is cooking in aluminium utensils bad for u?

Answer 1

There are some groups who believe that aluminum can be harmful to a person when aluminum cookware is commonly used. I stress that most resources I found for this information were not mainstream, but "alternative" medicine advocates. I know that many people go strongly by such sources, but personally I take them with a grain of salt. That said, it may be possible that aluminum can cause Alzheimer's disease, and symptoms similar to osteoporosis, as well as trouble with your digestive tract and kidneys.

Answer 2

It's not the cooking directly though this does have some effect ,the danger is the scraping action of utensils, such as mashing potatoes or whipping something up. Take a look at a well used aluminium pan and you'll see what I mean. The inside is being abraded away.

Answer 3

There are so many OPINIONS regarding this subject - - it becomes insane I know of only ONE that makes much sense Do Not cook high acid foods - - like spaghetti sauce ('tomatoes') - - As for other foods - - you pot or pan is too often coated in an oil - - very little chance of acid leaching I also remember tea pots being the evil culprit - - if you examined the inside where all the deposits of silicates - calcium etc adhere - I fail to see how any other utensils they are washed too often to oxidize BUT - fear is a powerful force - and added to conflicting data - I understand remember there are 6.2 billion humans here - and statistics lie - to prove a point - real or false

Answer 4

Aluminum can flake off. So can Teflon. And many are allergic to nickel, found in stainless steel. Copper is poisonous. Only cast iron is considered safe. But is it "absolutely" safe? Who knows. It is not the best for some items and is way too heavy. Most people can eat an egg from aluminum cookware with no worry. And/or Teflon. Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer's. Yet the number of Alzheimer cases directly related to eating aluminum is unknown. In fact, most people eat from aluminum cookware and very few of the whole get Alzheimer's. Perhaps if you ate a large fry pan a day entirely of aluminum flakes you'd been in trouble. I wouldn't worry, but if you can afford better, buy better. I use non stick stainless steel with an aluminum base for even heating. Professional cooks use stuff like this. And cast iron for heavy frying.

Answer 5

Depending on what you were cooking. Our cafeteria used to make lemon aide in an aluminium pot and after a fashion the acid in the lemon aide dissolved a hole in the pot. The aluminium went into the drink. Aluminium is suspected in causing Alzheimer's disease. Its up to you.

Answer 6

Higher-than-normal concentrations of aluminum have been associated with weakening of the bones of children on dialysis. The presence of aluminum in the brains of people who have died with Alzheimer's disease has led some to believe that it caused the disease, but there is strong evidence that this is not true. Nonetheless, for this and other reasons, health-conscious cooks have worried that using aluminum saucepans might release enough aluminum into food to produce, over time, toxic accumulations in the body.

There is no question that tiny amounts of aluminum do leach from aluminum cooking vessels, especially when acid foods (like rhubarb) are cooked in them. One study showed that boiling tomatoes (acid, at pH 4.4) in an aluminum saucepan added some 3 ppm of aluminum to the mix (the tomatoes contained three times that before they were cooked).

Aluminium, despite being the third most abundant element on earth, has no known metabolic role in living organisms

But before throwing away your aluminum cookware, consider:
- baked goods contain aluminum (sodium aluminum sulfate is a component of baking powder)
- several widely-advertised antacids (e.g., Gelusil, Mylanta-II) are rich sources of aluminum. Two teaspoons (a normal dose) of one popular antacid contains 83,000 ppm of aluminum. (It is recommended that no more than 18 teaspoons be taken in a 24-hour period.)

Aluminium is still used in cookware, because of its excellent heat conduction, but these days is generally treated so as to reduce the amount leaching into food, or covered, eg by a non-stick coating, or encased in steel (eg it just provides a conductive core to the base).

Answer 7

There has been studies in Alzheimers patients showing that they have higher concentration of aluminum in their brain tissue, but I haven't heard of any conclusive evidence that this came from cooking utensils, soda cans, etc. Just in case, I try to avoid it.

Answer 8

There have been suggested links to mental illness but what does that say about people who drink from Aluminium cans?

Answer 9

Aluminum has been found in high concentrations in the brains of Altzheimer's patients, which is how the idea of aluminum being harmful first originated. However, it is now generally accepted that the aluminum deposits in such patients are a result of the disease, not a cause of it.

Answer 10

No. Old wives tale....

The amount of aluminium leaching into food through cooking is so minimal so as to be irrelevant.