, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In addition, aluminum is concentrated in certain processed foods such as cake/pancake mixes and quick-rising flours with aluminum-containing leavening agents, and soft cheeses, particularly those in single-serving packaging, that may include aluminum-containing emulsifiers.

Excessive exposure to aluminum chloride, an inorganic compound classified as an aluminum salt, can deplete a person's phosphorous levels resulting in lowered energy and poor calcium regulation.

Although aluminum chloride is not used in many commercial and industrial products, it can be synthesized in the body from other aluminum-containing chemicals that are widely used, e.g., aluminum chloride hydrate and aluminum chloride hexadydrate, and can also be formed by a reaction involving hydrochloric acid and aluminum hydroxide, the major ingredient in antacid medications.

Aluminum chloride hydrate is used to manufacture paper, wool, pigments, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals while the hexahydrate form of aluminum chloride is used not only in preserving wood, disinfecting livestock houses, dyeing fabric, and manufacturing parchment paper, but is also used as a key ingredient in many deodorants and antiperspirants. In addition, aluminum chloride can be formed in the body through a reaction involving stomach hydrochloric acid and aluminum hydroxide, the major ingredient in antacid medications. In the body, the aluminum in the aluminum chloride (or other aluminum salts) dissociates so that what would be present would be aluminum and chloride, in this case, as separate molecules.

Dietary consumption of aluminum containing foods and beverages is a significant source of exposure to this metal. In addition to being a naturally occurring mineral in some foods, aluminum content of certain processed foods are more concentrated; for example, grain products such as cake/pancake mixes and quick-rising flours may feature aluminum-containing leavening agents while soft cheeses, notably those wrapped in single-serving packaging may include aluminum-containing emulsifiers. Aluminum cans and cookware may leach aluminum to the foods with which they are in contact especially if the food or beverage has a low pH (acidic).

Some of aluminum chlorides toxicity is related to its effects on the bodys status of phosphorous, an essential mineral. When there is prolonged or high intake of aluminum salts such as aluminum chloride, phosphorous depletion may occur, especially in persons with inadequate phosphorous intake. As such, given the extensive roles of phosphorous (and the metabolic process known as phosphorylation) in the body, the toxicity of excess aluminum chloride may result in such varied effects as reduced energy production, decreased cellular membrane structural and functional integrity and imbalanced regulation of calcium levels. In addition to its indirect effects on calcium, aluminum may also negatively impact bone structure formation since it is capable of depositing in the bones and causing osteomalacia (softening of bone tissue). In animal experiments, aluminum chloride has also been found to be neurotoxic, causing the degeneration of motor nerve cells in the brain.