Despite following a healthy lifestyle, people get sick and face health problems of many kinds, and the list is too long to mention here! This is a serious problem facing people around the world and we need to examine what we are doing wrong.

In addition to contaminants in the environment, there is one main cause of toxins entering our bodies that often goes unnoticed: toxins that leach out of cookware. All metals are reactive in nature and release metal ions that react with the nutrients in the food at cooking temperature. They contaminate food and when you eat them regularly, the toxins continue to build up in your body and cause damaging changes in the body’s cells, tissues and organs, causing health problems.

It is important to understand what elements leach from different types of cookware and how they affect our bodies:

1.Titanium

Titanium is often considered non-reactive, which is a misconception. Here is a list of some elements that titanium (Ti) is reactive to:

Oxygen: Ti(s) + O2(g) → TiO2(s),

Nitrogen: 2Ti(s) + N2(g) → TiN(s),

Water: Ti(s) + 2H2O(g) → TiO2(s) + 2H2(g),

It also reacts with nutrients present as  halogens such as iodine, bromine, fluorine and chlorine found mainly in packaged foods and also with acidic foods. This is the reason why it is not the best material for making cookware.

2. Stainless steel

Stainless steel is made up of a combination of various metals such as iron, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, carbon, etc., all of which are toxic to the body. For example, nickel alone can cause kidney dysfunction, low blood pressure, muscle tremors, oral cancer, skin problems, etc.

3. Aluminum

Studies have shown that there is a strong connection between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. Chronic exposure to aluminum has directly contributed to liver failure, kidney failure, and dementia (Arieff et al., 1979). Other health problems that people face due to the high concentration of aluminum in the body are colic, seizures, esophagitis, gastroenteritis, kidney damage, liver dysfunction, loss of appetite, loss of balance, muscle pain, psychosis, shortness of breath, weakness and fatigue (ATSDR 1990).

4. Nonstick cookware

A synthetic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is commonly used in nonstick coatings. When heated, it releases toxic fumes that can cause harmful effects on the brain, prostate, liver, thymus, kidneys, and pituitary glands.

5. Ceramic cookware

Ceramic is the second most popular cookware material after metals. It is made of many metals, minerals, and chemicals such as barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, lithium, nickel, selenium, and vanadium, silicon dioxide, feldspar, silicon carbide, magnesium oxide, petalite (an ore of lithium) . Ceramic cookware is further coated with glazes and enamels, plus chemicals including lead and cadmium. All of these metals and chemicals are mild to highly toxic and ideally should never come into contact with food.

6. Pure Clay Cookware

Pure Clay is unglazed primary clay collected from uncultivated and non-industrialized land. This all-natural material is free of any metals or chemical toxins, thankfully! The roots of using pure clay as a raw material go back to our earliest ancestors when people used only clay pots to cook food. This material has been tested for all types of contaminants and is found to be 100% non-toxic. If you want to cook food in an inert material, this is exactly the cookware to cook in!

How do you know if you are using the correct cookware?

It is not possible to tell if a particular pot or pan is contaminating food while it is cooking just by looking at it or by rubbing the surface with commercially sold lead testing sheets, etc. on other surfaces. This is where this home test comes in handy:

The alkaline baking soda test can check the toxicity of your cookware. Since most foods, at least 80% of them, are alkaline, using baking soda simulates cooking food in the pot. All you need is some water and baking soda:

1. Boil 1 glass of water in any pot, when it starts to boil add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Boil for 5-7 more minutes. Turn off the stove.
2. Wait until cool enough to taste and then taste the water (take a sip). If you taste metals, that’s what you’re eating! If the water tastes like rubber/paint, it’s the enamel/enamel chemicals.

As a control, mix 1/2 baking soda in 1 glass of water, take a sip; you will only notice the taste of baking soda.

When testing different types of cookware, only pots made from pure clay did not leach out. This makes it clear that pure clay cookware is 100% inert and non-reactive. A fact known to the healthy and long-lived ancients!