We live in a world where there is increasing toxins from the
environment that is affecting our lives, creating havoc in our ability to
produce energy, causing degenerative diseases, affecting hormonal balance and
reducing fertility.
One of the major contributors of toxins come from our
cookware! Yes our kitchen can increase
toxic burden for us! Heat in cooking can
increase the leaching of toxic chemicals from the cookware into the food. And cumulative consumption of the cookware
toxins in food create more burden for our detoxification pathways. There are lots of noise in the internet
regarding what is a safe cookware. The
purpose of this article is to investigate and see which scientific evidence
stack up.
Aluminium cookware
and aluminium foil
Increased exposure to aluminium has been associated with
increased risk of diseases like Alzheimers, microcytic anemia and allergy. In a 2017 study, using Aluminium foiled pans
in barbeque increases aluminium load in children especially if the meats are
marinated in acidic juices. One study
found that pretreating the cookware in boiling water decreases the leaching of
aluminium into the food.
Small doses of intake accumulated over a long period of time
can pose a problem particularly for children.
PFOA
This is a key coating ingredient used in non-stick cookware
like Teflon. The exposure of this chemical is so rampant,
it is even found in breastmilk!
Studies in lab animals have found
exposure to PFOA increases the risk of certain tumors of the liver, testicles,
mammary glands (breasts), and pancreas in these animals. In general,
well-conducted studies in animals do a good job of predicting which exposures
cause cancer in people. Studies have looked at people with exposure
to PFOA by living near working in these PFOA plants. These studies have found higher incidences of
testicular, kidney and thyroid cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer
(IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). One of
its goals is to identify causes of cancer. IARC has classified PFOA as
“possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B).
PFTE
This is another chemical of concern
in Teflon cookware. Increase in temperature
increases the release of these chemicals into the food.
Copper and cast iron
Copper cookware may be beneficial
or not depending on what your balance of copper and zinc looks like. It can potentially be toxic if you have a
high copper load.
Cast iron can leach iron into your
food, which may be helpful if you are anemic but not useful of you have a
genetic condition of hemochromatosis or excess iron load.
Stainless steel
This is a good option but because
stainless steel is made from nickel, there is a risk of the leaching of nickel
into the food, especially if it is acidic.
Hence, choose high quality stainless steel and if you are cooking something
with an acidic base like adding lemon or tamarind juice, remove it from the
cookware once it is cooked. However, stainless
steel is my preferred cookware.
Glass
Glass seems to be a safer option
especially for long periods of cooking of casserole in the oven. The same principle applies, choose high
quality glass cookware so that there is little leaching of coating into the
food.
Conclusion
Avoid using aluminium foil, Teflon
or aluminium pots and pans in cooking
Do not use abrasive cleaners that
can remove coatings from your metal cookware
Buy high quality stainless steel or
glass cookware
If you cook anything acidic in
metal cookware, remove soon as cooking is done into a glass container and avoid
storing it, i.e. cook only as much as you would like to consume.
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