Indian sweets are often lined with gold and silver, but is consuming them safe? Experts have mixed opinions. Plenty of elements are found in the human body; gold and silver are no exceptions. An average human body weighing contains about 0.2 milligrams of gold, do we still have to eat it?
We desire to possess glittery, malleable metals like gold, platinum and silver. But have we an appetite for it? This festive season, while we bedazzle with delicately laid gold leaf and silver, we might, maybe once, ask ourselves: “Why eat tasteless metal?” Iron, at least, adds some flavour, and so does copper, but gold and silver? They are both tasteless. While they may not be essential, they are helpful to the body in many ways. CE speaks to organic chemists and chefs about the importance of metals like gold and silver.
Plenty of elements can be found in the human body; gold and silver are no exceptions. An average human body weighing 70 kilograms contains about 0.2 milligrams of gold. “We may not eat it, but our body has most elements from the periodic table; it makes it from the food we eat. For example, iron is essential for binding oxygen to the blood, the lack of which, causes anaemia. Gold and silver are not crucial to body functioning but can be essential,” says Dr Krishna Murthy, a biochemistry researcher at the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB).
It has been found that the element plays a vital health function, helping maintain our joints and facilitating the transmittal of electrical signals throughout the body.“Both these metals come in various forms and are used in pharma industries for their medicinal value; very, very minor quantities of gold and allied metals are used in treating bone-related diseases because fractions of this metal cause genes to activate,” he says. The researcher goes on to add that sweets’ gold and silver foils are not harmful unless we eaten in moderation.
Shyamal Raju, the executive chef at Arriba, says both metals are tasteless but are added to decorate the food. “People may say they can taste silver because it tastes different when we have a Kaju Katli with it. But no, the metal surface captures cold, and our tongue feels it. It’s not the taste,” the chef says. “Copper and iron are also tasteless, but the rust makes it taste slightly sour. What’s scary is that many sweet shops these days have been using aluminium foils, which can adversely affect one’s health. So, one must be cautious where they buy sweets from.”