No effects in healthy adults, research shows. While it is true that some aluminum gets into food when cooked in aluminum foil or with aluminum cookware, and that this is enhanced in acidic foods, it is not true this causes any health effects in healthy adults.
The claim: Heat causes aluminum to leach into food and causes dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's and cancer
An undated article from a website called "Natural Beauty Secrets" that has been circulating on social media warns that cooking with aluminum allows it to leach into food and cause cancer and different neurological conditions — including dementia, Alzheimer's and autism spectrum disorders.
Aluminum is found in many household products, including utensils, foil, baking powder and over-the counter medicines. It is the most common metal and makes up 8% of the Earth’s mass. Because of this, aluminum is literally everywhere, including drinking water and food. Some foods, like citrus fruits, have more aluminum than others.
Naturally occurring aluminum is rarely encountered in its metallic, elemental form. Typically, aluminum is found in the environment as aluminum salts or other compounds such as aluminum citrate. This material circulates through the environment and food web. Adults naturally have between 30-50 milligrams of aluminum in their body at any given time.
"Analytical chemistry is sufficiently sensitive now that I'm not aware of anything that, naturally, in our environment, food, water and everything else, where it cannot be detected," said Dr. Robert Yokel, a professor of toxicology at the University of Kentucky who studies aluminum.
Aluminum is not a nutrient. In food additives, aluminum compounds are used as preservatives, for color or for leavening breads without active yeast. A spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration confirmed by email that the agency considers it safe for use in food, food preparation and medicines.
USA TODAY was unable to contact the author or website operators for comment. The article hosted on “natural-beauty-secrets.com” does not list an author. The “Contact Us” form hosted on the website does not work in several different browsers. The website is hosted through an anonymous domain registration service that did not respond to our request for contact information for the website operators.
No effects in healthy adults, research shows
While it is true that some aluminum gets into food when cooked in aluminum foil or with aluminum cookware, and that this is enhanced in acidic foods, it is not true this causes any health effects in healthy adults.
Your body absorbs less than 1% of the background aluminum in food or drinking water. Ninety-five percent of this is cleared by the kidneys. Most of the environmental aluminum you are exposed to passes out of your system within 24 hours. The average adult eats roughly 7-9 milligrams of aluminum per day. This amount can vary based on local environmental conditions or diet or cookware. Neither the FDA nor the European Food Safety Authority have found that this exposure is high enough to cause problems in healthy adults.
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"If one goes to a high enough concentration, basically of anything, one can produce toxic effects." Yokel said. "The dose makes the poison."
It is true that aluminum exposure has been linked to dementia, impaired neural function and lung irritation, but this is never caused by routine, dietary exposure.
Aluminum-linked neural issues
Aluminum-linked dementia and encephalopathy been found in elderly people with impaired kidney function. Sometimes, this has happened when dialysis fluid was contaminated by aluminum. When the kidneys don’t work, dietary aluminum can build up in the body and cause dementia. Dialysis is supposed to remove things a failing kidney cannot, so if dialysis fluid is contaminated by aluminum then this happens faster.
"Everyone would agree that aluminum is a potential neurotoxin but this is an extreme situation," Yokel said.
More:CDC: Gap between white and black children closes in autism cases
The other cases where aluminum can cause neural problems are more rare, such as when workers are exposed to chronic, low-to-high doses of aluminum dust or fumes in places like aluminum plants or mines. Other documented cases of aluminum neural toxicity come from embedded aluminum shrapnel.
Aluminum has at times been linked to Alzheimer’s and Austism spectrum disorder, but in neither case has there been definitive evidence that aluminum causes either. While some studies have shown elevated aluminum levels in Alzheimer’s patients, others have not. It’s not clear what role aluminum plays in Alzheimer’s or whether it is playing a direct role at all.
"There are no studies that have actually confirmed that there is a correlation," said Betsy Reed, a spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association.
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Reed said that while early research made such links, later studies were unable to establish the connection. The Alzheimer's Association considers the connection between Alzheimer’s and aluminum to be a myth. A representative of the Autism Self Advocacy Network said something similar. Aluminum is a common component of vaccines. The origins of the connection between autism and aluminum came from the pseudoscientific antivaxxer movement.
"At this point, any argument that vaccines cause autism, no matter the specific causal mechanism they propose is going against the science," Zoe Gross, a spokeswoman for Autism Self Advocacy Network, said in an email. "It reflects our society's fear of autism and of autistic people — the idea that we must have been harmed in some way to be the way we are."
Similarly, while aluminum has been linked to Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, the role it plays is unclear. There is no scientific evidence for whether aluminum causes these disorders.
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The cancer claims made by the article are also false. Aluminum has never been demonstrated to have a role in cancer. Aluminum smelter workers do have a higher risk of cancer, but this is due to exposure to other chemicals, not aluminum. Aluminum is frequently the target of breast cancer scares because of its use in antiperspirant. Studies have shown that aluminum doesn’t get absorbed through skin and no studies have found a link between aluminum and cancer.
"It's generally concluded that there is not good evidence aluminum causes cancer," Yokel said.
While it is true that aluminum is highly concentrated in cigarette smoke and that aluminum absorbs more easily through lung tissue, aluminum is low down the list of harmful substances in cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke contains an array of highly cancer-causing chemicals and toxic heavy metals more toxic than aluminum. Smoke particles, on their own, are considered carcinogenic by the American Cancer Society.
Our rating: Partly false
The claim that aluminum leaches into food due to heat and causes Alzheimer’s, autism, dementia and cancer is rated PARTLY FALSE based on our research. While it is true that food and water often contain aluminum and that aluminum levels in food increase in hot or acidic conditions, it is false that such exposure is linked to any health effects in healthy adults. While it is true that aluminum can be an occupational health risk or among people with impaired kidney function, it is not true that routine exposure will cause the health effects listed in the article, such as cancer.
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