The pots and pans we use to cook our healthy food can be part of what’s keeping us unhealthy. Many types of cookware can in fact compromise our health and potentially undermine our efforts at getting healthy!
A great way to maximize your efforts to eat a clean and healthy diet, is to make sure your cooking vessels and utensils are also clean and devoid of harmful ingredients/materials.
Cookware to Avoid
Although new products pop up all the time, my recommendations of cookware options to avoid are fairly unchanging – we stick with what we know to be safe.
Non-stick (aka “Teflon”)
Teflon is simply a brand name for a non-stick coating manufactured by one company; it’s not an ingredient or a chemical. It’s like Kleenex is to tissues, and BandAid is to bandages. Non-stick cookware is made with a class of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, also known as perfluorinated chemicals or PFC’s. The most famous chemicals in this class are PFOA and PFOS. While PFOA & PFOS were phase out of use in 2015, similar chemicals in the same family, with similar health effects have replaced them.
These chemicals are released as undetectable gasses when pans are heated to moderately high temperatures. These gasses are fatal to birds, and can cause short term, flu-like symptoms in humans. They are also linked to more serious health issues like hyperactivity, asthma in children, reproductive toxicity, infertility, and hormone disruption – specifically of the thyroid.
For more information about these chemicals, watch the Netflix documentary The Devil We Know
*Please be wary of savvy and vague marketing*
As concerns around the perfluorinated compounds used to make non-stick cookware have mounted, many cookware manufacturers have changed their marketing to include claims of “PFOA-free” or “PTFE-free” (PTFE is a precursor chemical). Many of these products are marketed as “safe”, “eco”, and “green”.
Most newer non-stick pans are made with other, newer generation PFAS chemicals, that are just as bad.
“Ceramic” non-stick pans may not be much better than conventional non-stick, but to date the research into the safety of these pans in unclear. I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Any pan with a coating, be it non-stick or ceramic are not likely to last more than 3-5 years, which makes them a poor investment, as you’ll be buying new cookware again in no time.
Aluminum
Although aluminum is a great conductor of heat and an affordable metal, it also poses a threat to our health. Research links aluminum to a variety of conditions like anemia and Alzheimer’s disease. Cooking with spices, cooking acidic foods, and cooking fatty foods can all increase the migration of aluminum into the foods we eat.
*some pans contain an aluminum core, but so long as the food never touches these surfaces, they are okay to use*
Clay
Some type of clay pottery may be fine to heat, cook, and serve food in, however many times these clay vessels contain glazes or paints made with heavy metals like lead. Please be very wary of cooking or serving foods in any glazed or unglazed clay pots.
Plastic
While you’re likely not going to be cooking food in plastic, many people still heat food in the microwave in plastic containers. Please do not ever do this. Heating plastics increases the rate at which toxic, hormone disrupting chemicals migrate out into your foods.
Best Cookware Options
If you’re looking to replace or upgrade your cookware, here’s the best of what’s currently on the market:
Enameled cast iron
Enameled cast iron provides the heat retention properties of cast iron, with a totally inert interior cooking surface. Enamel, sometimes called porcelain enamel, is simply powdered glass that has been fused to a surface, in this case, cast iron.
This type of cookware is durable, and while not “non-stick”, can definitely be less-stick, provided that you’re cooking properly (ie, don’t add foods to a cold pan). The exterior of some brightly colored enameled cast iron, like Le Creuset’s popular red and orange colors may contain trace amounts of lead.
Enameled Steel
Enameled steel has all the benefits of enameled cast iron without the weight issues. Enameled steel cookware has been around for over 150 years; Graniteware has been making enamel coated steel cookware since 1871! This readily available and inexpensive line is a great light-weight option for those looking for an inert cooking surface. The one downside is that the enamel on this type of cookware can chip easily, and may not be ideal on a glass cooktop. Canyon Crow also has a great selection of enameled coated steel cookware, bakeware, and serving dishes.
Cast iron
Cast iron has been used to cook foods for centuries and if cared for, will last multiple generations, if not forever. Properly seasoned cast iron has a naturally non-stick surface that gets better with regular use. For detailed information about seasoning, and how to create the perfect season on cast iron, read this article.
Carbon steel
You typically find carbon steel in wok and frying pans. It’s similar to cast iron in that it can leach a small amount of iron into your food. This is a benefit for vegetarians and vegans or those who are anemic.
The issue of leaching iron will be negligible for some and much more important if you have already high levels in your blood.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is one of the most durable cookware options that is readily accessible. Stainless steel can last a lifetime, and is suitable for any kind of cooking, and is by most accounts and very safe cooking surface.
Stainless steel is an alloy; a mixture of metals and cookware often contains a small percentage of both nickel and chromium, both of which have the potential to leach in very small amounts. For most people this is not a concern. There are various grade of stainless steel: 18/10, 18/8, which refers to the amount of chromium and nickel (respectively) in the product.
Those with serious heavy metal issues may not want to use stainless steel due to the minor amount of leaching, but for the average person, stainless steel is a totally safe surface to cook on.
Glass
Glass is one of the most inert and safe cooking materials. Tempered glass will not crack as long as you’re not cooking at extraordinarily high temperatures. While glass pots and pans are harder to come by these days, it’s still easy to find bakeware like brownie pans, loaf pans, casserole dishes, and pie pans made out of glass.
The downside to glass of course is that it can break, but it’s generally not very expensive. Glass is also a preferred material for food storage!
