The Aluminum-Magnesium connection in neurotoxicity.




When my son was born, out of my fear and lack of knowledge on the subject, I chose to delay and selectively vaccinate. When he was four months old, a nurse administered to him the Pediarix vaccine without my permission. It has 850 mcg aluminum (hydroxide) in it, more than any other vaccine. He ended up getting just four more shots by the time he was two years old, but in total, he was injected with 2,450 mcg of aluminum adjuvant. At the time, I had no idea how this would negatively affect his health, long term.

Magnesium is critical for brain health.



So we started giving him mineral rich spring water until we could find a good filtration system as a replacement for our RO system, and increased his intake of magnesium-rich foods. The tics began to subside within a few days and almost completely resolved over the course of the next week.

Note: Although his tics cleared up after we corrected the magnesium deficiency, we chose to keep the appointment with the neurologist just in case. Frustratingly, when asked if nutritional deficiencies could increase the risk of tics, the neurologist immediately replied with, “No, tics are just a normal part of childhood development.” Unfortunately doctors and specialists do not typically receive education on nutrition in medical school.

Aluminum causes symptoms of magnesium deficiency.

I had always suspected that the aluminum my son was injected with as an infant and toddler was connected to the tics he experienced when he was four years old. While our whole family was drinking the reverse osmosis water, he was the only one in our family to experience such severe adverse effects (my daughter is not vaccinated, except for the Hepatitis B vaccine which I suspect was administered without my permission in the hospital when she was born).

Then I stumbled across the following study:


Yasui M, et al. J Neurol Sci. 1998.





Mitani K. Magnes Res. 1992.


Aluminum exposures can cause encephalopathy and seizure.

If you read a DTaP vaccine insert, you will find that encephalopathy is has been listed as an adverse event or side effect from the vaccine.

This adverse event was not reported in pre-licensure clinical trials, most likely because subjects in the clinical trials were only monitored for four days post-vaccination. That is why it is listed under “Postmarketing Experience” (page 12). The manufacturer is required to list events which they have sufficient reason to believe the vaccine causes the event.

The insert also warns that individuals with prior diagnosis of encephalopathy should not receive the DTaP vaccine.

So why would the DTaP vaccine cause encephalopathy? One major reason is because DTaP vaccination is an acute exposure to aluminum.

Acute or chronic exposures to aluminum can lead to encephalopathy, loss of speech, motor impairments, and seizures. And in the 1950s and 60s, aluminum hydroxide was being used to induce chronic epilepsy in primate test subjects.

In this study, a case of aluminum hydroxide-induced encephalopathy in an 18 month old boy is documented. Due to his impaired kidney function, this child was more sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of aluminum. His symptoms began with tics and unfortunately he went on to develop more severe symptoms consistent with progressive encephalopathy.

As the study mentioned above highlights, depending on the sensitivity of the individual, or their kidney function or health, chronic or acute aluminum exposure can be devastating to the neurological system. Thankfully, magnesium may be helpful. It has been found to help reduce seizures, even alongside anti-seizure medication.

Aluminum adjuvants cause chronic effects in the body.

Even though it had been over two years since he received his last aluminum-containing vaccine, the following studies found that the aluminum injected into the body via vaccine adjuvant can remain under the skin at that location for several years as it slowly relocates to other organs and tissues of the body (including the brain).

Aluminum remains under injection site for 4-5 years:


Bergfors E, et al. Eur J Pediatr. 2013.

Highly delayed translocation of aluminum:

Highly delayed systemic translocation of aluminum-based adjuvant in CD1 mice following intramuscular injections. Crépeaux G, et al. J Inorg Biochem. 2015.

From a study titled, “Macrophagic myofasciitis: characterization and pathophysiology”:

“Aluminium oxyhydroxide (alum), a nano-crystaline compound forming agglomerates, has been introduced in vaccine for its immunologic adjuvant effect in 1927.”

Animal experiments indicate . . . [aluminum] can first translocate to draining lymph nodes, and thereafter circulate in blood within phagocytes and reach the spleen, and, eventually, slowly accumulate in brain. Gherardi R, et. al. Lupus. 2012.

In conclusion,

Aluminum exposure is not only linked to tics, encephalopathy, neuroregressive symptoms, seizures, and epilepsy, but is linked to neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s. It appears that at least a portion of the mechanism of action appears to be through displacing and depleting the concentration of magnesium in the brain, which increases the Ca/Mg ratio, causing excitotoxicity and nerve cell death.

Multifaceted effects of aluminum in neurodegenerative diseases:


Some steps to take if you are experiencing symptoms of aluminum toxicity:

  • Avoid aluminum exposure in all forms as much as possible.
  • Drink silica-rich mineral water (at least 30 mg/L) that contains at least 10mg/L magnesium and have your drinking water tested. More than 10mg/L magnesium is better.
  • Consider taking a magnesium threonate supplement.
  • Take Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) baths.
  • Eat a clean, healthy diet and avoid inflammatory foods.
  • Incorporate anti-inflammatory foods into your diet such as turmeric, ginger, and avocado.

A note about water: According to the World Health Organization, the minimum magnesium content of drinking water should be 10mg/L or else the water you drink will draw magnesium out of the body. There’s sufficient evidence that Americans are chronically magnesium deficient. Magnesium deficiency may even be a significant factor in the development of depression and anxiety. Getting more magnesium from drinking water and dietary sources may be beneficial to anyone experiencing neurological effects. This study even states that having the proper amount of magnesium in your drinking water can help prevent heart disease and stroke.

If you are suffering from symptoms of aluminum toxicity, consider trying magnesium therapy prior to taking additional medications.

Thank you for reading.











Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s