Aluminum, from the Horse's Mouth

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With the recent uptake of news about measles going around Disneyland, it's useful to take a serious look at some of the facts about vaccines.  Consider this series of statements taken from two mainstream sources, the CDC and MedScape (part of WebMD). Specifically, these are cut and paste directly from the sources. [edit: statements in brackets are editorial, and the CDC quote is practically direct; go check it out yourself]  Some of the quotes do not specifically regard vaccination but instead parenteral methods, of which vaccination is one, or general ingestion of aluminum.

One of the common ingredient in vaccines is aluminum.- CDC

Aluminum causes an oxidative stress within brain tissue. Since the elimination half-life of aluminum from the human brain is 7 years, this can result in cumulative damage...

Other organic manifestations of aluminum intoxication have ... also been linked to vaccine-associated macrophagic myofasciitis [micro lesions in muscles] and chronic fatigue syndrome, thus highlighting the potential dangers associated with aluminum-containing adjuvants...

Animal studies in rats and case reports have implicated the use of oral aluminum-containing antacids during pregnancy as a possible cause for abnormal fetal neurologic development

In children, special awareness must be made in those who require parenteral nutrition so as not to give excessive amounts of aluminum in the TPN.

[Regarding Deterrence/Prevention of Aluminum Toxicity] Avoid all aluminum-containing antacids, antiperspirants, dialysate, immunizations, and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solutions. - MedScape

I was in a discussion about this information and a commenter asked what the LD50 for aluminum is; The LD50 for aluminum is something like 150 or more mg/kg/day. I don't know specifically, and it also depends on the type of aluminum, I think - but don't worry; no one's ingesting or injecting enough for a lethal dose. We should be more concerned on a daily basis with the RDA DRM (Daily Recommended Maximum), which according to the FDA is 5mcg/kg/day. An average 2-month old infant is about 5kg in weight, so the daily limit for one would be 25mcg.

This same person said "Breast milk has 30 times as much aluminum as a vaccine", implying that the vaccine was nothing to worry about. I really wanted to verify that.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says "Breast milk contains 0.04 milligrams per liter (mg/L)" whereas the Hep A/Hep B Vaccine has "0.45 mg/dose" A study in PubMed ("Milk and nutrient intake of breast-fed infants from 1 to 6 months") says the average intake of breast milk per day ranges from 341 to 1096 ml/day. Let's average that at 718ml/day. So, .718 times .04mg gives us the daily dose of aluminum in breast milk, which is .02872mg

In one day a child will receive no more than one injection of the HepA/HepB vaccine, so that gives .45mg of aluminum (presuming no other vaccines are given at the same time - which is not necessarily true), while they will get .02872mg per day in breast milk. On a per-day basis that means that the vaccine has 15.67 times MORE than breast milk.

ALSO, let's double back to the DRM, shall we? 25mcg is .025mg - so breast milk JUST BARELY gives a little more than is actually recommended. However, the vaccine is a dose of 450mcg - 18 TIMES more than the DRM! [LATE update; calculations should be made with the infant version of the HepA or HepB vaccine, which is .225 mg/dose. This still comes out to 225mcg/dose, or 9 times the DRM]  I don't even want to know what the total is when babies are given multiple vaccines at once. Obviously and thankfully the human body is able to recover a great deal from intensive doses of toxic substances, which would explain why not all children are affected equally by any particular dose.

There's good and bad about all of this; good in that aluminum exposure via vaccination by itself is probably not going trigger mental degradation (and it doesn't, otherwise 90%+ of American people wouldn't be vaccinating!), but unfortunately it's not the only toxic substance that infants are exposed to. So while most people think it's okay, I have done the math based on real science and come to different conclusion for MYSELF and those for whom I am responsible. You are welcome to vaccinate yourself and those whom you bear responsibility for. When it's all said and done, this is truly a decision that should be made individually. In other words, don't worry if I'm not wearing my seatbelt.

