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Aluminum Foil...gloom & doom ads

littlerascal56
littlerascal56 Posts: 2,110
in EggHead Forum
Seems like I am seeing a lot of articles on the web on the bad health aspects of using aluminum foil for cooking. They especially caution on using for high heat cooks with acidic foods and marinades.  I use a LOT of HD aluminum foil on my BGE, including packet meals, potatoes, veggies, etc. Has anyone had any health issues that can be traced to aluminum consumption?
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Comments

  • 1911Man
    1911Man Posts: 366
    IIRC it's been said (for many, many, MANY years) to NOT use aluminum foil with higher acid foods. Like tomatoes, for example.
    I have used the non-stick version with spuds when grilling them and wanted them to also be steamed (plus get a nice crisp on them that wasn't too much).
    These days, I'm really just using it to wrap up my sammich that I take to work, or tent what I pull off the BGE if it needs it.
    Large BGE with CGS Woo Ring, stone with stainless pan, Smokeware chimney cap, Kick Ash basket and Kick Ash can.
    Living free in the 603 (Pelham).
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,716
    I'm not gonna make light of your query but my lifestyle has enough opportunities to declare something wrong across the board that it would take a long time to trace back to anything such as AF or HDAF. 
    I would take a hard look at the data and science used to arrive at the conclusions as that would require quite a set of controlled trials.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • 1911Man
    1911Man Posts: 366
    HeavyG said:

    I thought you would fart glitter...
    Large BGE with CGS Woo Ring, stone with stainless pan, Smokeware chimney cap, Kick Ash basket and Kick Ash can.
    Living free in the 603 (Pelham).
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    I can’t remember.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,988
    littlerascal56 said:
    Has anyone had any health issues that can be traced to aluminum consumption?
    Thankfully no. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,109
    we all die eventually.   
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,836
    nolaegghead said:
    we all die eventually.   

    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • littlerascal56
    littlerascal56 Posts: 2,110
    Thanks for the responses.  I personally wasn’t worried for myself (at this age), but catch a lot of flak from the millennials when they see the food coming off the egg in foil.  I tell them it won’t harm than any worse than the 12+ beers they drink per day!
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,716
    @littlerascal56 don't go dumping on a dozen + beers per day.  ;)   You may want to review your grocery guest list if they are whining and moaning about Q banquet food.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Check out this. The argument is pretty convincing that while there is a hazard, it is tiny.

    My guess is that the metal gasses from cooking in a stove in a poorly vented kitchen are far worse.

    My personal data point: An aunt gave us a used c. 1952 aluminum electric skillet she no longer needed when me&wife started cooking, c. 1976. We used it for 6-8 years, and cooked tomato sauce for s'getti in it (and everything else) till it died.

    Then I heard using it was poison. Then I came across an article similar to the one above. Was relieved to learn there wasn't much of a problem. FWIW, my aunt and my cousins didn't have any problems that might have arisen from using same skillet.
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  • littlerascal56
    littlerascal56 Posts: 2,110
    @gdenby....thanks for the link to that article.  I will forward to our boys for their reference.  I tease them that they don’t have a problem drinking all my Bud Light in aluminum cans when we have a cookout!  =)
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    YukonRon said:
    ......wait a minute, what was I talking about?
    =)

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Markarm4119
    Markarm4119 Posts: 526
    Teflon in  microwave popcorn bags,dental floss, nitrates, glycophosphate (active ingredient in Roundup) found in beer and wine.
    Everything has a potential to kill us eventually.
    LBGE, and just enough knowledge and gadgets to be dangerous .
    Buford,Ga.
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  • dannys
    dannys Posts: 169
    1911Man said:
    IIRC it's been said (for many, many, MANY years) to NOT use aluminum foil with higher acid foods. Like tomatoes, for example.

    But this is not a health related issue. The aluminum foil can cause a metallic flavor due to the acidity of the tomatoes, etc.
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  • dannys
    dannys Posts: 169
    There is a running theme on the interweb about aluminum and Alzheimer's/dementia (I forget which) that says that "alum" has been found in these patients brain - Don't use aluminum.  The problem is that alum is not aluminum and there has been no indication that aluminum can migrate to the brain.
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  • steel_egg
    steel_egg Posts: 295
    YukonRon said:
     I have cooked with aluminum foil and pans for decades. I have mess kits that were aluminum. I drank beer from aluminum cans. The worry is not cooking with aluminum, the worry is what I cook in aluminum, because just about everything I eat, will kill me way before aluminum will.
    Red meat
    Smoked meat
    Sugars
    White Carbs
    Q
    Animal fats
    Bacon
    Nitrites
    whatever........
    I am not showing signs of......wait a minute, what was I talking about?

    Stop.... you’re making me hungry. 
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  • JohnInCarolina
    JohnInCarolina Posts: 34,686
    You’ve gotta die from something brother.
    "I've made a note never to piss you two off." - Stike

    "The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand." - Deep Throat
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 17,350
    edited March 2019
    dannys said:
    There is a running theme on the interweb about aluminum and Alzheimer's/dementia (I forget which) 
    Heh, pun intended?  
     
    And what @dannys said above, about the metallic taste when cooking with aluminuminum, also applies to beer.
    Drinking from glass for 41 years,
     
    Botch

    “I'll have what she's having."  

        -Rob Reiner's mother!   

    Ogden, UT, USA

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  • 1911Man
    1911Man Posts: 366
    dannys said:
    1911Man said:
    IIRC it's been said (for many, many, MANY years) to NOT use aluminum foil with higher acid foods. Like tomatoes, for example.

    But this is not a health related issue. The aluminum foil can cause a metallic flavor due to the acidity of the tomatoes, etc.
    I didn't recall the exact reason, but IIRC it was about the foil, not a properly prepared pan/pot. I know, from experience, that you can build an oxide layer inside an aluminum pot easily, and pretty quickly too. I did it for my first boil kettle for brewing beer. Simply filled it as high as I could with already hot water and then got it to a boil for a while (an hour IIRC). Dump out the water and you have a nice dark protecting layer inside. Then you just don't scrub the F out of it when cleaning. Basically treat it like seasoned cast iron cookware.
    I have an aluminum dutch oven that's hard anodized. I've not done anything with tomato in it before. But I have made beef stew as well as braised meats (short ribs, or corned beef brisket).
    That reminds me, I'm about due to make a batch of beef stew. =)

    Large BGE with CGS Woo Ring, stone with stainless pan, Smokeware chimney cap, Kick Ash basket and Kick Ash can.
    Living free in the 603 (Pelham).
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  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,533
    Ha!  “Sheet metal”... 🤣
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