Is it safe to cook with aluminium cookware? To answer this question we need to examine aluminium cookware closely. We need to know how aluminium cookware was made and how this particular cookware will interact with your food. Furthermore, we need to examine our body reaction with aluminium.
The latest report from the cookware manufactures association indicates that more than 60% cookware sold in the USA are made from aluminium. This means that more than the help of population is cooking their food on aluminium cookware. Yet, not many of us really know about the particular type of cookware. To give you a better insight into this particular cookware, we will discuss aluminium cookware in more detail.
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Why Aluminium Cookware Is So Popular?
In the modern world, cookware is made from different material such as stainless steel, copper, cast iron, titanium, aluminium, etc. Aluminium is a popular material to create a different type of cookware. These are also the best Nonstick Cookware for Gas Stoves, Glass stoves, Electric Stoves, etc.
Unlike other cookware material, aluminium is lightweight and offer excellent heat conductivity and distribution. Metal heat conductivity and distribution is measure in what per meter-Kalvin or w/MK. Just to let you know that aluminium has 237 w/MK while stainless steel is 14,2 w/MK. So, in terms of heat conductivity aluminium is 16 times better than stainless steel. No wonder stainless steel is so popular in our society.
Aluminium and Your Health
According to many health experts, a small amount of aluminium does no harm to our body. This is true as the human body has the ability to excrete a small amount aluminium effectively. Aluminium is present in tea, salt, herb, yellow cheese, corn, spices, etc. So, Small amount of aluminium is not stranger t our body. According to the WHO, the safe daily intake for aluminium is 40mg/kilogram of body weight.
However, high consumption of aluminium should be avoided. Many experts believe that high consumption of aluminium carries serious heath treat. The scientist has detected a high level of aluminium in a patient with Alzheimer’s diseases. The latest research indicates that a high level of aluminium intake does many harmful for patients with renal and bone diseases. Furthermore, a high level of aluminium can affect greatly to brain cell development.
So, Is It Safe to Cook with Aluminium Cookware?
We have discussed about aluminium and its effect on our health. So, is aluminium cookware safe? The answer to this question is not straight forward. First of all, we need to define what aluminium cookware is. When we said aluminium cookware, we often refer it to modern aluminium cookware that widely available in the market. In this case, modern aluminium cookware is totally safe for cooking (I will explain it later). The second type of aluminium cookware is bare aluminium cookware which is rarely being used in modern life. This particular aluminium cookware carries potential health treat.
Just to let you know that bare aluminium cookware can leach to your food. It is true especially if you cook acidic food. Acidic food like tomatoes, lemon, etc will easily react to aluminium cookware. We have mentioned earlier that a small amount of aluminium does no harm to our body. However, when you cook such food every day, high level of aluminium can easily build up in your body. Now you know bare aluminium cookware health risk. So, from now on, you should avoid cooking acidic food with bare aluminium cookware.
What You Should Know About Modern Aluminium Cookware?
We have mentioned earlier that traditional bare aluminium cookware potentially carries some health risk. Now, what about modern aluminium cookware? Well, many expert believe that modern aluminium cookware is safer than traditional bare aluminium cookware.
Most modern aluminium cookware made from anodized aluminium. It is a chemical process to make outer aluminium surface harder. The purpose of anodized is to create a thicker and stronger layer of non-reactive aluminium oxide. This aluminium oxide prevents leach into your food. Therefore, modern cookware (anodized aluminium cookware) is safer than bare traditional cookware.
Another purpose of anodized aluminium is to make your cookware harder and more durable. Just to let you know that anodize aluminium has a glow stick. It means that when you cook with anodized aluminium, your food may stick to the surface of the cookware. To create non stick layer cookware manufacturer add some coating material. As of now, there are two popular non stick coating material namely PTFE (Teflon) or ceramic-based.
So, using modern aluminium cookware such as anodized aluminium or aluminium coated with non stick layer is obviously safe. This is true as only a minimal amount of aluminium that possibly leaches to your food. Remember that WHO said that a small amount of aluminium intake is acceptable as will not do any harm to our body. We are living in the modern world where metallurgy science has developed very rapidly. Now you can find cookware created from two or more coating agents. This obviously makes modern cookware much safer.
Avoid Aluminium Foil While Cooking
We have mentioned earlier that most modern aluminium cookware tends to be oxidized and coated with non stick layer. So, they are safe for cooking different types of food including acidic food. The thing will be different from aluminium foil. We all know that many people cooking their food with aluminium foil. Aluminium foil is disposable and there is no way that you can anodize it or adding any coating agent prior use. Therefore, I believe that the number of aluminium leach into your food is much higher. According to the latest report, the migration of aluminium leach into your food during the cooking process using aluminium wrap is much higher than the permissible limit set by WHO. So, you need to avoid using aluminium foil for cooking any food.
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Final Words
Is it safe to cook with aluminium cookware? The answer is yes with condition that your cookware is made from anodized aluminium or coated with any type of non-stick coating agent. Using traditional bare aluminium cookware and aluminium foil should be avoided as both of them can leach high amount of aluminium into your food.
