Beer removes aluminum from the body? Huh?

[vivalostwages]

Here's a new one:

One of the ladies at my mom's Red Hat Society told her that in order to get the aluminum out of your body (due to the possible Alzheimer's connection), you should drink beer.

We have no idea where she got this notion.
It seems to me that all beer drinking would do is rid you of some fluids.

[RickJay]

No, no. The idea tro to drink large quantities of beer so you can practice what it's like to HAVE Alzheimer's.

[Desmostylus]

The History of Beer in Eastern Europe (http://user.intop.net/~jhollis/beer.htm)

There are many urban legends about Czech beer. One of the best ones says that drinking beer makes you live longer because it reduces the aluminum in the body, saving it from the effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease. Considering that life expectancy in the Czech Republic is among the lowest in Europe, this may be stretching the truth a little. Beer does contain natural B-complex vitamins, though, so it does have some nutritional value. --

[aahala]

Are you sure that organization wasn't the Red Nose Society?:D

[Squink]

in order to get the aluminum out of your body (due to the possible Alzheimer's connection), you should drink beer.
But this guy on the internet who says he's a doctor (http://www.smithsez.com/AlzheimersDisease.html) says "One gets less aluminum if beer is taken from bottles or is served from a tap. ", which implies that beer cans (and the beer therein) are a source of dietary aluminum.
The red hat lady's story doesn't make a lick of sense, except perhaps as an excuse to drink expensive imported beers that come in glass bottles.

( Not that a proper lady would drink beer from a bottle or ::shudder:: can, she would pour it into a glass, and sip from that. )

[Desmostylus]

But this guy on the internet who says he's a doctor (http://www.smithsez.com/AlzheimersDisease.html) says "One gets less aluminum if beer is taken from bottles or is served from a tap. ", But this guy on the internet who says he's director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center (http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=0000FCD2-AA88-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7&catID=3) says:"I believe the connection between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease is a myth which comes from two sources:

"First, in the past, patients undergoing renal dialysis would often become confused. When renal failure occurs, the body cannot remove aluminum from the blood... But the confusion associated with aluminum toxicity in dialysis patients is much different than the confusion of Alzheimer's. To date, there is no conclusive evidence that patients experiencing aluminum toxicity have a greater incidence of Alzheimer's Disease...

"Second, researchers found aluminum in plaques present in the brains of people who had suffered from Alzheimer's. These plaques are associated with lesions of the brain that contain amyloid protein, which is thought to damage nerve cells and thereby cause Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, these findings were again compromised by contamination. The plaques are 'sticky'; the water used to wash the tissue to prepare for staining included some aluminum. When the tissue was processed using more sophisticated analytical methods, or when more accurate measures of aluminum content in the Alzheimer's-diseased brain were used, no excess aluminum was found. In addition, studies of the total amount of aluminum in the body of patients with Alzheimer's Disease show no increase in aluminum concentrations as compared to healthy individuals.

[Squink]

Your guy on the internet who says he's director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center clearly trumps my guy on the internet who says he's a doctor IIRC, the aluminum/alzheimers connection lost any credibility way back in the 80's. On the other hand, if you're just looking for a plausible excuse to drink lots of fancy bottled beer....

[SteveG1]

So who really needs a reason to drink beer anyway? I've gotten along just fine with no reasons at all <hic>

mmmmmmm beeeeerrrr

[Crafter_Man]

I once worked at a Department of Energy facility where we processed tritium for nuclear bombs. According to written procedures, a person who (accidentally) ingests tritium should drink "significant" amounts of beer for two weeks. According to the procedure, drinking beer will help flush the tritium out of the body.

This is not a UL. I worked there, saw the document with my own eyes. We all got a chuckle out of it.

[vetbridge]

"One gets less aluminum if beer is taken from bottles or is served from a tap. "

Unless you drink Iron City Beer in the new aluminum bottle...

http://pittsburgh.about.com/b/a/107762.htm

[Squink]

According to written procedures, a person who (accidentally) ingests tritium should drink "significant" amounts of beer for two weeks. According to the procedure, drinking beer will help flush the tritium out of the body.
DOE-HDBK-1079-94 (http://www.eh.doe.gov/techstds/standard/hdbk1079/hdb1079b.html), on flushing ingested tritium: Although the average biological half-life is 10 days, it can be decreased by simply increasing fluid intake, especially diuretic liquids such as coffee, tea, beer, and wine. Even though the half-life may be easily reduced to 4 to 5 days in this way, a physician must be consulted before persons are placed on a regimen that might affect their health. Chemical diuretics require medical supervision because the resultant loss of potassium and other electrolytes can be very serious if they are not replaced. Such drastic measures can result in a decrease in half-life to 1 to 2 days.

[Crafter_Man]

Squink: Thanks for the verification!

I loved working there:

My wife: Are you going to Flanagan’s Pub? This is the third night in a row!

Me: Yep, ingested too much tritium again. I should be home before 1:00 AM.

[Q.E.D.]

Mrs. Crafter_Man: :dubious:

[racer72]

But this guy on the internet who says he's a doctor (http://www.smithsez.com/AlzheimersDisease.html) says "One gets less aluminum if beer is taken from bottles or is served from a tap. ", which implies that beer cans (and the beer therein) are a source of dietary aluminum.


Beer kegs are made out of aluminum so tap beer shouldn't be any better than canned beer. And some brewers seal the inside of their aluminum cans to reduce the metallic flavor that some beers can develop. I'll stick with bottled beer.

[mr_moonlight]

Beer kegs are made out of aluminum so tap beer shouldn't be any better than canned beer.
Every keg I've ever seen has been made out of stainless steel. Stainless steel is a brewer's favorite material because it is so impervious to caustic and acidic cleaning agents.

Ah, perhaps you are referring to those (5 liter?) mini-kegs you can buy off the shelf? Those probably are aluminium since they will not be re-used. But that is not typical of "tap beer."

[vivalostwages]

Thing is, I'm not much for beer, except for one that I had at A Taste of Solvang; it was called Carlsberg (sp)? I haven't located it around here yet.

[Chronos]

Beer kegs are made out of aluminum so tap beer shouldn't be any better than canned beer.Presumably, the amount of aluminum absorbed into the beer would be proportional to the surface area of aluminum exposed, and a keg has a lower surface area per volume, so even if the keg were aluminum, keg beer would still have a lower concentration of aluminum.

And Cecil has written on the connection between Alzheimer's and aluminum (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_216a.html). Twice (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a971219.html), in fact. Does my purported Perfect Master trump your purported doctors?