Why are aluminum pans dangerous?

Aluminum cookware entered the everyday life of ordinary people relatively recently - less than 50 years ago. And it immediately gained popularity due to its lightness, good thermal conductivity and, most importantly, low cost. And in such a saucepan, milk and porridge do not burn.

But if there is an aluminum pan “with a rich history” in the house, we advise you to take a closer look at its inner surface. Do you see irregularities that look like a scattering of small grains? Where do you think the metal went from these dimples?

A little theory

Aluminum occupies an honorable third place in the ranking of the most common chemical elements on our planet. But unlike vital oxygen and silicon, it does not take part in the metabolism of living beings. This is a dead metal that our body does not need. And it would be good if it did not interact with living tissues at all.

But alas, some of its compounds are quite toxic. This can be felt well if you take for every kilogram of your body:

• 3.7-7.3 mg of its hydroxide;
• 2.9 mg aluminum alum;
• 0.2-0.4 mg aluminum acetate.

Hydroxide enters our body from drinking water - this compound is used in its purification. As for alum, the most famous of them are food additives E 521 (hardener), E 522 and E523 (acidity regulators), which are not permitted in a number of countries.

Fortunately, carefree cooks who appreciate the convenience of a light pan regularly flavor their dishes with only the last, most toxic ingredient. To obtain it, simply cook delicious borscht in such a container or prepare a marinade with the addition of vinegar.

Pure aluminum is also not harmless. It has the ability to accumulate in nerve and bone tissue, liver and kidneys, leading to disruption of the normal functioning of these organs. And this:

• metabolic deterioration;
• severe disorders of the central nervous system (including Alzheimer's disease);
• slowing down cell growth and reproduction;
• anemia;
• frequent headaches.

And when fans of the silver-white metal come to its defense, arguing that one borscht contains no more than 3 mg of pure aluminum at a time, and a safe daily dose is 50 mg, they deliberately miss another point.

This element is excreted in the urine. And the path from the digestive tract to the kidneys is very long. It passes through all organs and systems, each of which manages to pick up a particle of dead dust. Moreover, the hardworking kidneys of a healthy adult can get rid of no more than 15 mg of this substance per day. That is, it will take almost 4 days for the body to remove “safe 50 mg”.

About the imaginary harmlessness of aluminum pans

Defenders of convenient cookware cite another solid argument: a thin oxide film is formed on the surface of the metal, which prevents further oxidation of aluminum and its release into products in contact with the surface.

We won't lie - it's true. But this film is very thin and delicate.It is destroyed by acid, which makes the dishes categorically unsuitable for preparing marinades, cabbage soup, borscht, pickles, sauces and dishes that contain fermented milk products. This film is also easily damaged by mechanical impact. So, while stirring soup or porridge, you cannot scrape the bottom with a ladle, unless you want to season the dish with aluminum.

Foil made of this metal is safe for single use in a non-acidic environment - the plasticity of the oxide film allows you to wrap and unpack the product without exposing the substance hidden underneath it. But it’s better not to buy drinks in containers made from this element.

What can you cook in such a cookware?

An aluminum pan can only be safe in one case: if you boil clean water in it. That's all. Cooking, and especially storing any food product in a convenient silver-white container is extremely undesirable, since this is a direct path to increasing the concentration of dead metal in the liver, kidneys, bones and brain of a person. Perhaps it is for this reason that aluminum cookware is prohibited for use in children's catering?