Dangers of Cooking with Aluminum Foil

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Many people use aluminum foil to bake or roast their meals. They believe it gives a dish better taste. However, numerous studies show that cooking with aluminum foil can be dangerous. They also found a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. Even though we cannot avoid aluminum because it is everywhere, from water, baking powder, to antiperspirants, we can certainly avoid cooking with aluminum foil. The human body can safely absorb up to 40 mg per body mass during a day. Problem with aluminum foil appears when cooking on high temperature, foil releases amount of aluminum that is far from safe. It directly leaks in our food, dangerously affecting our health. Not only that excess amount of aluminum may lead to Alzheimer’s disease, but also may cause some other disease like osteoporosis and kidney diseases. The safest way to avoid the excess amount of this dangerous element in our food is stop baking and cooking with aluminum foil. Experts also suggest completely avoiding aluminum foil in the kitchen. Namely, they believe that sour foods like lemons, tomatoes, etc., may damage foil and absorb aluminum inside. These foods impose similar health risks to our bodies as cooking with foil. To learn more about the dangers of cooking with aluminum foil, the article “The Downside of Aluminium Foil” gives us the following explanation.

Here are some of those concerns

– One problem is that the aluminium foil is actually a neurotoxic heavy metal – known to cause minor to severe brain dysfunction, with links to Alzheimer’s
disease as well as other conditions including memory loss, a lack of focus and concentration for a reasonable period of time, problems with balance and a
loss of control.

– The new belief is that using aluminium foil to prepare meals can cause a problem to our bone structure by depleting the calcium levels which in turn can
lower our bone density and make it brittle.

– Another problem caused by aluminum foil is a respiratory one because it is now understood that when aluminium foil particles are inhaled, they can cause
pulmonary fibrosis.

– Even using aluminum foil to grill fish and meat is now not considered safe either. This is because the aluminium foil releases chemical compounds into food
when subjected to high temperatures.

The World Health Organization or WHO has added to the debate stating that the aluminum recommended daily allowance (RDA) should not exceed 60 mg. If aluminum foil is used in cooking every day, it increases the aluminum RDA by as much as 400 mg.

Apart from dangers of cooking with aluminum foil, aluminum dishes can also be risky for our health. For that reason, experts recommend filling a new dish with water and leave to boil. They suggest boiling water in the dish several times until it loses its glare. By doing so, dishes get a mat layer that protects the aluminum to leak inside the food. In this way, these dishes are safe for cooking. The only problem may appear if we are too devoted to cleanliness and scrub the dishes until they lose the mat layer. Warm water, mild detergents, and mild movements will keep the protective layer intact.