Yasmine Abu Adla*
Coating food with edible gold leaves has become a viral food trend on social media. “Serendipity 3” was one of the pioneer restaurants that began serving edible gold food [1]; they came out with $25,000 chocolate sundae that contains 5 grams of 23-karat gold served in a gold goblet. The “Manila Social Club” restaurant in Brooklyn, New York has started serving gold-covered doughnuts and charge up to $1,200 for the dozen. Meanwhile, in Malta, $2,400 gold topped pizza is being served in “Margo’s Pizzeria” [2].
Many researchers have claimed that since the gold used is at least 90 percent pure, then no health risks will be associated with its consumption. However, according to a recent trial conducted in India [3] the opposite is quite true. During the trial, participants had to ingest 0.16 grams of gold foil hereafter, blood samples were taken at the beginning and at the end of the trial for comparison sake.
The blood samples were clinically analyzed to check the levels of sugar, urea, creatinine, uric acid, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, bilirubin, total proteins, albumin and the enzymes—GOT, GPT, ALP, LDH, GGT, CPK, and CPK-MB.
The test results revealed that gold had no toxic effect on the kidneys since the levels of blood urea, creatinine, and uric acid came back normal. Additionally, all the blood values before and after gold ingestion were well within the normal range.
However, the activity of all blood enzymes has decreased upon participating in the trial. In fact, a substantial decrease, which reached up to 25%, was seen in the enzymatic activity of serum enzymes, such as Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH). To illustrate, the CPK enzyme is a protein that helps to elicit chemical changes in the human body and can be found in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscles [4]. CPK catalyzes the reaction of creatine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to phosphocreatine and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The phosphocreatine created from this reaction is used to supply the brain, skeletal muscles, and the heart with substantial amounts of ATP (energy) [5]. Similarly, LDH is an enzyme involved in energy production in almost all the body’s cells. It is found with the highest levels in the cells of the heart, liver, muscles, kidneys, lungs, and in blood cells [6]. Therefore, ingestion of gold inhibits the activity of these enzymes, which are vital for providing human cells with enough energy.
So what is Islam’s point of view regarding such a topic? In a similar perspective, Umm Salamah reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever drinks from a vessel of gold or silver has only filled his stomach with the fire of Hell.”. Al-Bukhaari (5633) and Muslim (2067) from Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not drink from vessels of gold and silver, for they are for them in this world and for you in the Hereafter.” Therefore, prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) went even further than ingesting gold to forbidding Muslims from eating and drinking in gold plates and cups.
* Yasmine Abu Adla is a Friend of IIJAZ FORUM
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/what-its-like-to-eat-serendipity-3s-1000-golden-opulence-sundae.html
[2] https://www.americanbullion.com/the-weird-trend-of-eating-gold/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3689329/
[4] https://www.hopkinslupus.org/lupus-tests/clinical-tests/creatine-phosphokinase-cpk/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546624/
[6] https://labtestsonline.org/tests/lactate-dehydrogenase-ld