Here's how to avoid aluminum exposure

“Aluminum is a common element in the Earth's crust and is found in small amounts in numerous household products and in many foods,” says WebMD. While your body has no use for aluminum, it's everywhere. We wear it, cook in it, work with it, eat and drink it. And as it accumulates in our bodies, this dangerous toxin becomes an increasingly bigger threat to our health. Here's how to minimise your exposure to this metal…

Avoiding aluminum as much as you can is a very good idea, since it has no place in human metabolism.

“But, unfortunately, avoiding aluminum altogether is literally impossible. That’s because aluminum is one of the most abundant elements in soil. So anything that grows from the ground or eats things growing from the ground contains aluminum,” says Dr Jonathan Wright of Nutrition & Healing.

But you can reduce aluminum levels in your body

Although all foods contain a certain amount of aluminum, fortunately, your intestines have built-in safeguards against absorbing much of the aluminum that’s naturally present in foods.

“These safeguards work fairly well, unless your calcium intake drops too low. If your calcium intake is too low, your blood calcium might also start to drop. To prevent blood calcium from going too low, your body makes more parathyroid hormone (PTH). And, in addition to its other functions in the body, extra PTH significantly increases intestinal aluminum absorption,” says Dr Wright.

But there’s an easy way to limit your aluminum absorption…

Here’s how to reduce your aluminum exposure

The best way to keep aluminum absorption down as much as possible is to make sure your calcium intake is adequate.
“Even though there’s certainly calcium in food, it’s still a good idea to take a multiple vitamin or mineral supplement with a minimum of 250-500mg of supplemental calcium. A separate calcium-magnesium supplement with 1,000mg or more of calcium may be an even better choice, depending on your individual needs,” advises Dr Wright.

Caution: When it comes to your calcium intake, “talk to a doctor skilled in natural medicine to determine the best option for you,” says Dr Wright.

Ensuring your calcium intake is sufficient will help keep aluminum absorption down and protect yourself from an increased risk of health problems.

Tags: calcium, aluminum, calcium intake, avoiding aluminum exposure