The nutrient density of your food can be easily damaged by overheating them. You can buy the best organic food and inadvertently turn it into poison by cooking it the wrong way.

Let’s go over 6 types of cookware to find out if you are using the right ones.

Aluminum:

During cooking, aluminum dissolves most easily from worn or pitted pots and pans especially for a longer period when the food is cooked or stored in them.

Be ultra-careful with aluminum absorption and avoid leafy vegetables and acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus products. Aluminum has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. If there is one material to avoid from this list, aluminum is the one to pick.

Anodized Aluminum:

Anodization is when aluminum is placed in an acid solution and exposed to an electric current, making a layer of aluminum oxide deposit on the surface of the aluminum.

It conducts heat very well and has a hard non-stick surface that reduces leaching of aluminum from cookware into foods, in particular acidic foods.

Copper:

Large amounts of copper in a single dose can be poisonous. It is not certain how much can be safely taken each day. Because of this, copper and brass pans are normally coated with another metal to prevent any contact with food, like tin and nickel and should be used for decorative purposes only.

Stainless Steel, Iron, Cast-Iron:

Inexpensive and long-lasting, stainless steel is the most popular cookware in North America. One meal prepared with stainless steel cookware will give you about 45 micrograms of chromium, not enough to cause a problem as per Health Canada. Cast iron can serve as a good source of iron, which is good and will leach less and less over time.

Ceramic, clay, enamel and glass: Convenient for going from the oven to the fridge, glass is an inert material and doesn’t have any health issues associated with it. The major health issue there is with glassware or enamelware comes from components used in making, glazing or decorating them. Pigments, lead or cadmium is harmful to the body.

There are regulations for North American products but be aware that if you use glazed ceramic cookware from abroad, they could not meet recommended levels for lead and cadmium.

Plastic and non-stick coatings (Teflon):

The concern with using plastic containers and wrap is the material that makes it flexible, the plasticizer. Food may absorb plasticizer when fatty or oily foods are microwaved at high temperatures. Always use glass instead. Non-stick coatings are a risk when, for example, you leave an empty pan on a burner at a very high temperature. In this case, coatings can release potentially toxic fumes. Remember that eating Paleo encourages you to cook with fats, therefore, eliminating the need for Teflon.

Silicone cookware:

This one has become very popular in recent years. Very colorful, non-stick, stain-resistant and hard-wearing, silicone cools quickly. There is no known reaction between silicone and food or any hazardous fumes production from it.

In general, studies often show the amount of metal leaching into food using brand new cookware. Some other studies showed that the amounts reduce drastically with multiple usages. So, besides the aluminum option and maybe the Teflon on high heat, there is very thin evidence that everyday cooking using all of the above could be dangerous to health.

Posted by: MichaelHarper at 05:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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