The majority of kitchens always have aluminum foil on hand. We use it as a baking tray lining and cook fish, veggies, and other foods wrapped in it in the oven and on the grill. Despite its widespread use, many people still ponder if cooking using aluminum foil is genuinely safe.

Is Aluminum Foil Safe To Cook With?

A lot of things, including soil, water, and plants, naturally contain aluminum. In fact, it makes up around 8% of the mass of the earth and is the most common metal there is. Even some of the foods we eat contain it, particularly citrus fruits. Whether or not we use aluminum foil in our homes, we all daily eat small amounts of metal. This is unimportant because our bodies efficiently and readily eliminate aluminum through feces. Therefore, a small amount of aluminum normally doesn’t cause any issues.

Cooking With Aluminum Foil May increase Aluminum Content in Food

However, cooking with aluminum foil may increase the aluminum content of foods. This is because the food you’re cooking comes into direct contact with the foil—and heat can cause chemicals from the foil to leach into your food. The amount of aluminum that gets transferred depends on how long you cook your food, how high of a temperature, and how much liquid you use (liquid helps carry chemicals). Acids also increase transfer, so cooking with items such as lemon juice can also increase the amount of aluminum now present in the food.

Is This Actually Dangerous?

Quickly search aluminum on the internet, and you will find many articles claiming that the amount of aluminum that leaches into your food is large and dangerous. They claim that this can lead to many health problems, including Alzheimer’s and cancer.

However, there is a lot of evidence that shows these claims are false. One study showed that people who ate certain diets were more likely to have high levels of aluminum in their system, but there was no link between this and any health problems. Another study found that while people with dementia had higher levels of aluminum in their brain tissue than those without it, there was no link between the two. While aluminum has been linked to dementia, impaired neural function, and lung irritation, this has never been from routine, daily exposure. The amount of aluminum that you would need to consume through food is far more food than you can eat.