Aluminium cooking pots: dangerous or not?

Pat Mustard

It can be an attractive idea to use non stick aluminium pots for camping. But do they pose significant risks?

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002461.htm
This article states that the risk of Alzheimers from aluminium cooking pots is low.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9119528/Is-aluminium-really-a-silent-killer.html
This article discusses the dangers of aluminum, but it mentions that the concept of risk of Alzheimers from aluminum cooking pots has fallen out of favour in some quarters.

Is there good evidence to show a significant risk? Should people avoid aluminium cooking pots?

Tokyo

I don't have any evidence to hand, but I've never used aluminium cookwear (camping, or at home) for this reason. While there's no conclusive proof that states outright that aluminium is A.BAD.THING, there are enough reports out there that entertain the possibility of aluminium leeching into food and being detrimental to health for me to find an alternative.

If weight is an issue, one alternative is to pick up a titanium cookset - if you keep an eye on eBay, or for special offers on camping equipment websites, you can pick up a set for a reasonable enough price - the set I have used for years came in at under $40 if I remember correctly. Doesn't leech, it light as a feather, and you save on fuel because water boils quicker/food cooks quicker due to the thinness of the material.

Just my $0.02 for what it's worth...

Carawaystick

The Mustard wrote: »

It can be an attractive idea to use non stick aluminium pots for camping. But do they pose significant risks?

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002461.htm
This article states that the risk of Alzheimers from aluminium cooking pots is low.

Is there good evidence to show a significant risk? Should people avoid aluminium cooking pots?

You have just linked the National Library of Medicine in the USA and they reckon its low risk. I would have thought they might find evidence of significant risk if it existed.

There's also the fact that for most people, using camping pots is only for a minority of the time, reducing any risk further.

sheesh

probably not the best but remember you are (probably) young as long as you are not taking in aluminium on a full time basis you are probably ok as this stuff has a halflife in your body is quiet fast with most of it being eliminated in the first week via the kidneys (from here ) I think you would get away with it just do not use them long term and don't use metal forks or spoons to stir your food while cooking it you have to wash the pot with some sort of abrasive let it site in the air afterwards so that a new film of aluminium oxide can be built up on the pot before using it again.

You'll be fine!