Aluminum is Toxic and You Don't Want to Eat It

Our family is trying to eat healthier. Since we buy mostly organic food, we needed to clean up our entire act in the kitchen. We had a lot of aluminum pots and pans, and they had to go.

But what do you replace them with?

There are a few options for safe cookware, although the choices can be confusing. Yet, if you want to avoid aluminum, a toxin associated with Alzheimer's Disease, multiple sclerosis and cancer, you'll need to investigate other possibilities.

We needed to do this. It seemed counterproductive to put so much energy into preparing organic meals, without chemical additives, only to have it turn into a toxic brew as it was cooking.

Teflon coated pans are widely available. But these are just as bad, if not worse, than aluminum cookware, as Teflon coating releases harmful chemicals when heated.

Because I couldn't decide what type of cookware was best, I bought three types with non-aluminum cooking surfaces. Here's how each one worked in our kitchen.

We already had a small, nine-inch cast-iron skillet that once belonged to my dearly departed grandmother. This pan is indestructible and has survived being left too long on the stove, as well as many cycles in the dishwasher. Maybe it's also a very well-seasoned pan because food doesn't stick and it's easy to clean. I only wish I had a few more of these in different sizes.

I picked up another large, heavy cast-iron skillet made in America by Lodge. It is very heavy. The food sticks and the pan is a little tough to clean. You're not supposed to put it in the dishwasher, so I haven't. The upside is that this pan is big enough for one-skillet meals and it's a good replacement for our aluminum wok, which I still need to get rid of. Also, we're going to be using this pan for many years to come because it's so sturdy.

This earns a two-thumbs down for its lack of durability. This is an aluminum pan coated with marble, which easily chips, exposing the aluminum underneath. I purchased two marble pans, a small fry pan and a medium-sized saucepan from an online mall for around $100. After a year of very careful use, the sauce pan has several chips where the food meets the pan, and if I continue to use it we'll be eating aluminum. The marble has also worn off along the rim. I was fanatic about taking good care of these pans because a friend had warned me they were fragile.

The small fry pan, used primarily to boil water for tea, held up much better than the sauce pan, used to boil rice, potatoes and vegetables. A couple of times someone put the sauce pan in the sink and probably placed one of the cast-iron skillets on top of it, and this could be why some of the marble came off. The fry pan wasn't subject to that kind of "abuse," but some of the marble came off anyway.

Right now, the sauce pan is useless for cooking. I haven't thrown it away because I think I can use to burn Frankincense in to scent the house. I'm still using the fry pan for boiling water, and, if I baby it, with any luck, it will last a little bit longer.

This is a new purchase, and, so far, so good. I recently bought a small Cuisinart stainless steel sauce pan, which seems to cook evenly and clean nicely. I'll probably be getting more of these.

Some health authorities, including Dr. Josh Axe, a chiropractor, author and radio host, like stainless steel pans. You can watch his video below.

Dr. Axe highly recommends using non-toxic cookware to protect your own life and the lives of your loved ones.

He issues a stern warning on Teflon. "Everybody needs to know that Teflon is toxic and deadly."

We didn't buy ceramic-coated pans because of concerns the glaze could contain lead or other heavy metals, as some media reports indicate. But these pans are being marketed as a healthy alternative to aluminum and Teflon. I just hope that turns out to be the case.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not meant to diagnose‚ treat or cure any disease or medical condition.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.