Good, bad or worse?

The NIN study found that our aluminium intake depends not only on the
kind of aluminium vessels used but also
on the food we eat. For instance, green
vegetables, pulses and spices contain
aluminium that can accumulate in the
body. Aluminium intake by the average
Indian varies between I milligram (mg)
and 10 mg, says the NIN. According to
the World Health Organisation standards, the provisional tolerable weekly
intake (referred to as PTWI) of aluminium should not be more than 7mg for
adults and 2mg for children. This data,
however, is based on short-term toxicity
studies, and could well change as more
comprehensive, long-term studies
become available.

Acidic preparations with green vegetables, dal (pulse) made with tomato,
for instance, cause greater leaching of
aluminium into the food from the utensils. Leaching is significantly more in
new containers, especially when green
leafy vegetables and legume, preparations are cooked in them, say NIN
researchers. Containers, as old as 10
years, were found leaching aluminium
into food.

But not all the aluminium in our
body comes from the food we eat. It is
added to drinking water as aluminium
sulphate for purifying purposes. Then
there are packaging materials like foils,
frozen dinner trays and wrappers that
also add to the aluminium content in
our body. Further, food additives such
as buffers, neutralising agents, dough
strengtheners, leavening agents, emulsifying agents, stabilisers, thickeners and
texturisers use sodium aluminium
pbosphate/sulphate and aluminium silicate. Several over-the-counter drugs like
anti acids, analgesics and anti-diarrhocals, too, can contribute as much as
800 to 5,000 mg of aluminium per day.

Past research has also linked alumimum with the dreaded Alzheimer's
disease. Though researchers have found
traces of the metal in the brains of several Alzheimer's patients, they are not sure if aluminium is actually an active agent
behind the disease. However, as the
number of Alzheimer patients is expected to double to 3.7 million by 2020, the
role of aluminium deserves a much
closer look. What is more worrying is
that the deficiency of certain nutrients
such as iron and calcium, only enhances
the uptake and tissue accumulation of
aluminium.