Aluminum intake amounts

[free4now]

After doing a lot of research on aluminum while buying some new frying pans, I learned that humans supposedly consume quite a bit of aluminum typically. 10mg/day seems like a low consensus estimate from a few sources I've seen.

So I was just eating my salad and found some shavings from drilling holes in aluminum for a project. I wondered how many days worth of aluminum I had consumed. I estimated this was approximately a 20th of a teaspoon worth of aluminum that I found, and guess I might have consumed a similar amount accidentally.

Well according to the online calculator I tried, daily intake 10mg is about .004ml, or about a thousandth of a teaspoon. Or in other words we consume about a teaspoon's worth every three years. So I might have consumed 50 days worth. Not worth worrying about. Good.

 

[haha]

After doing a lot of research on aluminum while buying some new frying pans, I learned that humans supposedly consume quite a bit of aluminum typically. 10mg/day seems like a low consensus estimate from a few sources I've seen.

So I was just eating my salad and found some shavings from drilling holes in aluminum for a project. I wondered how many days worth of aluminum I had consumed. I estimated this was approximately a 20th of a teaspoon worth of aluminum that I found, and guess I might have consumed a similar amount accidentally.

Well according to the online calculator I tried, daily intake 10mg is about .004ml, or about a thousandth of a teaspoon. Or in other words we consume about a teaspoon's worth every three years. So I might have consumed 50 days worth. Not worth worrying about. Good.

What are the major sources of aluminum consumption? ( Other than borings!)

Ha

 

[timeasterday]

What are the major sources of aluminum consumption? ( Other than borings!)

Ha

It's the main ingredient in antiperspirants but I couldn't say how much really gets absorbed into our body.

 

[ERD50]

So I might have consumed 50 days worth. Not worth worrying about.

I doubt your body even absorbed it all. I'd be more worried about a perforation/irritation from any sharp edges (also unlikely I would think).

For ref, check out the aluminum content in an antacid tablet. This question comes up in the brewing community a lot, as many use aluminum brew kettles, and the brewing liquid (wort) is acidic. One of the authors of home-brewing books is a metallurgist by trade, and he says:

How to Brew - By John Palmer - Appendix B - Brewing Metallurgy

There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.

Note, the wort is in contact with the aluminum for an hour or so. Long term, it need to be kept in a non-reactive container (glass, lined mettal container, or some plastics can be OK).

-ERD50

 

[kyounge1956]

What are the major sources of aluminum consumption? ( Other than borings!)

Ha

I wonder if it dissolves in beverages that come in aluminum cans. I generally buy the 12-oz cans rather than 16 or 20-oz bottles. I only drink sodas occasionally, so I'm not really worried about how much aluminum I get that way, but maybe someone who drinks several canned beverages a day would get enough to be a cause of concern.

 

[ERD50]

I wonder if it dissolves in beverages that come in aluminum cans. I generally buy the 12-oz cans rather than 16 or 20-oz bottles. I only drink sodas occasionally, so I'm not really worried about how much aluminum I get that way, but maybe someone who drinks several canned beverages a day would get enough to be a cause of concern.

Aluminum cans are plastic lined. Most soda is acidic, it would taste metallic in short order. Probably even dissolve right through the can in weeks/months?

-ERD50

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Aluminum cans have an extremely thin interior plastic coating. No worries. I think the studies that dealt with the connection between aluminum intake and Alzheimer's were done in countries that used a lot of unlined aluminum pots. And smoked a lot.

 

[audreyh1]

Baking powder.

 

[JakeBrake]

We don't use aluminum cookware. We use only cast iron, stainless steel, and glass.
Unfortunately, we have not found a substitute for aluminum foil.

Crystal is a deodorant with no aluminum that is sold most places.

Crystal Body Deodorant

 

[ls99]

How much would one have to screpa the bottom of aluminium pans with serving spoons to ingest any?

 

[free4now]

The information that we typically consume a teaspoon's worth every few years is a useful benchmark for thinking about how much a problem pan leaching might be... unless you're really aggressive about your use of pans, it's hard to imagine a typical home user scraping much more than a teaspoon's worth off of a pan. So overall this is not a big concern.

Untreated pans and kettles are by far the most likely to leach aluminum. Note that this includes many baking pans.

Older style Caphalon is much safer because it's hard-anodized to harden the surface.

The newer Caphalon typically has nonstick coating totally protecting the hard anodized aluminum.