Not so long ago, aluminum was equated with gold, and precious jewels were made from it. But since people learned to smelt this metal out of clay, the world has stopped experiencing an acute shortage of aluminum. It was then that they began to make not only earrings and rings, but also dishes that pleased many hostesses. Light and practical, it really does not burn and is easy to clean. In addition, food is cooked much faster in thin aluminum pans than in their cast-iron or ceramic counterparts.
Why is aluminum cookware harmful?
Meanwhile, scientific studies indicate that aluminum cookware is not nearly as harmless to human health as it may seem at first glance. The thing is that when it comes into contact with food, soft aluminum dissolves easily at the molecular level and gets into food. This usually occurs when food is cooked with a high acid content. As a result, aluminum enters the human body and can cause severe food poisoning. Also, metal salts, including aluminum, tend to accumulate in tissues and internal organs, which leads to the development of various diseases. The most common of these is oncology, to which aluminum utensils are most directly related. However, before you send your favorite saucepans or a spoon to the dump, you should take into account the fact that even a vinegar dish can absorb a very small amount of aluminum, which, unlike lead or strontium, is quite easily removed from the body's natural by. Therefore, if you cooked compote in an aluminum pan and drank it for several hours, then health problems can be avoided. The situation is much more complicated in cases where food is stored in an aluminum dish for more than 12 hours. Then it is not only saturated with metal at the molecular level, but also becomes potentially hazardous to health due to the occurrence of toxic compounds resulting from the oxidation of aluminum. It is for this reason that after opening canned foods, which are often contained in aluminum cans, their contents should be transferred to safer dishes. The accumulation of aluminum in the human body is rather slow, but it is this metal that contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease. In people with a similar diagnosis, the aluminum content in the cerebral cortex exceeds the permissible norm several times.
The problem of using aluminum cookware still remains highly relevant today. However, many manufacturers have found a way out of the situation by treating this soft metal in such a way that it does not split at the molecular level when in contact with food. As a result, even cutlery, not to mention pots and pans, today have a special coating that prevents the oxidation of food. However, the life of such protection is no more than 2-3 years, after which aluminum dishes should be changed if you do not want to become a victim of intoxication or acquire problems with the central nervous system.
