# eating gold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 31, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023 "2002-03-31T04:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![puubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/779978/32.png) [@puubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puubs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/1 "2002-03-31T04:53:54Z")
I was wondering what happens when you eat finely ground gold, which is sometimes put on desserts, a la Wolfgang Puck style. I’m guessing it’s just going to pass through, but even if absorbed, I don’t think it’ll be that harmful since it’s small quantities. Anyone ever have this? I’m guessing it’s more for decoration than for taste. I wouldn’t think they’d be sprinkling piles of this stuff on every cake or pastry they see. Sometimes I also see Centrum vitamins with gold or silver – not sure if that’s totally promotional or not, supposedly for older people. Also I’ve seen gold flakes in apple juice, which I’m not really sure is gold, but is claimed as such. Even heard of gold flakes in Japanese sake as well. Any input on this? ---
**Author:** ![puubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/779978/32.png) [@puubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puubs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/2 "2002-03-31T04:58:48Z")
Before anyone jumps on me, let me add that I’m not so sure that Centrum actually makes a “gold version”, but I have seen silver. My mom actually gets it for my grandmother when she visits. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/3 "2002-03-31T05:07:30Z")
Thus spake Staff Member Ken. [Is eating gold and silver food garnishes bad for you?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgoldfood.html) > [@](#): > > The gold you use is harmless. According to my sources, gold does not react with anything. It’s unaffected by moisture, oxygen, or ordinary acids but is attacked by the halogens. Aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids that liberates chlorine) is so named for its ability to dissolve gold, the “king” of metals. If your stomach has aqua regia floating around in it, eating gold would be the least of your worries–the hole in your stomach lining would be a higher priority, I’m guessing. Gold has no nutritive value, fats or carbs, so the body does with it what it does with all other non-foods–passes it out as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![puubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/779978/32.png) [@puubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puubs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/4 "2002-03-31T05:19:45Z")
I knew that sounded familiar… Thanks 🙂 . Finely ground gold should be no problem, as finely ground glass is no problem (Cecil wrote on this?) I was wondering more though if anyone knew the history of people adding pure gold to food. Aside from apple juice and sake, I’ve heard pure gold was sometimes used for medicine and even as a traditional method of poison in Chinese culture. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/5 "2002-03-31T05:35:07Z")
Goldschlager, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/6 "2002-03-31T05:47:55Z")
Gold- and silver-leaf is popular for use in [Indian desserts](http://www.epicurious.com/run/fooddictionary/browse?entry_id=10707). These, I believe, would qualify as eating pure gold or silver, though the quantities are minuscule. I’ve also eaten silver-covered almonds – no idea on how thick the coating is, though. I understand that silver is a natural antibacterial, so it might even be good for you, albeit on the expensive side (IANAD, so that’s just pure speculation). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/7 "2002-03-31T07:08:56Z")
The “gold” in Golshlager is actually cinnamon though, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/8 "2002-03-31T12:04:02Z")
Nope, that’s real gold, at least it’s always appeared to be real gold when I’ve had Goldschlager. Their description of it is Cinnammon Schnapps with 24K gold leaf flakes. Gold leaf can be very cheap since gold is able to be formed into extremely thin sheets without completely falling apart. I wouldn’t think there’s more than a couple of cents worth of gold in the whole bottle. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/9 "2002-03-31T12:43:33Z")
I believe the “silver” in the brand name “Centrum Silver” is supposed to indicate that it’s meant for seniors. Better to make a poetic allusion (well, as poetic as marketing ever gets) to silver hair than be overly blunt and call it “Centrum for Old People”. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/10 "2002-03-31T16:25:06Z")
Does anyone have gold fillings? If gold was dangerous, I don’t think they would make them, would they? ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/11 "2002-03-31T18:38:17Z")
Gold is about the least poisonous metal there is. Maybe Platinum too. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/12 "2002-03-31T20:04:55Z")
Gold is the drug of choice in treating rheumatoid arthritis, although it’s usually injected intramuscularly. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/13 "2002-03-31T20:14:59Z")
When I was a kid, my mother used to decorate cakes with little pearl-sized sugar balls that were covered in real gold and silver (electrolysis?). I also got particularly drunk on some fine gold-leaf sake when in Japan. And eaten some teeth-hurtingly sweet desserts in India that were wrapped in gold and silver leaf. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/14 "2002-03-31T21:22:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*Does anyone have gold fillings? If gold was dangerous, I don’t think they would make them, would they? \*\* You’ve gotta be joking!!! Put _ **gold** _ in my _ **teeth** _? Are you crazy? They can have my good ol’ safe, tried-and-tested mercury amalgam fillings when they pry them out of my cold, dead jaw. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/15 "2002-04-01T08:30:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > Does anyone have gold fillings? If gold was dangerous, I don’t think they would make them, would they? Not fillings but caps or bridge (just the teeth). I have seen them, some older Chinese have these things in their mouths. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-gold/101023/16 "2002-04-01T08:41:38Z")
I’ve had gold-wrapped dates (date wrapped in gold leaf - crumbles as soon as you touch it) and it doesn’t taste of anything. Sort of cool though, getting a flake of gold stuck in your teeth rather than spinach…😉 There’s a (probably spurious) health product called “colloidal silver.” I got conned into buying some when I when on an echinacea-and-supplement-spree last time I had a cold. You know, when you’re feeling so terrible you’ll try anything they recommend. Anyway I tried the silver a couple of times, felt a bit suspcious, tried the internet, and found… …[**this**](http://homepages.together.net/~rjstan/) No more silver for me!