While looking for the safest cookware, one thing that is very important is how reactive the pot’s raw material is? This is because the food is a biochemical entity that is subject to leaching if cooked in a reactive pot or pan. These compounds that have leached from the pot are of no nutritional value in the body but can cause many diseases if allowed to accumulate in the body. Titanium, stainless steel and natural clay -The first two are very popular for making cooking pots, the last one is gaining momentum because of its health value over other manmade materials, Let’s find out which is the safest cookware amongst the three?
Titanium
Titanium is metal chemically extracted from its ore rutile, by reduction through chlorides and/or magnesium. Amongst its different uses, it is also used for making surgical inserts or bone and cartilage replacements in the body. Because of this reason, it is a common belief that it can’t do any harm in the body. First of all, Titanium is a reactive element and reacts with common elements present in the atmosphere like oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and water to form various compounds. Because of this, it is certainly reactive to food, especially during cooking! Because heat is a catalyst for all reactions.
Stainless Steel
This alloy is available in different grades, the popular ones (general purpose) are 304 and 316. The 304-grade stainless steel contains elements like Chromium, Nickel, Carbon, Manganese, and Silicon. 316 also has high levels of Nickel and Molybdenum. All these elements are highly reactive and break down as ions when food is cooked in Stainless steel cookware. These combine with nutrients in food and form toxic compounds that are dangerous in the body. For instance, a very small amount of concentration of nickel can cause kidney dysfunction, low blood pressure, muscle tremors, oral cancer, skin problems etc. Obviously, if you are looking for the safest cookware, you wouldn’t want to choose Stainless Steel.
Natural Clay
This material is all-natural and is often referred to as ‘primary clay’ in its purest form. Primary clay is naturally inert and it doesn’t contain any chemicals or metal toxins like Titanium or Stainless Steel. Natural clay is a 100% pure ingredient in nature like rainwater and because it is naturally detoxing, it does not take to itself any contaminants! It also cannot be used for farming because this soil gets very rigid and hard and does not allow the plant’s root system to thrive.
A simple baking soda test done on these materials also shows that the pot made from unglazed primary clay doesn’t leach anything while cooking. Thus the safest material for making cookware is natural clay – no matter how much we experiment with different materials, this all-natural material beats them all!
Ready to try this healthiest and safest all-natural cookware? Get a pure clay cookware set today!