ALUMINIUM POTS AND PANS

A week or two ago someone phoned Highland radio to ask about the hazards of using pots and pans for cooking. They were concerned about contamination of the food from the metal. I did a bit of research and found that there could be adverse effects from the pots, especially if they are soft metal.

Stainless steel pans won't corrode or tarnish permanently, and its hard, tough, nonporous surface is resistant to wear. As stainless steel does not conduct heat evenly, most stainless steel cookware is made with copper or aluminium bottoms. Manufacturers caution against allowing acidic or salty foods to remain in stainless steel for long periods. Although there are no known health hazards from leaching of the metal, undissolved salt will pit steel surfaces.
Aluminium on the other hand has often been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Aluminium cookware manufacturers warn that storing highly acidic or salty foods such as tomato sauce and all fruit products in aluminium pots may cause more aluminium than usual to enter the food. (Also, undissolved salt and acidic foods allowed to remain in an aluminium pot will cause pitting on the pot's surface.)

The statistics from America show that more than half (52 percent) of all cookware sold today is made of aluminium. But most of these aluminium pots and pans are coated with non stick finishes or treated using a process that alters and hardens the structure of the metal. Researchers are still investigating the connection between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease. But according to the director of medical and scientific affairs at the Alzheimer's Association, much recent data supports the theory that brains already damaged by Alzheimer's disease may permit entry of abnormally high levels of aluminium. In other words, Aluminium does not appear to be the cause of Alzheimer's disease, but people with Alzheimer's tend to concentrate and store aluminium. Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust (after oxygen and silicon). It is in air, water and soil, and ultimately in the plants and animals we eat. So it is virtually impossible to avoid consumption in some form. Many over-the-counter medicines also contain aluminium. According to the report, one antacid tablet can contain 50 milligrams of aluminium or more, and it is not unusual for a person with an upset stomach to consume more than 1,000 milligrams, or 1 gram, of aluminium per day. A buffered aspirin tablet may contain about 10 to 20 milligrams of aluminium. If aluminium pans are in good condition then there should be very little risk from contamination. The conclusion I came to from the research is that if you were in any doubt about the aluminium pans then go out and buy come good stainless steel ones!

Household,environmental.