The Hindu : New Delhi News : Beware of aluminium toxicity!

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 09, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Beware of aluminium toxicity!

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Your favourite cuppa may have it

NEW DELHI: Your friendly neighbourhood tea maker could well be brewing more than just a drink for you. Boiled forever in his old aluminium utensil, constantly exposed to heat and rarely washed, his tea could be giving you not just that heady high or even a minor acidity.

If the warning by researcher and toxicologists are anything to go by, you could be exposing yourself to something more dangerous and little know -- aluminium toxicity!

Tea and acidic food material, according to experts, is best kept away from aluminium utensils.

Aluminium is among the most plentiful elements occurring in the earth's crust and has been linked with diseases of the brain, bone and blood. Evidence also suggest that certain nutrient deficiencies like iron and calcium might enhance aluminium absorption and hence its toxicity. While awareness about the problem is low, widespread use of aluminium cookware and storage vessels in the country causes the population to be exposed to the possibility of taking in larger amounts of aluminium than what has been previously perceived and warned against by experts and healthcare providers.

Normal adults on an average ingest 2-5 mg aluminium per day through food and significant amounts from drinking water. A number of studies support the leaching of aluminium and experts now warn that with the increased use of aluminium in packaging of foodstuffs the potential source of contamination is higher.

"Risk for monitoring aluminium toxicity is needed and people should be made aware of the fact that there should be limited use of aluminium cookware. While aluminium containers is safe for most cereal preparations, their use for preparation of acidic foods such as tomatoes, tamarind containing dal/sambar and green leafy vegetables is not recommended since leaching of the metal occurs while food is being made. Kidneys do filter excessive aluminium but those with faculty kidneys, however don't have the advantage and are thus at more pronounced risk,'' explained the Consultant in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at LNJP Hospital, T.K. Joshi.

Aluminium is mostly absorbed through the oral route and its absorption increases after fasting. Cautioning against the use of old aluminium utensil or subjecting it to high heat and acidic food, the Chief Nutritionists at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rekha Sharma, explained: "Aluminium's potential toxicity is know for may years now, but the common man still extensively uses the metal without realising the danger he often exposes himself too. Also, the raw surface of the metal makes it an ideal candidate for causing potential harm and awareness is the only answer to check any possibility of toxicity related to the metal.''

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