Anemic? Get your iron from a cooking pot!

[Snowflake]

Health Benefits of Cooking in Cast Iron​

Cast iron cookware has many benefits over aluminum cookware. It is virtually indestructable, retains heat well and spreads it evenly over the cooking surface, and cooks well at a wide range of temperatures. Cast iron cookware can also add necessary iron to your diet!


When food is cooked in cast iron, trace amounts of iron leach out of the cookware and into the food. Foods with high moisture content and acidity, such as applesauce, chili, and spaghetti sauce, which are stirred frequently and cooked for a long time, will absorb significantly more amounts of iron than foods that are fried quickly, like hamburgers.

It is estimated that 60% to 70% of Americans do not get enough iron in their diets. Iron is a vital mineral, and an essential factor in the body's ability to efficiently circulate oxygen through the blood stream. Iron is needed for the production of neurotransmitters, the chemicals which allow information to be passed between nerve cells.

Low levels of iron in the blood can result in insufficient amounts of oxygen being circulated, leading to tiredness and headaches. An extreme deficiency can lead to anemia, with nausea, vomiting, weakness, suppression of the immune system, and difficulty in maintaining body temperature. Inadequate iron levels can be caused by low dietary intake, excessive blood loss, or the body's inability to absorb iron due to an underlying disease.


Women who are pregnant or of childbearing age, or who have heavy menstrual periods, have the greatest need for iron. Pre-term or low birth weight infants, older toddlers, teenage girls, and patients with gastrointestinal disorders or kidney failure are also at high risk for iron deficiency. Athletes lose iron through perspiration.



It is possible to get adequate iron through a healthy diet, but how many Americans actually have a healthy diet? Iron absorption is negatively affected by the consumption of foods that are high in calories and low in nutrition: sugary sodas and desserts, potato chips, and other snack foods which have become diet staples for many Americans, especially children. Using cast iron cookware can inexpensively add more of this vital element to our diet.


Iron is stored in the body, and reserves are used as the amount of iron in the diet diminishes. It is possible to consume too much iron, but the trace amounts in food cooked in cast iron are not high enough to cause an iron overload in most people. Patients with an iron overload disease, such as hemochromatosis, should get their doctor's advice before using cast iron cookware.




http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/468261/health_benefits_of_cooking_in_cast.html?cat=5







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[marwen]

.. Cast iron cookware can also add necessary iron to your diet!

When food is cooked in cast iron, trace amounts of iron leach out of the cookware and into the food. Foods with high moisture content and acidity, such as applesauce, chili, and spaghetti sauce, which are stirred frequently and cooked for a long time, will absorb significantly more amounts of iron than foods that are fried quickly, like hamburgers.

That's really interesting !
But is that 100% safe, I mean is there no risk of intoxication or iron overflow in the body ?

 

[Muslimeen]

Interesting, but who cares about the pot, just bring on the food, and it better be good.

One hour to lunch time.:alright:

 

[Snowflake]

That's really interesting !
But is that 100% safe, I mean is there no risk of intoxication or iron overflow in the body ?

Yes, it's totally safe, except for people with an iron overload disease, such as hemochromatosis.

 

[Snowflake]

Which Type of Cookware is Safest for Cooking?​

Dear EarthTalk: With the recent hubbub over the chemicals used to make Teflon linked to health problems, what is the safest cookware to use in preparing meals for my family? – Wyatt Walley, Needham, MA


When the health risks associated with making Teflon first came to light last year, many cooks trashed their non-stick cookware and went back to using their old stainless steel pots and pans. But what many people didn’t realize was that even stainless steel is not immune to controversy regarding health impacts.

Stainless Steel Cookware Combines Different Metals
In fact, stainless steel is really a mixture of several different metals, including nickel, chromium and molybdenum, all of which can trickle into foods. However, unless your stainless steel cookware is dinged and pitted, the amount of metals likely to get into your food is negligible.

Anodized Aluminum Cookware May Be a Safer Alternative
These days, many health conscious cooks are turning to anodized aluminum cookware as a safer alternative. The electro-chemical anodizing process locks in the cookware’s base metal, aluminum, so that it can’t get into food, and makes for what many cooks consider an ideal non-stick and scratch-resistant cooking surface. Calphalon is the leading manufacturer of anodized aluminum cookware, but newer offerings from All Clad (endorsed by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse) and others are coming on strong.

Cast Iron Cookware May Actually Improve Health
Another good choice is that old standby, cast iron, which is known for its durability and even heat distribution. Cast iron cookware can also help ensure that eaters in your house get enough iron—which the body needs to produce red blood cells—as it seeps off the cookware into food in small amounts.

Unlike the metals that can come off of some other types of pots and pans, iron is considered a healthy food additive by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Consumers should beware, though, that most cast iron cookware needs to be seasoned after each use and as such is not as worry-free as other alternatives. Lodge Manufacturing is the leading American producer of cast iron cookware.

Ceramic Cookware Provides Some Benefits of Cast Iron Without the Bother
For those who like the feel and heat distribution properties of cast iron but dread the seasoning process, ceramic enameled cookware from Le Creuset, World Cuisine and others is a good choice. The smooth and colorful enamel is dishwasher-friendly and somewhat non-stick, and covers the entire surface of such cookware to minimize clean-up headaches.

Copper Cookware is Excellent for Certain Uses
One other surface favored by chefs for sauces and sautés is copper, which excels at quick warm-ups and even heat distribution. Since copper can leak into food in large amounts when heated, the cooking surfaces are usually lined with tin or stainless steel.

Teflon Cookware is Safe Experts Say
But if you’re concerned about the build-up of solid waste in our landfills, don’t trash your non-stick cookware just yet. According to DuPont, the finished product of Teflon does not contain any of the production-process chemicals linked to health problems in factory workers. :hmm: And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that ingesting small particles of Teflon flaked off into food is not known to cause any health maladies. With proper use and care, such pots and pan—which constitute more than half of all cookware sales in the U.S.—should be safe to use for years to come.



http://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/safecookware.htm




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[~Raindrop~]

I personally think food tastes better when it's been cooked in cast iron pots, but then that's just a matter of taste. I had no idea it was so beneficial. But.....they are really quite heavy for everyday use. (ours are almost antiques lol)

 

[Snowflake]

I personally think food tastes better when it's been cooked in cast iron pots, but then that's just a matter of taste. I had no idea it was so beneficial. But.....they are really quite heavy for everyday use. (ours are almost antiques lol)

MashaAllah ukht that's good. Considering the benefits of using ironware, I'm now curious to know, if you are, or have ever been anemic?

Also..

If anyone uses aluminium pans, have you noticed how the aluminium leeches out from the bottom of the pan when it is placed on a wet surfaces, and you get this horrible grey residue left on your worktop? Imagine what's happening to your food when your cooking in it. :skeleton: