Clay composition and potential health risks.

[bryan_drinks_tea]

Okay - I know this topic might be fuzzy, but here goes.

Clay is primarilty composed to aluminosilicates, yes? Aluminum, from what i understand, isn't necessarily toxic in low doses. However, if we're drinking our tea from unglazed clay teapots, then what are we really doing to ourselves in the long run? Does the Silicon and Oxygen negate the potential long term effects of Aluminium?

It's a long question, yes, and I understand the answers may not be clear. I'm just curious. I'll most likely continue to drink from unglazed teaware regardless. Thanks for reading, dudes and dude-ettes.

[entropyembrace]

That aluminium has to actually dissolve into your tea in order to get into your body...and it´s locked into glassy phase ceramic material...so it´s not very likely to get into your tea and then your body to do any harm.

If you ground your teapot into dust and then ate or inhaled it it might be a problem (actually inhaling aluminosilicate dust is a health hazard for potters) but as far as drinking from fired vessels is concerned I don´t think there is any risk.

[JBaymore]

You'd be hard pressed to find any significant disolved aluminum coming from the clay body in the typical Ph of tea. Many glazes potentitaly pose far worse possible risks than most any unglazed clay bodies would.

There are other substances that would be of more potential concern than aluminum.....most often leaching from poorly composed or fired glazes.

And I believe that the aluminum / dementia connection has been pretty well scientifically disproven, hasn't it?

best,

................john

[wyardley]

And I believe that the aluminum / dementia connection has been pretty well scientifically disproven, hasn't it?

Yes.

Also if you eat basically anywhere outside your own home, you're probably eating food cooked in aluminum cookware.

[Alex]

If you ground your teapot into dust and then ate or inhaled it it might be a problem

WHAT!?!?!! Now you tell me?!?!?!?

[teaisme]

Also if you eat basically anywhere outside your own home, you're probably eating food cooked in aluminum cookware.

You sure? Someone told me it was a health regulation to use stainless. That was why people were looking into the leeching of nickel and chromium from stainless steel a while back, because they were concerned with long term effect of cooking with stainless steel cookware. And to reaffirm what Jbaymore said, same source said cast iron (unglazed) was a good healthier alternative (of course you now have iron, but that is less a worry to me then nickel or chromium).