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Nutrition Hot Topics - Aluminum Chlorohydrate DeodorantsNot a
cause of Alzheimer's disease or breast cancer
Aluminum chlorohydrate is an ingredient used in a number of antiperspirant
deodorant products. The contention that aluminum-containing products should be avoided because aluminum causes Alzheimer's
disease or breast cancer is not supported by scientific evidence.Concerns about aluminum and Alzheimer's disease started in
the mid-1970's, when a published report indicated that the brain tissue of Alzheimer's victims contained significantly higher
concentrations of aluminum than normal brain tissue. The primary concern was for ingested forms of aluminum, although some
people questioned antiperspirant deodorants containing aluminum. Subsequent research has shown that the brain tissue of Alzheimer's
victims contains pockets of aluminum, while aluminum is distributed uniformly in normal brain tissue. Normal human brains,
as well as diseased brains, have the same amount of aluminum. The cause for the "pocketing" of aluminum is not known. Our
bodies contain a regulated amount of aluminum. Aluminum is retained when needed and is readily excreted from the body. Indeed,
only when more than 1000mg of aluminum is ingested daily, will enough aluminum be present to be analytically detected. Foods
contribute about 2100mg daily, while less than 4mg are typically obtained from aluminum cookware. Also, aluminum must be ingested
or injected to be metabolized. The body does not absorb aluminum through the skin. Therefore, topically applied anti-perspirant
deodorants containing aluminum do not contribute to aluminum intake.The breast cancer / deodorant mythAnother myth about aluminum-containing
deodorants is that they cause breast cancer by preventing toxins in the lymph system from escaping the body. This contention
has no scientific support. The lymph system is the body's second circulatory system. It takes things out of the body, not
into the body, and flows from the breasts to the armpits and into the blood stream. Even if aluminum somehow could seep through
the skin, it would go into the blood stream, not towards the breast1. Consider, also, that breast cancer typically travels
from the breast to the lymph nodes, not vice-versa. While the myth about breast cancer and deodorants is alarming, it is not
true2.
1Dr. Dean Edell broadcast. Oct. 6, 1998
2L. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, Director of Education & Outreach
for the Johns Hopkins University Breast Center.
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© Copyright 2001 Shaklee Corporation. All rights reserved.
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