Why You Should Do Without Aluminum Foil

Even if you think that you don’t use aluminum foil in your household, you almost certainly have a lot of aluminum packaging in your kitchen!

Aluminum foil is popular for covering, storing or cooking food. It seems to be the perfect packaging for the grill and oven. But it is harmful to your health if you are not careful. Find out why you should not use aluminum foil  !

Aluminum foil is ubiquitous

Even if you think that you don’t use aluminum foil in your household, you almost certainly have a lot of aluminum packaging in your kitchen: the inner layer of tetra packs is lined with a thin aluminum foil covered by a plastic layer, your yoghurt pot has one The aluminum lid and your beverage can are sometimes made of aluminum.

Just under 20% of the total amount of aluminum in Germany is used for packaging. Today we would like to explain to you why this trend is neither good for your health nor for our environment. Perhaps this will help you rethink your way of thinking so that you can learn to do without aluminum foil  in everyday life  …

How does aluminum get into the body?

Aluminum is even contained in drinking water and also in some natural foods, so that a certain intake of the metal is inevitable. However, aluminum exposures that could be avoided, for example through packaging, medication or cosmetics, are being discussed.

Aluminum foil, for example, releases aluminum to the food wrapped in it as soon as the aluminum foil comes into contact with acid. The slice of lemon on the fish grooved in aluminum foil or the sour cucumber on the sausage bread wrapped in aluminum are enough to let aluminum get out of the foil into the food.

Conventional deodorants also contain aluminum, which enters the body through the skin. Medicines, such as those for heartburn, also contain aluminum . So if we’re not careful, we’re constantly exposed to aluminum.

How harmful is aluminum?

First of all, aluminum is not harmful to humans as long as everything is excreted again and not accumulated in the body, i.e. accumulated. However, too much aluminum is toxic and there are studies suggesting that many people regularly exceed the maximum recommended daily allowance.

Aluminum that is not excreted accumulates in the body, is stored there and only a small percentage is excreted. So-called “detoxification cures” do not help either, as the aluminum is stored in the structures. The metal accumulates in:

• bone
• lung
• brain

Aluminum in itself is a neurotoxin, but it “can” do even more: It is discussed whether aluminum deposits in the brain contribute to Alzheimer’s or other degenerative diseases of the brain. It is also discussed whether too much of the light metal could also cause cancer. Until this is fully researched, you should avoid using aluminum foil as much as possible.

Aluminum and the environment

The extraction of aluminum is an energy-intensive process in which a waste product (“red mud”) is created which is full of chemicals and cannot be used any further. The ratio is 1: 4, so for 1 kg of aluminum there is 4 kg of chemical sludge, which pollutes the environment and destroys ecosystems.

The production of pure aluminum is very energy-intensive and uses huge amounts of fossil fuels. In order to obtain aluminum foil, rainforest is first cut down to break down the rock, then ecosystems are destroyed by the chemical sludge and oil, gas and coal continue to be burned in order to finally bring a roll of aluminum foil into your kitchen – ultimately not that of your body either doing well.

How do without aluminum foil?

You should avoid using aluminum foil in everyday life. Avoid disposable packaging with aluminum, use neither aluminum foil nor aluminum grill trays, buy yogurt in screw-top jars, avoid tetra packs, do not buy aluminum tubes of cream and keep your eyes open where aluminum is hidden in your everyday life.

Also make sure that you do not smuggle aluminum into your body with drugs or cosmetics. In the meantime, many large manufacturers have recognized the problem and offer deodorants that work well without aluminum.

Talk to your doctor about whether your medication contains aluminum (some dialysis fluids, some heartburn pills, for example) and ask about alternatives. Just because research isn’t 100% certain that the metal is actually harmless doesn’t mean you should take it down …

The first step, however, is to get rid of aluminum foil and replace it with alternatives. There are, for example, stainless steel grill pans that are completely harmless and last for years. And instead of wrapping your sausage bread in aluminum foil, the good old lunch box does it too, doesn’t it?