Is it dangerous to cook with aluminum foil?

[blaze]

I've been getting feeds on FB leading to articles about the dangers of the aluminum leaching into the food.

Any opinions from the cooks here?

[gordianot]

1. If so I am doomed.

[Lotusflower70]

2. Why?

I suppose it depends on what you are doing. For example, I will cover corning ware with foil when baking. No issues with it.

[blaze]

4. I recently tried cooking salmon in parchment paper

It was yummy, but folding and working with the paper is a pain in the a$$... So the next couple of times I just replaced the paper with the aluminum foil. Much easier to put together, but these articles concerned me.

Here's one of them: http://recipeslite.com/2016/12/doctors-are-now-warning-if-you-use-aluminum-foil-stop-it-or-face-deadly-consequences/

[Lotusflower70]

7. Hmmm

And they will probably reverse course in another study. My mom is going to be 80 this year. She uses foil in baking and is sharp as a tack (her expression). I have been using foil for a while now. I trust my mom. But each person has to make their own choice. Lol on the parchment. It is definitely a pain in the ass.

[csziggy]

18. My Mom cooked with aluminum pots and used aluminum foil all her life

She'll be 96 in a couple of weeks. Yes, she has Alzheimer's but it didn't start until my Dad died three years ago and our family went through a lot of upheaval during his final illness.

I use little foil since it just creates trash that cannot be recycled but I don't avoid it for health reasons. I agree with Snopes conclusions about cooking with aluminum:

CLAIM: Studies have demonstrated that cooking with aluminum foil can result in the ingestion of aluminum, which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
RATING: Mostly False
http://www.snopes.com/cooking-with-aluminum-foil-puts-you-at-risk-for-alzheimers/

[JudyM]

16. Whether it can lead to Alzheimer's or not, it has been shown to leach into food, especially at high

temps or with acidic foods, and it's a heavy metal, so to me that's enough of a downside even without further scientific evidence.

Also, aluminum production is horrible for the planet, both as the leading source of PAH (acid rain) and also produces an envirotoxin-laden by-product, so I avoid it almost entirely for those reasons.

[HockeyMom]

3. Years ago

there was some study which said that cooking with aluminum pots and pans caused Alzheimer's. Today they say it doesn't.

At any rate I got rid of them purely for practical reasons; not good quality, poor cooking, did not last long. I went out and bought old fashioned cast iron pans. I still have one of my Grandma's from the 1940's! Talk about long lasting?

Pots, pans, foil more or less the same applies to your point of view.

[sharp_stick]

5. No its not

dangerous. The weird "dangers of aluminum" stories come and go over time. It's just a common conspiracy theory that pops up when people get tired of complaining about chemtrails.

[Afromania]

6. add me to the list of people that are dead from cooking with foil.

[Rorey]

8. I use it as seldom as possible

I use it as a cover, but rarely to actually cook on. What I do use is parchment paper. It provides a non-stick surface so I don't have to spray my baking pans, and it makes cleanup super easy. It's also a barrier between my metal baking pans and my baked foods. I buy the big rolls at Sam's for around $5 and it lasts a long time. It's just too expensive to buy those smaller rolls.

I think that, like everything, it's okay to use in moderation. When I'm taking a dish to a potluck I usually bring it in a disposable foil pan so I don't have to worry about retrieving my dish or pan.

I've heard about the dangers of aluminum, so I figure it's better to err on the side of caution (usually).

[WhiteTara]

9. The shiny side is the aluminum side

and so use the dull side to cook on...less aluminum to cause problems.

[tikka]

14. Both side have the same amount of aluminum

The shiny side/dull side is due to the manufacturing process. Although the dull side can have a nonstick coating, the majority of foil doesn't.

[radical noodle]

10. snopes says

Mostly false

http://www.snopes.com/cooking-with-aluminum-foil-puts-you-at-risk-for-alzheimers/

I've been using aluminum foil for decades.

[blaze]

11. Don't know why I didn't think to check snopes.

Thanks!

[radical noodle]

12. You're welcome!

[Galileo126]

13. The way I see it is ...

By the time Alzheimer's sets in (if it's true), you are blissfully ignorant anyway.

So I say... "who cares?"

[MFM008]

15. Um.....no

Fake news.

I've eaten food in AF for almost 60 years...
Still have most of marbles......

[Warpy]

17. A lot of foods like onions and tomatoes chew through it

rendering it porous and useless. The fear over aluminum in one's food goes back to the 70s, when it was discovered that there was a great deal of aluminum in the plaques fouling up Alzheimer's patients' brains. No connection between dietary intake of aluminum was ever proven and it's been 40 years, so the cookware and foil are likely safe. So is the antiperspirant.

[msanthrope]

19. Only if the hat slips into your eyes. nt