How healthy is your cookware?
Posted on Jan 14, 2010 under Best Brand Cookware |We often spend lots of time thinking about the health benefits of what we are going to cook, but how often do you think about what you are cooking with?
Non-stick pans are so handy to cook with, especially if you cook like me. No matter how badly you burn it to the pan, it just slides right off. But what is Teflon anyway? And is it really safe to cook with?
Well, non-stick frypans have been shown to release toxins. In fact, Teflon is known to give off a cocktail of 15 types of toxic particles and gases. These chemicals include two carcinogens and a chemical which is deadly to humans at low doses and can be released even under common cooking conditions.
There is a condition known as “teflon flu” that includes headaches, chills, backache and fever.
Add to this the fact that Teflon is produced using a chemical called PFOA, which has been linked with cancer, liver damage, growth defects, immune system damage and even death in lab animals, and has been ordered to be removed by 2015 by the EPA, and the picture is not looking rosy.
What about aluminium? Aluminium cookware is known to leach metal into your food and, given what we now know about the links between aluminium and Alzheimer’s disease, this one may be best to avoid too.
Stainless-steel is quite stable, but you need to remember that stainless-steel cookware contains alloys of nickel, chromium, molybdenum, carbon and various other metals. These metals can leech into your food, especially as your cookware gets older.
So what options are left? Well, as it turns out, the best options are the most tried and true. Old-fashioned glass and ceramic cookware are made of inert materials that have stood the test of time and also withstand the latest research.
So perhaps it is time to pull out mum’s old ceramic pots for tonight’s dinner!
