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Hepatitis Social Community
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FRYING PAN
by Rockerforlife, Nov 29, 2008 11:12AM
Do you think its that bad to use my cast iron frying pan to fry an egg maybe on the weekends...i kinda miss the way it does such a good job...ive been using my stainless steel pan,..i dont trust the non stick types because of the chemicials in the coatings.....another think is im a veggie man and maybe i need some iron anyway....any thought would be appreciated..
r.s
r.s
Unless you have high iron counts and your doc told you to stay away from all iron, it should not be a problem. It also depends on the quality of your cast iron pan.
Well-established brands of bare cast iron cookware include Griswold (no longer in business), Wagner, Lodge, and John Wright. Emeril Lagasse also has a line of pre-seasoned cast iron made by All-Clad. There are many other producers of traditional cast iron outside the USA in France, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and the UK, manufacturing both enameled and unenameled cookware. In Asia, particularly India, Korea, Japan, and China, there is a long history of cooking with cast iron.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_iron_cookware#Health_effects
I don't eat any type of processed food. I think the stuff people eat out of boxes, cans and freezers pose a much greater health risk than the cookware they prepare them in.
http://www.thedietchannel.com/Is-Aluminum-Cookware-Dangerous.htm
Here's a quick basic google search.
"Tree Hugger" that piece links to a Clemson article:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_16.php
Here's Environment Health and Safety:
http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/alzheimers.htm
Food Safety Site Online:
http://www.foodsafetysite.com/consumers/faq/index.html?m_knowledgebase_article=43
Aw heck, here's one more:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Aluminum-Cookware---Is-It-Really-Dangerous?&id=544776
There a ton more - terms: "aluminum cookware safety"
Now, with all of that said, I probably wouldn't be caught dead using the kind of aluminum cookware that most users would purchase in department stores (it's cheap garbage). I have the really expensive anodized type from specialty stores and restaurant supply. I also don't like cooking in stainless steel and won't use anything with teflon.
But....IF you are trying to reduce iron uptake from cookware you might also consider pyrex. I've owned one for a few years and are kind of possessive with it. I don't prefer to let the kids use it since if you run water onto a hot skillet you might cause it to shatter.
Obviously, with pyrex you will have zero iron pickup. I actually don't think that you are being too cautious since something that one may do for days or weeks or years can have a cumulative effect. It all adds up and generally speaking anything over a certain amount is bad for you and can be tough (or expensive) to get rid of.
Yes; I don't use iron and really prefer to not use cast iron since there is an iron pick up issue. Also keep in mind that VERY HIGH HEAT will also tend to transfer iron more readily. Acidic cooking can also contribute to this so a very bad combination might be cooking tomato sauce in a cast iron pan.... and perhaps even worse....then storing the sauce in the pan say...in the fridge.
Stainless steel compared to iron has a much lower iron content and since it is stainless it also resists the acids found in some foods where cast iron will tend to share its iron with the food, so stainless is a much better material to use than cast iron IMHO. (if one has an iron issue)
I stay away from aluminum cookware but the same basics also apply unless it has some sort of coating. By not using aluminum I also sidestep the issue of teflon/ silvertone coatings. The idea of cooking my food next to a plastic kind of scares me. We aren't to "nuke" food with saran wrap on it, they just pulled a type of water bottle that leached toxins into the water. For me it seems counter-intuitive to heat plastic and cook my food against it.
In general I don't cook at high high heats; no fried foods, I tend to feel as though there is less damage to the food (be it veggies, meats, or the vitamins, enymes and nutrients within.)
Yes, I agree that the processed food are potentially as bad or worse that cooking issues since EVERYTHING seems to be processed (and don't forget also potentially iron fortified)
IF you are worried/or interested in iron overload issues you might also check into "hemochromatosis". It isn't really the same issue that we have but the diet concerns and the potential solutions will be similar. There are also diet modifications that you can do. For example;
drinking orange juice with your meal will increase your iron pick up
taking vitamin C before a meal will increase your iron pick up
drinking many teas or coffee (please cover your ears Co-writer) with a meal will decrease iron pick up.
You get the idea......
Yes....I cook with olive oil to keep things from sticking (but once again at a low heat)
(and I often will eat hard boiled eggs since they don't require cooking, and have the potential for being low fat as well, not to mention easy)
Good luck,
Willy