Aluminum

Kudos to my husband for picking out Rumford baking powder. He said he was so glad when it said right on the front "aluminum free." It made it so easy. Aluminum is a brain toxin, I don't know why it would be added as an ingredient to our food. Its bad enough that in the processing of food it may collect lots of aluminum.

I first noticed aluminum in our food when I read the back of my salt box. I had just assumed salt would be safe for food storage, but it actually contained sodium silicoaluminate as the second ingredient, along with dextrose, and sodium bicarbonate (which obviously may also contain aluminum), all of which I'd rather not be eating.

We opted for Morton table salt, which has just salt and "Calcium Silicate" (an anti-caking agent). Unfortunately, its not iodized, and I have no idea what calcium silicate is.

In soy infant formulas, "Liquid soy products, often produced in aluminum tanks, contain 50 to 100 times more aluminum than breast milk (in addition to high levels of cadmium). The high manganese content of soy formula has already been implicated in harming the infant brain."

"There are several studies linking aluminum with fluoride, showing that aluminum is absorbed more completely in the presence of fluoride. The aluminum in the brains of test animals doubles when accompanied by fluoride, resulting in brain tangles (amyloid deposits). Fluoride is neurotoxic by itself, but becomes many times more toxic when combined with aluminum." This makes drinking soda particularly dangerous, as soda contains fluoridated water.

I bought my husband an aluminum water bottle (the trend to avoid BPA) after he bought me a stainless steel one at ShopKo. I think I'll have to upgrade his.

Disposable aluminum pans, commonly used for freezer meals or potlucks, may corrode in contact with acidic foods such as tomato sauces. So, use sparingly or for short durations with acidic foods.