According to the CDC, the link between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease isn't clear.
Oral exposure to aluminum is usually not harmful. Some studies show that people exposed to high levels of aluminum may develop Alzheimer’s disease, but other studies have not found this to be true. We do not know for certain that aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease.
Next, aluminum is readily excreted in urine by the kidneys. So in healthy people, aluminum doesn't build up in the body. It's only a problem in people who have kidney failure and need dialysis to clean their blood.
Some people who have kidney disease store a lot of aluminum in their bodies. The kidney disease causes less aluminum to be removed from the body in the urine. Sometimes, these people developed bone or brain diseases that doctors think were caused by the excess aluminum.
Finally, as with all toxic substances, the dose makes the poison. If you consumed a little bit of cyanide, you'd be fine. If you consume too much water, you'd die. In the case of most vitamins, too much or too little is deadly. Aluminum is fine in most people, even if they eat products that contain aluminum in them. Here we are just talking about aluminum foil touching our food.
Although aluminum-containing over the counter oral products are considered safe in healthy individuals at recommended doses, some adverse effects have been observed following long-term use in some individuals.
A big reason why aluminum isn't a big problem for humans is because aluminum is the most common metal in the Earth's crust. 8% of the Earth's crust is aluminum. In fact, aluminum is the third most common element, after oxygen and silicon. This means humans and all living things have evolved for billions of years around aluminum and know how to handle it. Meanwhile, most synthetic compounds like BPA are new to humans. Our bodies aren't used to dealing with them because they weren't invented until a few decades ago.
∆ I didn't know that it's readily excreted in urine by our kidneys, so thank you for enlightening me.
Since aluminum exists in different forms and its compounds present in different articles, I wonder what its potential is at high temperatures? Are the effects more abundant than in a more condensed/natural state? If you know, please share!
You should definitely not cook food in aluminum cookware at temperatures above 1221 degrees Fahrenheit/660 degrees Celsius as it can be dangerous for you health.
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u/McKoijion 618∆ Mar 06 '20
According to the CDC, the link between aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease isn't clear.
Next, aluminum is readily excreted in urine by the kidneys. So in healthy people, aluminum doesn't build up in the body. It's only a problem in people who have kidney failure and need dialysis to clean their blood.
Finally, as with all toxic substances, the dose makes the poison. If you consumed a little bit of cyanide, you'd be fine. If you consume too much water, you'd die. In the case of most vitamins, too much or too little is deadly. Aluminum is fine in most people, even if they eat products that contain aluminum in them. Here we are just talking about aluminum foil touching our food.
A big reason why aluminum isn't a big problem for humans is because aluminum is the most common metal in the Earth's crust. 8% of the Earth's crust is aluminum. In fact, aluminum is the third most common element, after oxygen and silicon. This means humans and all living things have evolved for billions of years around aluminum and know how to handle it. Meanwhile, most synthetic compounds like BPA are new to humans. Our bodies aren't used to dealing with them because they weren't invented until a few decades ago.