A cooking pot is an essential commodity to everyone, except for persons who have resorted to eating canned and packed foods. They are reaping the reward.
If you love real food, you cannot run away from using a cooking pot.
Because of this, we looked at cooking pots that are available to Nigerians, with focus on how healthy these pots are.
Each time you use a cooking pot, there are few things that happen that you should consider.
The high temperature, time spent cooking, the acidity of food and the cooking pot you use may cause food contamination.
Meanwhile, some of the pots we have in Nigeria are clay, aluminum, copper, stainless steel, glass, ceramic and iron cast.
To help you make the right choice of cooking pot, we have identified how healthy these pots are.
Cooking Pot without Health Concerns
Clay Pot
Interestingly, this is one of the healthiest pots to use.
People of old used clay pots in cooking and recent researches have shown that clay is alkaline in nature.
Because of this property, clay pots interact with the acidity in the food, neutralising the pH balance. This makes the food healthier and a lot tastier.
Clay pot is believed to provide the required minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and sulphur that benefits our health.
Interestingly, there are shops that still sell clay pots around us in Nigeria. You can check them out and get one for your soup.
You will love it.
Glass Cookware
Glass is nontoxic, durable, and a great option for cooking with.
Because it does not create any health concerns when used at high temperatures, glass cooking pot is good.
Although, this cookware may be expensive, delicate, and easy to break, the safety benefits far outweigh the risk and cost.
Get it if you can.
Ceramic
Similar to glass and clay pots, ceramic cookware can be safely used at high temperatures due to its glaze.
Glaze protects the pot against wear and corrosion.
However, the best ceramic cookware to use are those without decorations.
Some pigments may contain lead and cadmium. These increase health concerns.
Cast Iron
Cast iron, the type Nigerians use to cook ‘party jollof rice’ is a nice cookware to use and even serve food.
Although, concerns have been raised on the fact that iron from cast iron cookware transfers to food, this form of cookware is an excellent source of iron for the world’s populations at risk of iron deficiency. pregnant women, children
However, too much iron may be a health concern because it can accumulate in the body and cause vomiting, vomiting blood, diarrhea, abdominal pain, irritability, and drowsiness.
Because of this concern, using different cooking pots is necessary.
This pot also comes in small sizes, so you can get them.
Cooking Pots With Health Concerns
Aluminum
This is one of the commonest pots in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, one thing we do to our pots is wash them with hard sponge to make washing easy.
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But this practice wares out the coat protecting the aluminum from leaching into our food.
The heat makes the aluminum dissolves easily from worn or pitted pots and pans.
Sadly, the longer food is cooked or stored in aluminum, the greater the amount that gets into food.
Leafy vegetables and acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus products absorb the most aluminum.
According to a 2001 study, aluminum may increase the speed of brain aging.
It may also contribute to the development of excess inflammatory activity within the brain, and lead to the onset and advancement of Alzheimer’s disease. That is memory loss in essence.
However, adults can consume more than 50 milligrams of aluminum daily without harm, WHO says.
More so, one way to reduce the release of aluminum from pots into food is by using anodized aluminum cookware.
Copper
Another pot that may not be so good to use is one made from copper.
Although a small amount of copper is harmless, a large amount in a single dose or over a short period can be poisonous and cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Some pans may have other metals as coating.
Unfortunately, when you wash such pots with hard sponge these coating could come off. The coating can also dissolve when you coke foods that are acidic.
This will leave only the copper core when used for cooking.
You may also find our article on How To Make Your MSG-Free Seasoning helpful
Ackerman Cancer Center (ACC) warns that copper should not be used in contact with any food that has a pH below 6 such as vinegar, fruit juice, or wine.
Stainless Steel
This is another kind of pot that is common in Nigeria and it has its own issues.
When a stainless steel pot is placed on heat for a long time, it could release nickel and chromium into food. How long it stays on fire is key, but there is no time frame provided.
Nickel is a frequent cause of allergic contact dermatitis, and studies have shown the severity of dermatitis has a dose dependent relationship to oral doses of nickel.
ACC wrote: “Toxicological studies indicate that a single oral dose of nickel as low as 67 mg can cause recurrence of allergic contact dermatitis, flare up eczema, or lead to systemic dermatitis”.
Make the right choice of pot to reduce the health rick that may arise as a result.
Kindly share this article with your loved ones and friends to help them learn the best pots to use for cooking.
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