Health Risks of Using Aluminum Cookware

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught for many years to get rid of all aluminum cookware, and to replace it with stainless steel or cast iron cookware (Muhammad, n.d).  Also, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches how when cooking food in aluminum cookware, once heated, the particles travels to the brain. Further stated by the minister, is that, when the aluminum gets into the brain, it causes Alzheimer's or dementia (Farrakhan, n.d.)

In  the article, Production, Usage  and Potential  Public Health  Effects  Of Aluminum Cookware: A Review, researchers discuss the health risks of aluminum ingestion, and the health risks associated with using aluminum cookware.  They  also provide the disadvantages of aluminum cookware. 

Disadvantages of Using aluminum cookware

Some of the disadvantages of using aluminum cookware mentioned in the the article include: 

• The metal has consistently been placed in the top 200 health jeopardizing toxins by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• During cooking, some aluminum especially from worn or pitted pots and pans may dissolve into food.
• The longer food is cooked or stored in aluminum, the greater the amount of aluminum that gets into food.
• Leafy vegetables and acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus products, absorb aluminum the most.
• Salty water or food can pit aluminum cookware, making older pots a possible source for trace amounts of substances like arsenic and fluorides.

 Lastly, the article mentions that there is limited information about the effects of cooking with aluminum on the public's health however, "there is an increased public health concern as a result of consumption of aluminum and other metals from cookware.  According to WHO, The World Health Organization, reports by International Occupational Safety and Health Information Center, there are  about one billion people globally suffering from some form of diseases that are linked to  metals " (Alabi & Adeoluwa, 2020). (Tabrizi, 2007), states that "High concentrations of aluminum have been discovered in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.  The growth rate of human brain cells slows down with the presence of aluminum. This decrease in growth rate becomes more evident at higher aluminum concentration" (Alabi & Adeoluwa, 2020).

Tip: When cooking meals for your family, always use stainless steel cookware to avoid the health risks of using aluminum. To get quality stainless steel cookware: pots or a wok, use the following link: https://nationsproducts.com/collections/stainless-steel-cookware-sets

References

Alabi, O. A., & Adeoluwa, Y. M. (2020). Production usage, and potential public health effects of aluminum cookware: a review. Annals of Science and Technology, 5(1), 20-30. https://intapi.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/ast-2020-0003

Farrakhan, L. (n.d.). Message by Minister Farrakhan. Final Call Newspaper. https://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Health_amp_Fitness_11/Make_your_home_and_neighborhood_fit_to_live_3536.shtml

Muhammad. E. (n.d.). Message by The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Final Call Newspaper.