It is also theorized that the process of aluminum excretion is highly personalized… for some urine might be the primary vehicle of detox, while for others the feces or sweat might be more important. Logically, it appears that fecal excretion of aluminum is critical for removal of aluminum that has not yet entered the systemic circulation. Urinary excretion remains the primary route of removal of aluminum from blood and tissues, based on the studies that have been done. 

Dr. Exley’s career-long study of aluminum actually began with studying aluminum toxicity in fish. The main finding of his PhD research, published in the journal Nature in 1989, was that silicon protected against the toxicity of aluminum in salmon.  Ultimately it was discovered silicic acid, the soluble and biologically available form of silicon, is what facilitated the removal of aluminum from the body via the urine. 

Silicic acid is the form of silicon that is found in many mineral-rich waters, and specifically silicon-rich waters, from around the world. It is the only form of silicon that can pass rapidly from the gut to the bloodstream to help to remove aluminum in the urine. When you drink a silicic acid rich water, it passes immediately from the gut and into the blood, producing a temporary rapid increase in the silicic acid of the blood. This temporarily high concentration of silicic acid reacts with aluminum in the blood and promotes aluminum removal from the body in the urine.  

A high level of silicic acid in the blood is required to make sure that the product it makes while binding to aluminum remains stable long enough for it to be filtered through the kidneys. Thus, only silicon-rich waters that contain silicon contents above 30mg/liter will actually help to remove aluminum from the body. Be aware, Dr Exley and his team have studied over-the-counter silicon/silica supplements… they just don’t provide a high and fast enough level of silicic acid in their solid forms for absorption across the gut and into the bloodstream.