Incidentally, did you know that the CDC says aluminum is the only licensed adjuvant for vaccines? That, of course, is not the day-to-day case. Makes me wonder why any adjuvants are in use that aren't licensed... "Aluminum gels or aluminum salts are the only vaccine adjuvants currently licensed for use in the United States." - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Concerns/adjuvants.html (Page has since been updated to remove that line; can be seen in its archive http://web.archive.org/web/20150214130650/http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/adjuvants.html )

... and it just keeps on going.  This person replied, "the amount of aluminum in vaccines is not toxic".  I'm leaving that conversation but it has spurred me to find a good bit more about aluminum.  This information is not really hard to find, but it it time consuming, too.

[MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL] says about aluminum: Aluminum toxicity occurs when a person ingests or breathes high levels of aluminum into the body. Exposure to aluminum is usually not harmful, but exposure to high levels can cause serious health problems. ...people may be exposed to high levels of aluminum when they drink or ingest substances containing high levels of aluminum... Talk to your doctor about your risk of immunizations that contain aluminum.

The [AGENCY FOR TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND DISEASE REGISTRY] says:  If you are exposed to aluminum, many factors will determine whether you will be harmed. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider any other chemicals you are exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health. 

Brain and bone disease caused by high levels of aluminum in the body have been seen in children with kidney disease. Aluminum is found in breast milk, but only a small amount of this aluminum will enter the infant’s body through breastfeeding. Very young animals appeared weaker and less active in their cages and some movements appeared less coordinated when their mothers were exposed to large amounts of aluminum during pregnancy and while nursing. In addition, aluminum also affected the animal’s memory.

Dialysis encephalopathy syndrome (also referred to as dialysis dementia) can result from this accumulation of aluminum in the brain. Dialysis encephalopathy is a degenerative neurological syndrome, characterized by the gradual loss of motor, speech, and cognitive functions.

There is a rather extensive database on the oral toxicity of aluminum in animals. These studies clearly identify the nervous system as the most sensitive target of aluminum toxicity and most of the animal studies have focused on neurotoxicity and neurodevelopmental toxicity.

Neurodegenerative changes in the brain, manifested as intraneuronal hyperphosphorylated neurofilamentous aggregates, is a characteristic response to aluminum in certain species and nonnatural exposure situations generally involving direct application to brain tissue, particularly intracerebral and intracisternal administration and in vitro incubation in rabbits, cats, ferrets, and nonhuman primates.

A few reports indicate hypersensitivity in children and adults who have received aluminum-containing vaccines

...aluminum intake from aluminum-containing medication, such as antacids, buffered aspirins, and antidiarrheal agents would overwhelm ordinary dietary intakes (Pennington and Schoen 1995). Children may be exposed to aluminum from aluminum-containing medications, vaccinations, ...

[And, as a bonus] The Department of Health and Human Services and EPA have not evaluated the human carcinogenic potential of aluminum.

The [FDA] says:  Generally, when medication and nutrition are  administered orally, the gastrointestinal tract acts as an efficient  barrier to the absorption of aluminum, and relatively little ingested  aluminum actually reaches body tissues. However, parenterally  administered drug products containing aluminum bypass the protective  mechanism of the gastrointestinal tract, and aluminum circulates and is  deposited in human tissues.

The [AAP] says:  Aluminum can cause neurologic harm and that the toxic threshold of aluminum in the bloodstream may be lower than 100 mcg per litre.

The [Department of Ophthalmology and Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia] says: " Aluminum adjuvant linked to Gulf War illness induces motor neuron death in mice. ( Aluminum-treated groups also showed significant motor neuron loss (35%) and increased numbers of astrocytes (350%) in the lumbar spinal cord. )

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp22.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819810/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17114826
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/E6-2727.htm
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/97/3/413.abstract
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/6/1394/reply#content-block
http://www.whale.to/vaccine/sears.html
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/aluminum
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Continued Reading:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/22/aluminum-toxicity-alzheimers.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056430/
http://vaccineimpact.com/2015/aluminum-is-toxic-to-all-life-forms-so-why-is-it-used-in-vaccines/