• Aluminum: Remember a few years ago when people were throwing out their aluminum pots and pans because of the “Aluminum causes Alzheimer’s” scare?? According to the National Institutes of Health there is absolutely no evidence that cooking in aluminum pans causes Alzheimer’s
• Iron: Cooking in an iron pot can add beneficial iron to your diet. This is especially important for pre-menopausal women, children and teenagers who need extra iron. Acidic foods like tomatoes or apples that cook for a long time in an iron pot absorb the most iron. Interestingly though you can also get a little bit of iron from stainless steel cookware.
• Non-Stick: The Teflon coatings are basically inert. Teflon is used as part of heart implants mechanisms. And, although they can lose their non-stick qualities with hard use, there is no reason to throw a nicked or scratched pan away. Even if you consumed a little piece of the resin in your food, it would pass unchanged through your body.
• Copper: Don’t use unlined copper cookware. Enough copper can dissolve into your food to cause illness. Copper cookware, which is lined with stainless steel or tin, is fine and often desirable because copper on the bottom of the pan is a great heat conductor.