I READ with mixed feelings quite recently an article in the Sunday Sun of February 28 entitled Alzheimer’s Disease Now At Epidemic Proportions.
This disclosure was attributed to president of the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association, Pamelia Brereton. This immediately recalled another article I had read some years back by Patience Ejimofor on Dr Bernard Shepherd, a Bajan New Yorker, entitled Killer At Large In Our Food.
Dr Shepherd raised the alarm at the time that aluminium, which is a highly toxic mineral used in foods, medicine and many more items, was one of, if not the chief culprit, in the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Dr Shepherd, “research now reveals a strong correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and excessive amounts of aluminium concentrated in the brain”. Shepherd asserted that aluminium should be banned from human consumption because of its insidious nature. He posited that it is added to many foods, including cake mixes, frozen doughs, self-raising flour, sliced and processed cheese, antacids, baking powder, and dandruff shampoo.
Dr Shepherd’s revelations prompted me to do my own research and it was discovered that many studies have been conducted on the link between aluminium and Alzheimer’s, and although there is no clear consensus, the evidence overwhelmingly supports his assertions. Indeed, as far back as the 1930s, indictments have been made against aluminium, questioning its suitability as cooking vessels.
According to Rusal, one of the world’s leading aluminium producers: “The growth in demand for aluminium is fuelled largely by the rapid development and urbanisation of China, which today accounts for over 40 per cent of global aluminium consumption. The other major consumers of aluminium are Japan, Europe and the US.” (http://rusal.ru/en/ aluminium/consumers/) Much of this aluminium finds its way to our shores in vehicles and “export only” products, adding to our demise.
Virtually all processed food on the market is now packaged in aluminium foil. Bread and pastries are baked, prepared and sold on aluminium pans and sheets and it is also found in deodorants, antiperspirants and make-up. Undoubtedly, there is a connection to the dreaded disease called Alzheimer’s and a spike in cases in Barbados and the Caribbean in light of the research.
It is now up to the consumers, consumer bodies and the authorities to get on board and be decisive as a matter of urgency, since the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association remains in doubt.
According to Dr Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com (a leading natural health website): “It can no longer be argued that aluminium does not have a role in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s – the evidence is very clear and growing. It really should not be surprising that people with aluminium toxicity display many of the same symptoms as those with dementia, Parkinson’s, ADHD, autism, and other neurological diseases, because aluminium targets exactly these areas of your brain and nervous system.”
We are at crisis point and action is demanded now, not later.
– Ian A. Marshall
