I wish to call your attention to the untold amount of damaging influence aluminum and its compounds may create in the human body on its fluids and tissues. I feel no apology is due for making this a seemingly personal matter. Before I am through I have reason to believe that you will consider it one of the most vital subjects with which we must acquaint ourselves if we are to be masters of the Healing Art. Should my personal experience succeed in directing your sincere thought and efforts to investigate this most insidious influence which has and is now dragging down the innocent to an untimely grave, I have not lived in vain.
Given every advantage for starting a life, I was physically rugged with an abundance of ambition backed up by a determined will. To my parents I am immeasurably indebted for teaching me how to preserve the soul, mind and body unsullied from degrading habits, questionable or otherwise. Words do not express the gratitude for the advice and skill of my professional colleagues in the conquest against ill health through the four decades of my life.
During this time it is important to mention that there were a few critical events. The first one at the age of twenty-two years was pulmonary tuberculosis; at twenty-seven years, partial left-sided paralysis; at twenty-nine a severe attack of jaundice followed by a perceptible paretic-like state; and lastly, chronic hypertrophy of the liver with severe gastric disturbances and with terrific headaches.
From ten years of age, extending over a period of forty three years, to August, 1933, I ate all of my food prepared in aluminum kitchen utensils with a few exceptions, an iron kettle and an iron griddle and eight years away from home. After long, weary and dreary years of unsuccessful fighting for release from my bondage, I was advised to discard all aluminum cooking utensils. As the antidotal treatment removed the mental depression, an interesting study from authentic sources followed on the clinical aspects of chronic poisoning by aluminium and its alloys.
Tracing back the symptoms I found the common prominent ones were present in the beginning though lighter in form. Increasing in intensity with advancing years, it is interesting to note at the age of thirty-nine years these symptoms without exception were greatly modified by eating for several months uncooked foods, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and milk. Surely the problem of my ill-health was solved and I concluded the sole cause was wrong eating. Unknowingly, I was eating non-aluminized food.
Circumstances, however, prohibited the continuance in the eating of uncooked foods. Returning to the modern approved balanced diet, cooked and uncooked foods, I was sadly disappointed when I sank deeper into the grip of mysterious something. The use of catharsis with enemas for the obstinate constipation and fasting a day or two for relieving the terrific depressive headaches were only palliative measures.
Three main groups of symptoms were discernible in my case, viz., gastrointestinal, cutaneous and general including neuromental. It is of interest to mention here that Dr. Leo Spira made the same grouping of symptoms by a systematic examination of cases extending over a period of ten years. To quote Dr. Spira: “A very careful medical study of a disease picture which exhibits considerable variety and yet, on the whole, presents a uniform complex of chronic signs and symptoms.” Established methods of treating these diseases proved ineffective. “An opportunity to investigate the reason for this came when I, myself, (Dr. Spira) hitherto in perfect health, became a victim to chronic disease.” (More will be written on this later.).
Dr. Spira emphasized the occurrence of gastrointestinal disturbances in all cases, with constipation the outstanding feature. If it is not habitual, it is present from time to time. In my case, with the increased severity of constipation, bilious headaches occurred about three times yearly. From twenty to about thirty-five years of age, I wakened nearly every morning with a dull, sore feeling, a bruised sensation in the right side of my head. Then the pain increased in severity with a hot sensation, to appear as a rule after rising and quietly moving about.
During the past several years the sore, bruised sensation started at the base of the brain or in the right side extending through the entire brain, finally centering with all vengeance, as the day advanced, in the fore part of the head. At times with the headache, a dull sore sickening feeling extended down the right side into the gall bladder region. At the same time, with coldness of the hands and feet, the body was very sensitive to the changes in temperature. The headache with all of its symptoms would disappear either by a long nights sleep, by a day or two of fasting or by vomiting at first a yellow, then a greenish vomitus.
It seems that as the gastrointestinal symptoms progressed, metabolic disturbances developed. By general observation, many cases gradually lose weight, a few become obese, while some remain normal in weight. In the early part of my life I had a greedy appetite; however, my weight remained normal. After my twentieth year, I gradually lost twenty-five pounds, followed by anaemia which remained more or less constant. Then I experienced dryness and a fine bran-like scaling of the skin with a roughening on the legs and arms.
A stinging, biting sensation induced scratching, followed by smarting sensation. Pruritus. In the advanced stage, excoriation and rhagadae occurred between the toes, exuding a sticky fluid when rubbed. Furuncles appeared inside and around the nose, on the chin and on both forefingers in the same location. They changed to a smooth, reddish, slightly raised lesion and developed finally into a cicatrix.
The third group in the symptom complex is characterized by mental depression together with a paralytic loss of power. (C.M. Boger). This gradually proved a great liability in the performance of either physical or mental work. Concentration became exceedingly difficult in my school and college work. I felt I was trying to do something for which I did not have the require amount of energy. Near the age of twenty-five years my physical powers were decidedly limited. After a short period of violent exertion, I became tremulous with vertigo. In a mental way the depression and dullness of emotions seemed to create a strong tendency for fixed ideas. With moments of inquietude and irritability there was a mixture of anxiety, timidity and fear.
During these times, there was a dislike for company. Naturally slowness of perception, want of attention with weakness of memory were present. The deeper the mental depression, the more I was haunted by gruesome ideas. To complete this picture, the paretic-like condition was expressed in nearly every function, viz., respirations were shallow, the voice was thin and weak, sensation of weakness and lassitude in the back, extending up into the head with an unconquerable sleepy feeling. I desired to speak but it was impossible – too tired to speak; heaviness of the legs and staggering when walking; stasis of the bowels caused obstinate constipation accompanied by flatulence, sluggish circulation with varicosity in the legs, coldness and blueness of feet and hands.
My pulse rate for many years has been between 60 and 75, at rest; and systolic readings from 80 to 100 with pulse pressure 15 to 25. The signs present in the alimentary tract were sensation of fullness and of tightness in the stomach region, empty eructations when changing position; inactivity or slow expulsive power of the rectum with the stools either soft or large, hard and knotty; dryness of mouth, throat and rectum. Before going on the diet of uncooked food as previously described, I had severe colitis – bloody mucus with or without stools.
The tongue lost its normal aspect. It was large in size with an imprint of the teeth; it was covered with a thick, dirty, white fur. With slowing down of the human economy, naturally engorgement of the largest gland might be expected. When all the aluminum cooking utensils came into disuse and the antidotal treatment started, the edge of the liver was about three inches below the costal margin. It was sore and very tender to touch.
With this brief history of the symptoms of my case, I will now turn your attention to the experiences of others who were not only personally poisoned by aluminum and its alloys, but who observed the poisonous effects in their extensive practices.
Dr. Cooper mentions a case of a lady aged forty-seven years who had suffered for many years from rheumatic arthritis of the non- deformans type. This had been pronounced as progressive and incurable. The knees, ankles, feet, arms and shoulders were mainly affected. At times there was locking of the knees (joint dryness) with stiffness. She complained of pain running down the right side of the abdomen since removal of her appendix two years previous. Backache and a bearing down sensation were increasing in intensity. Constipation form want of expulsive power in the lower bowel. For many years eczematous spots affected the scalp and right eyebrow. She also suffered from a chronic postnasal catarrh.
