from Natural Life Magazine, September/October
2001
The Cooking Pot Dilemma
Some Cookware is Safer and Healthier Than Others
by Wendy
Priesnitz
 What kind of pots and pans
live in your kitchen cupboards? Ideally, your cooking utensils should be made of
an inert substance that does not peel, chip, crack, craze, vaporize, dissolve or
harbor bacteria. Plus, it should be a good conductor of heat in order to cook
food uniformly, and it should be easy to clean thoroughly. And it would be great
if it was also aesthetically attractive!
There are many types of cookware available, but no one
substance seems to fit those ideal criteria.
Take aluminum, for example. It’s a great heat conductor, lightweight,
inexpensive and easy to clean. However, some aluminum is dissolved into food
when you are cooking acidic foods like fruits and tomatoes or anything
containing vinegar. Even if there is little risk from exposure to the levels of aluminum released
into food from cooking, we are exposed to aluminum cumulatively from many other
environmental sources. In addition, salty water or food can pit aluminum cookware, making older pots
a possible source of trace amounts of substances like arsenic and fluorides.
The more expensive anodized aluminum cookware is a safer alternative. The
electro-chemical anodizing process locks in the cookware’s aluminum so that it
can’t leach into food.
An alternative is aluminum or steel coated with porcelain-enamel. As long as
the coating remains in good condition, the surface of these pots is durable,
with no metal leaching into the food. Good quality cookware will have an
extremely hard finish that is fused to the metal and won’t scratch, rust, fade
or peel. However, some lower-priced cookware, which resembles porcelain-enamel,
has an easily-damaged baked enamel finish.
Ironware may be a good choice for some cooks, although cast iron is heavy and
takes a great deal of care to prevent rusting. Cast iron cookware releases some
iron into food – one of the few instances where metal leaching into food from
cooking utensils is considered desirable. Although the iron is not easily
absorbed by the body, it interacts with foods and provides some beneficial
dietary iron. Iron saves energy, since it retains heat after the element is
turned off.
| In one study, at room
temperature, E. coli 0157 survived for 34 days on stainless steel and only four
hours on copper. |
Many health-conscious people swear by stainless steel cookware. But while
stainless steel is relatively inert compared to other metals, the metals present
in the alloy can be released into food in extremely low quantities. These metals
can include nickel, molybdenum, titanium, aluminum, and carbon steel.
Researchers differ on the health effects of these metals leaching from
stainless cookware. Most say that while these quantities are not hazardous to
the average person, they may affect those with sensitivities. A 1995 study found
that stainless steel pans contributed markedly to the levels of nickel in cooked
food. In contrast, another study, also released in 1995, found only minor
increases in nickel concentrations in acid foodstuffs when new stainless steel
pans were used.
Aside from the slim possibility of leaching metals, new research suggests
that copper may be a better choice for cookware than stainless steel. According
to a team of researchers from the University of Southampton in England, using
copper pots may lower the risk of infection from potentially deadly bacteria
such as E. coli 0157.
“Stainless steel is used throughout the world because of its perceived
hygienic properties...But a closer look reveals scratches and marks that, on a
microscopic scale, are more like valleys. It is very easy for pathogens to get
into these crevices, and rubbing a cloth or brush across the surface may not be
sufficient to get them out,” says Bill Keevil, the microbiologist who headed up
the study.
Keevil and his team found that, at room temperature, E. coli 0157 survived
for 34 days on stainless steel and only four hours on copper.
Some health experts, however, warn of high levels of cooper leaching that can
occur when acidic foods are prepared in copper utensils, which can cause
chemical toxicity and illness. Copper is both a toxic heavy metal and a mineral that is essential to good
health. Symptoms of copper toxicity include trouble concentrating, tender calf
muscles, unexplained nausea, irritability, hyperactivity, constant fatigue, and
chronic joint pain.
Scientists and nutritionists agree that most diets contain enough copper to
prevent a deficiency and not enough to cause toxicity. The capacity of healthy
human livers to excrete copper is considerable and few cases of chronic copper
poisoning have been reported.
So if you favor copper pots for their excellent heat conductivity, be sure
the cooking surfaces are lined with tin or stainless steel.
| Whatever your choice of
cookware, keep it scrubbed scrupulously clean with soap and water, do not use
harsh scouring pads or cleaners, and follow manufacturers’ care instructions. |
Pottery (ceramic) and glass cookware, as well as metal with an enamel
coating, is easily cleaned and can be heated to fairly high temperatures.
Ceramic and enamelware cookware is glazed to resist wear and corrosion. The only
real health concern about using glassware or enamelware comes from minor
components used in making, glazing, or decorating them, such as pigments, lead,
or cadmium. If you purchase conventional cookware from a reputable cookware
store, it should be safe, since these substances are highly regulated by
governments. Any product containing more than trace amounts must be labeled as
decorative and not suitable for use with food. However, if you bring in glazed
ceramic cookware from abroad, it may not meet our permitted levels for lead and
cadmium, so caution is advised.
Once ceramic, glass or enamel cookware get chips, cracks, or crazing on the
surface, it should no longer be used for cooking or serving food.
Whatever your choice of cookware, keep it scrubbed scrupulously clean with
soap and water, do not use harsh scouring pads or cleaners, and follow
manufacturers’ care instructions. New pots are definitely better than old ones,
with the possible exception of cast iron.
And finally, if in doubt about whether or not to use it for cooking, plant
flowers in that lovely looking pot that you can’t bear to part with!
Update: September, 2010 - Non-Stick Cookware
This article didn't deal with non-stick cookware because it focused on
healthy and environmentally sound types of pots. Even though non-stick cookware
is preferred by many people who wish to decrease levels of fat in their diets, we
couldn't recommend it, mostly due to health and environmental concerns about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA),
a chemical used to bond the nonstick coating to the pan. PFOA has
been shown to cause cancer, low birth weight, and a suppressed immune system in
laboratory animals exposed to high doses. Studies have shown the
chemical to be present at low levels in the bloodstream of nine out of ten
Americans, and in the blood of most newborns.
However, since this article was published in 2001, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) asked eight American companies, including DuPont, maker
of Teflon-brand nonstick cookware, to work towards the elimination of PFOA,
which they labeled a likely carcinogen, by 2015.
And now, a new study published in the
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has found that
it may raise cholesterol levels in children.
The research found that children with the highest blood levels of these
compounds had higher levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein
– the so-called "bad" cholesterol – compared to children with low readings.
Even if PFOA is phased out, there are concerns about toxic fumes being released
from non-stick cookware if the pots are over-heated. According to DuPont,
cookware with Teflon coating has a recommended
maximum use temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit and that significant
decomposition of the coating will occur only when temperatures exceed 660
degrees Fahrenheit. In 2003, the
Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported that nonstick coatings "could
reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as three to five minutes, releasing
fifteen toxic
gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens." The EWG says that toxic fumes from
non-stick cookware is known to kill pet birds at much lower temperatures.
Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of
Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with 30 years of experience.
She has also authored nine
books.
Read her
blog.
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