They may look nicer when they’re scrubbed and shiny, but a matt base is better for your food and your health.īut cooking your food in foil is a different story. This creates a natural oxidation that prevents leaching. This is easily avoided: when you get new aluminium pots, boil water in them several times until the base becomes matt. The problem is that when you scrub your pots after cooking, that layer is worn away and the aluminium can seep into your food. Pots and other cookware tend to be oxidised, providing an inert layer that prevents the aluminium from leaching into food. Given all of these proven risks, it’s important to determine the aluminium concentration when cooking. It also reduces the growth rate of human brain cells. Studies have suggested that high aluminium intake may be harmful to some patients with bone diseases or renal impairment. These conditions may include high levels of aluminium in daily life.Īluminium poses other health risks, too. Scientists have examined the community of old people with Alzheimer’s and concluded that it is a modern disease that’s developed from altered living conditions associated with society’s industrialisation. For instance, high concentrations of aluminium have been detected in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists are exploring whether over-exposure to aluminium may be posing threats to human health. Aluminium sulfate, which is derived from aluminium, is used as a coagulant during the purification process of drinking water. It’s used in cooking utensils, as described above, as well as in pharmacological agents like antacids and antiperspirants. Aluminium is present in corn, yellow cheese, salt, herbs, spices and tea. So for a person who weighs 60kg the allowable intake would be 2400 mg.īut most people are exposed to and ingest far more than this suggested safe daily intake. This means that minimal exposure to aluminium is not a problem: the World Health Organisation has established a safe daily intake of 40mg per kilogram of body weight per day. Human bodies can excrete small amounts of aluminium very efficiently. This is especially true with acidic or spicy food that’s prepared at high temperatures. Copper used to fulfil this role, but over time it’s been replaced by aluminium because it is cheaper to mass produce and easier to clean.īut while cooking your food in aluminium pots or pans isn’t a bad thing, placing it in foil and putting it in the oven is problematic. Pots and pans are lined with it and it is found in some kitchen utensils like large serving spoons.

Aluminium doesn’t just appear in foil: it is the most popular cookware material used by people in developing countries. Research that I conducted with a group of colleagues has explored the use of aluminium for cooking and preparing food. What you may not realise is that some of the foil will leach into your meal – and this could be bad for your health. If you’re baking fish, roasting vegetables or preparing a piece of meat for dinner tonight, chances are that you’ll wrap your food in aluminium foil.

Aluminum reactivity with food