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Naturally Occuring Alum
By Lafe | February 22, 2010
What is Naturally Occurring Alum,
and How is it Different from Aluminum?
Many people confuse naturally occurring alum with synthetic aluminum chemicals such as aluminum chlorhydrate or aluminum zicarnium, the two most common active ingredients in conventional deodorants.
There is a significant difference between naturally occurring alum and synthetic aluminum compounds. Naturally occurring alum is a large molecule which kills bacteria that is on the surface of the skin. Due to its size, it is generally not absorbed through the skin. It works by killing the bacteria which are the cause of body odor, not by blocking the pores as conventional antiperspirants do. Therefore one will continue to perspire, a healthy process since it is eliminating toxins in the body, but there will be no body odor.
Naturally occurring alum has been used for thousands of years in Southeast Asia and those societies do not experience Alzheimer’s and other illnesses common in our society today. In Southeast Asia, naturally occurring alum has a long and colorful history of use. Alum has been used for centuries as a crude form of water purification in remote villages, where there was no other way of purifying drinking water. At one time the United Nations recommended putting an “alum rock” in remote village water systems to eliminate common bacteria. The literature also suggests that naturally occurring alum was used as an anti-bacterial for minor cuts and scrapes because of its prevalence. With sixty-five percent of the Earth’s crust is made up of naturally occurring alum it was readily available for common everyday use.
The synthetic aluminum chemicals–aluminum chlorhydrate and aluminum zicarnium– are generally marketed as antiperspirants and designed to block the pores from breathing. The danger is that the toxins have no place to go since the pores in the skin are blocked. Buildup of toxins caused by long-term use of antiperspirants may be, many believe, one cause of the rising rates of breast cancer in women today. No one is making claims that antiperspirants cause breast cancer, but there is a large and growing body of evidence that makes logical associations between toxin buildup, cancer, and other common diseases of our Western society.
Toxicologists we’ve spoken with believe that anything considered large on a molecular level is not absorbed into the skin because of its size. Naturally occurring alum is a large molecule and simply not very easily absorbed into the body. Toxicologists suggest that aluminum buildup has more to do with what is taken internally, such as from the foods we eat and cooking utensils used. Most common kitchen cookware is made with aluminum; many products consumed on a daily basis, such as baking soda, pickles and most antacids, contain aluminum.
We believe there is a significant difference between alum in its natural state and synthetic aluminum chlorhydrate and other synthetic compounds. Please, share this information.
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