I wish to call your attention to the untold amount of damaging influence aluminium 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 the 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 conflict 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 aluminium 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 aluminium 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 as sadly disappointed when I sank deeper into the grip of a 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. gastro-intestinal, cutaneous and general including neuro-mental. 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.”

Dr. Spira emphasized the occurrence of gastro-intestinal 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 disappear 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 centring 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 night’s sleep, by a day or two of fasting or by vomiting at first a yellow, then a greenish vomitus.

It seems that as the gastro-intestinal 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 a 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 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 required 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 manyu years has been between 60 to 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 the 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 aluminium 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.

As to treatment, all the remedies in any therapy will avail nothing if aluminium is not excluded. A disease syndrome may be removed but by the undermining, insidious action of the aluminium and its alloys, the general march of destruction will continue. Cut off all abnormal sources of aluminium, prescribe the remedy, and what is imperative, give instructions for a suitable diet. Advise heavy mineral carrying foods, especially those possessing phosphorus, viz. egg yolks, raw milk (certified), fresh and cooked vegetables and fruit. To consistently carry out the mineral-building idea, one should prohibit refined flour and refined sugar, peeled potatoes and boiled vegetables, after their juices are thrown away.

In my case, this regime was applied over the period of the past two years with the strictest perseverance. However, there were occasions when I unavoidably omitted these precautions. At such times, the symptoms again made their appearance. One year ago and for nearly thirty years my weight was between 140 and 150 pounds. I now weigh 160 pounds, my skin is moist and free from the twenty-five years of dryness and itching. The gastric symptoms – empty eructations, flatulence and mild headaches – occur infrequently. The mental and nervous symptoms have disappeared. What is most significant is such abundance of vitality as was never thought possible.

In closing, I wish to add that by discarding for all time the aluminium kitchen utensils while receiving treatment, during any of my critical periods, I am convinced my course in life would have been different.

 Drs. Stearns,  Bryant and Heimbach relate their personal experiences regarding the effects of aluminium:

Dr. Stearns: These personal experiences are rich in knowledge. One of my secretaries, when I was dictating a letter about aluminium, remarked that when she made fuge in an aluminim dish it was always gritty. Some of you girls try it and see if it is true.

I don’t know whether aluminium is responsible for cancer but we sometimes find evidence  of it in cancer cases. One case that I saw in consultation who was in extremis and died within a few days, gave evidence of a high degree of aluminium poisoning. She had a fulminating cancer of the pharynx. The family, after she died, brought a saucepan to me that she had used for a long time. About a third of the depth of the inside of the pan is pitted and the surface is deeply eroded. It is a very impressive exhibit for my patients.

We find that every case showing aluminium effects responds to whichever of the barium salts is best indicated for that particular patient. We have the following list of Bariums: Barium met. Baryta caust., Baryta nit., Baryta acet., Baryta iod., Baryta phos., Baryta carb., Baryta mur. and Baryta sulph.

Dr. Heimbach: I am very anxious to enumerate a few experiences I have had with cases of aluminium poisoning. Two acute cases very nearly died, in fact, one of them did die from a stroke. The other was a very close friend of mine, a veteran of the World War, who was taken with severe abdominal pains and vomiting and diarrhoea at first; in a day or so it reverted into constipation, and we couldn’t get anything through at all. The pain was so intense for a while that I feared it might be a surgical case. I couldn’t convince myself that it was appendicitis, but I soon discovered that it was aluminium poisoning. He made a complete recovery and has been well since.

Another peculiar case puzzled me for quite a while. She had an ulcer of the leg, probably four or five inches in diameter. She responded to treatment, and the ulcer healed up, but by the time the ulcer of the leg healed up, she commenced to get necrosis over the abdomen.  She was a stout woman, with a roll of fat over the lower part of the abdomen, and that started to necrose across. One day I saw an aluminium kettle of food on the stove. I didn’t permit her to use it any more, and gave her a fruit juice diet. But the place dept on necrosing, and the whole thing sloughed off practically half-way across the abdomen. Then she got an acute obstruction of the intestines and died in a very short time.

She had a history of an abdominal operation; a large tumour had been removed five or seven years previous to that, and a cicatricial band enclosed the small intestine at one place.

A portion of the liver and some of the tissues over the abdomen were removed and sent to a chemist who had been interested, more or less, in this aluminium question. He made a test and the report came back that there was aluminium in all the tissues which had been sent him.

Let’s come to think of the chemical effect of an aluminium kettle. How many foods are cooked where salt or vinegar are not used? You get an aluminium acetate if you use vinegar, and an aluminium chloride if you use salt; both are very good solutions to embalm people.

Dr. Bryant: I had a young woman working for Sears, Roebuck, who had a typical picture of aluminium. We had the stools and urine examined, and found aluminium binders. It has done one good thing if it hasn’t done anything else; every Sears, Roebuck place in the world has done away with their aluminium binders. She sued Sears, Roebuck, for $50,000. I happened to have been the physician that took care of her. Just to enumerate briefly, my attention was called to it by the fact that she had plenty of blood in the stools; she had a typical aluminium constipation; she was emaciated; eruption appeared first in the palm of her hand from the constant handling of these things. She also had an eruption on the soles of the feet, and she even had the craving for starch. The emaciation was extreme. I am quite sure the girl is going to die. I don’t believe we can do much for her. The progressive emaciation goes on in spite of everything we do.