06-28-2019, 09:37 AM
Food wrapped in aluminum foil is not likely to pick up much aluminum unless the foods are acidic (think tomato sauce or a salad with a vinegar dressing). However, cooking in aluminum foil will increase the amount of the metal leached into the food.
It’s not clear whether such levels of leached aluminum are harmful. Aluminum is found naturally in a lot of foods (it is one of the earth’s most abundant elements) as well as in some antacids. The body does a good job excreting such levels of aluminum.
There is some speculation that aluminum may be involved in Alzheimer's disease or inflammatory bowel disease, but the evidence is contradictory. Most toxicologists consider the usual low levels of aluminum to be safe (see, for example, Systematic review of potential health risks posed by pharmaceutical, occupational and consumer exposures to metallic and nanoscale aluminum, alumin... - PubMed - NCBI)
That said cooking an acidic sauce in aluminum or storing acidic foods in aluminum containers may contribute off-flavors and probably should be avoided. But other uses are probably fine.
It’s not clear whether such levels of leached aluminum are harmful. Aluminum is found naturally in a lot of foods (it is one of the earth’s most abundant elements) as well as in some antacids. The body does a good job excreting such levels of aluminum.
There is some speculation that aluminum may be involved in Alzheimer's disease or inflammatory bowel disease, but the evidence is contradictory. Most toxicologists consider the usual low levels of aluminum to be safe (see, for example, Systematic review of potential health risks posed by pharmaceutical, occupational and consumer exposures to metallic and nanoscale aluminum, alumin... - PubMed - NCBI)
That said cooking an acidic sauce in aluminum or storing acidic foods in aluminum containers may contribute off-flavors and probably should be avoided. But other uses are probably fine.