From: rthomas@nyx.cs.du.edu (Richard Thomas)
Subject: Re: Aluminum cookware:  Recipe for disaster?
Organization: MFI
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 16:05:50 GMT

In article <1992Nov19.052625.2919@nezsdc.icl.co.nz> derek@nezsdc.icl.co.n
 (Derek Tearne) writes:
>In article <sbarnhar-171192153648@morril6t-19.micro.umn.edu> sbarnhar@ma
lbox.mail.umn.edu (Dr. Barnhart) writes:
>>The other night as I finished steaming rice in my aluminum cookware, my
>>roomie starts telling me about how bad aluminum cookware is.  It's putt
ng
>>aluminum oxide in the body, causing all kinds of health problems, the m
st
>>significant of which is the increase in susceptibility to Alzheimer's
>>disease. 
>
>I heard that too, can't remember when though...
>

As explained by a previous poster, people suffering from Alzheimer's
disease have been found to have a higher than average concentration
of aluminium in their brains. Whether the body is capable of
assimilating aluminium  in the state it arrives from saucepans is
inclear however. But two things are. 
1)There appears to be a link between aluminium and Altzheimer's
2)You ingest rather large quantities of aluminium if you cook
  in aluminium pots and pans.

Notably lettuce has large amounts of aluminium and also nitrates.
Since I hate lettuce anyway, this gives me a great excuse to avoid
it and I call it "The killer vegetable"
>
>>seem to have heard this one elsewhere and I want to know if I should ma
be
>>invest in some cookware made out of a different material.
Dont get TOO worried about it. If I were you, I'd just gradually
phase it out over time.
>
>Yeah, cast iron - that rust is really good for you.  
I dont think I've ever heard that rust is particularly bad for you.
Besides, you're probably thinking of Stainless steel, which of
course doesnt rust.
>Or, Teflon<tm> - I wonder what fumes that gives off when burned?
>Or, Copper bottom pans - aren't there some really nasty copper based poi
ons?
Notice the use of the word BOTTOM. The rest of the pan, including the
inner bo`ttom are not made of copper (Copper is not good for you BTW)
>Or, Pewter (now that one really IS bad for you)
Pewter pans? Who would be stupid enough to make them?
>
>Seriously.  There has been a link between loss of memory and aluminium 
>compounds.  This was partly due to a tragic incident in the U.K. where
>aluminium based water purification agents were being used at a reservoir
>Accidentally a whole truck load was dumped in the reservoir instead of a
>tiny amount.  Very soon after some of the villagers exhibited loss of me
ory
Neearly right. The compund was a de-floculant. What actually happened 
was that the driver arrived, found noone ther and, instead of dumping
his load into a container where it should have gone, dumped it straight
into a reservoir. The news quoted 200 tons. This seems a little high to
me, but I have no knowledge of the weights a lorry can pull. Symptoms
claimed to have resulted from thisincluded dry mouths and all-over
body pains. To my knowledge, no mental complaints were mentioned. I know
of these things, because when it happened, the phone started ringing
in my house....
>symptoms.  The purification agent wasn't simple aluminium oxide but a mu
h 
>more complex aluminium salt.
>
>There has been no link proven between aluminium cooking utensils and 
>Alzheimers disease.  The aluminium compounds which may be produced by 
>heating utensils are not the ones put into the water in the U.K. 
As I say, there's no definite link. They dont know the metabloic route
yet. But the water industry is looking for alternatives
>
>There are much more worrying things to think about (food additives, 
>saturated fats, MSG(is it safe now or not)....).
Ask me about health foods.
>
>Heck even potato(e)s cause cancer in rats...
>
Yep. I'll post on that later.