Using nontoxic cookware in your kitchen

Using nontoxic cookware in your kitchen

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When you cook, do you ever think of pots and pans you are using to cook in? Have you ever thought about the safety of them? If you have not, it is ok not many people think of that. 

When we use safe pots and pans it will benefit us, our family and friends. There are many choices out there, so which one to choose?  There are many which leach heavy metals and chemicals into food when cooked in them, the exposures might contribute to health issues. So when we talk about healthy eating, it is also important to know what we cook in. The safe pots and pans are those that leach the least amount of chemicals and heavy metals in our food. It is equally important to know how we are storing our food and how we are reheating? As we know plastic is very popular for storing food nowadays,  heating leftovers in plastic containers, what it does to our body?

LET’S LOOK INTO BEST AND WORST COOKWARE TO USE 

STAINLESS STEEL

Stainless steel cookware is durable, easy to use, clean,  recyclable and is safe. They are available in different alloys, 18/8 or 18/10 which you will find stamped on the bottom.

10/18 being the safest and mostly found. If you can get 18/0 is the best. This indicates 0 percent of the metal is nickel, which provides the shine, and 18 percent is chromium, which makes the metal non-corrosive. Sometimes you will find, stainless steel pans may have a layer of stainless over a copper or aluminum core. The core provides good heat transfer, and the stainless steel provides a safe cooking surface.

Stainless steel may leach small amounts of nickel in some circumstances, which could be of concern to those with nickel allergies. That is why if you can find 18/0 is the best grade of steel cookware.

CLAY COOKING POTS

Clay cooking pots are my favorite but hard to maintain. They come in seasoned and unfinished and must be soaked in water for 30–45 minutes before each use to avoid cracking. 

When we are cooking in the clay pot it is healthy as no oil needed, it loses little to no moisture, as water absorbed within the walls of the pot. The food is tender, flavorful dish prevents burning so long as the pot is not allowed to dry completely. No toxic leaches in food.

The issue with clay pot is that it needs to be seasoned, suddenly changed of temperature can crack it and they are fragile.

CAST IRON

Cast iron cookware is sturdy and long-lasting. One drawback is that it can be heavy to lift during cleaning and cooking. Especially if you have arthritis it’s heavy to lift, also, if you are using acidic tomato and lemons in cooking make sure it should not be cooked in new or non-seasoned cast iron until the cookware is highly seasoned. It will change its color and food will have a metallic taste.

These utensils Heat very evenly the food. Cleaning is with simple Coarse Kosher Salt then rinse it, and dry it with a towel and put vegetable oil or grapeseed oils take a paper towel or dry towel and rub it all over. Personally I give a quick wash immediately after cooking done and dry it, add oil with a towel after drying completely. Cast iron must be seasoned to form its natural non-stick properties and to prevent rust some of them come pre-seasoned and ready to use. Iron does leach into the food which is considered beneficial. Some of them are coated with enamel or ceramic, which gives it an easy-care, durable cooking surface with no leaching.

TITANIUM

Titanium is a non-toxic, biocompatible metal used for many medical purposes, such as instruments, dental implant devices, and joint replacements. Titanium is lightweight and extremely strong. Titanium cookware uses an aluminum base for even heat transfer and distribution. The non-porous, non-stick titanium outer surface does not allow any aluminum to leach through. Cleanup is easy; simply rinse and wipe dry. Food will not stick to titanium. Oil or water is not necessary to cook food in titanium pans, so food retains more flavor and nutrients.

DO NOT USE FOLLOWING COOKWARE

ALUMINUM COOKWARE 

Important Information on Toxicological Profile

Aluminum is a cheap metal, Aluminum Cookware are really bad to cook, it poisoned the food slowly carries substantial risk of toxicity. After understanding the health risk, many changes have been made aluminum pots and pans with the advent of anodized aluminum (in which a thicker aluminum oxide layer is created on the surface of the pan). Yet, they still recommend avoidance of aluminum cookware due to the potential toxicity of aluminum itself.

NON-STICK COOKWARE

This is found in every household nowadays these are with non-stick coatings. The non-stick coating industry started out with Teflon in 1946 but has since grown to include many other coatings including Silverstone, Tefal, Anolon, Circulon, Caphalon, and others. Do not use them when the top layer damaged, as the toxic chemical will leach in the food.

COPPER COOKWARE

Copper has many good qualities but when cooking directly on a copper surface due to the potential (however slight) risk of copper toxicity. Even though it is also metal on the ATSDR priority toxin list just like aluminum, copper is an essential mineral that is currently deficient in many U.S. diets. It is an essential nutrient status makes. Adults need approximately 900 micrograms of copper per day, according to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) established by the National Academy of Sciences. While you’re very unlikely to get that amount of copper migration from your cookware into your food (even under highly acidic conditions that increase leaching), they prefer to avoid all possible risks.  Using copper for drinking water is fine, but do not leave water for a longer time.

Good Sleep, Exercise and Balanced diet is key for healthy lifestyle

Good Sleep, Exercise and Balanced diet is key for healthy lifestyle

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For most of my life, I never thought about what I put in my body. I loved eating various different snacks like oreos and drinking lots of sodas like fanta and sprite. Whenever I ate anything I didn’t pay any attention to the nutritional value, but rather to the way the food tasted. This was the main reason I fell in love with Italian food; the way cheese tasted in combination with both pizza dough and pasta made my taste buds water. I didn’t care about the high fat and high carb content in these foods, but instead, I just cared about enjoying the food I was eating. Don’t get me wrong – I think that it’s perfectly fine to eat food just for the taste. However, I don’t think that having a diet where all that you eat is simply just for the taste is going to lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Before I changed my diet, I was really out of shape. I play tennis, which is a sport that requires a great deal of stamina and power in order to be successful. 

When my diet consisted of mostly carbs, I wasn’t getting the protein necessary for me to build muscle and gain power nor was I able to play at a high level for hours at a time. The lack of stamina I had came as a surprise to me initially due to the fact that I always got a healthy amount of sleep and that I did a great deal of cardio work every day. However, I realized that in order to be healthy and get fit, you need to; get good sleep, have a good routine in terms of exercise, AND have a balanced diet. Although the sleep and exercise portion of this isn’t something that is easy to attain for many people, for the longest time I was unable to change my diet. When I realized this, I immediately set a goal for myself to have a healthy diet. I figured out what I needed to eat, how much I needed to eat, and how often I needed to eat. After only a short period of time, I was able to successfully change my diet but also fully comprehend the importance of health in life. I am vegetarian so it is harder for me to get protein than it would be if I ate meat. However, I’ve been able to find a various snack and meal items that have a high protein content which I have now incorporated into my diet.

Ultimately you don’t have to be playing a sport to eat healthily. Even if you don’t find yourself to be a very active person, a simple change in diet can affect the way you feel and the way you live your life.