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Are Cast Iron Pans Unsafe?

2138 Views 36 Replies 22 Participants Last post by  MGNick, 
Annie
I've heard from various sources they may be linked to alzheimer's. Wow, cast iron is what I use for most of my cooking. :(

Are cast iron pans unsafe? - Examine

examine.com examine.com

Too much iron has been linked to a wide variety of conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and colorectal cancer to name just a few.[5][6][7] There’s a couple groups of people who don’t have to worry quite as much about iron overload though: menstruating women and vegetarians/vegans. But for others, especially those who regularly eat red meat, it doesn’t take much to push yourself into excess iron territory.
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paraquack
Years ago the same BS was going around about aluminum pots and pans. I'll take that rumor with a 50 pound bag of salt.
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NMPRN
I remember when we all supposed to die from using wooden cutting boards.

If any possible amount of iron you get ever get from cooking in an iron skillet was dangerous we'd all be dead from eating spinach and beans. ;)
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Captjim_NM
I read back in the 1960 and 1970's when people stopped using cast iron some women became anemic because they were not getting iron from the cast iron pans. I have also heard alzheimer's was linked to teflon??? I trust cast iron pans before I would cook with teflon pans. I remember my mother throwing away her teflon pans because the teflon has worn off and the food would stick.
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Back Pack Hack
I gave up on coatings years ago. Teflon. Silverstone. Once I started to notice the coating coming off, I realized that it was likely I was ingesting some of it. And no, I wasn't using metal utensils. So out it all went, and I loaded up with CI.
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Echo47
Primary cause of Alz. is a lack of cholesterol within/throughout the brain tissue, to separate the nueron clusters & pathways. Eating from Cast Iron won't affect this.
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Spenser
Annie said:
I've heard from various sources they may be linked to Alzheimer's. Wow, cast iron is what I use for most of my cooking.
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It was from Nature Journal, Molecular Psychiatry, mentions iron burden as an important contributor underlying the brain damage of Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be explained by the presence of amyloid plaques or tau tangles alone.

So if I read it correctly, it does not cause it but can worsen the condition, then again, decades from now they may indicate that it can cause it as well. This is also a source of this topic, although I do not know the validity of the site.

Ironically, I think in the 60s, but do not quote me on time frame, there was a study with women that stopped using cast iron pans, who developed anemia. So too little or too much iron can be a problem.

Personally, I gave up using cast iron due to medical reasons, and switched to a cast aluminum Dutch oven, and purchased pot liners to prevent seepage of metal into my food.
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D
I wonder what the iron in my,...that...that.... you know that thing in the ground that has water, is doing to me.
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Tool Time
Cast iron seems relatively safe among the alternatives. It does leach some iron into the food, but it's the same type of iron you get from natural foods, and it's unlikely that you'll consume so much additional iron from the cookware to be a problem. A figure I often see for the safe upper limit for daily iron intake is ~45mg. Your cast iron pot generally will only leach a few milligrams of iron into the food at worst. Also note that new, unseasoned cast iron cookware will leach more iron compared to seasoned cookware.

I would advise avoiding anything with teflon.
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OrganikRoots
I'm not dumping my cast iron.

There's some stuff in life I'd like to forget anyway ...
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bigwheel
I was raised on cast iron cookware food and have a couple of favorite skillets..which my wife says I aint allowed to us in the house again till I burn the crud off of em cause the fumes is making her act nuttier than usual. An impartial observer might say shes a nagger.
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C
Heard the ones made in China ones were high in lead. Not suprising.

No way I am even giving up my Lodge gear.

Made this in my skillet last week. Added sharp cheddar, slices garlic and sun dried tomatos.

bakerbettie.com

Easy No Knead Skillet Bread

The easiest no-knead skillet bread. The recipe only calls for 4 simple ingredients! Mix together, let the dough rise, pan and bake. You won't get your
bakerbettie.com bakerbettie.com

Has the texture of foccacia and it is the cat's meow.

Godspeed
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Back Pack Hack
A few years back I was working on a house that was being flipped, and all the stuff that the current owner found in the house was piled up in the detached garage. One day, I pulled into the driveway and there was a 30 yard dumpster in front of the garage. He was tossing everything in the garage into it. I spotted a rather rusty Lodge skillet amongst the junk and asked if I could have it. He said, "Sure, take it... no one can use it 'cuz it's all rusted."

The next night, I was making bacon and eggs in it. I already had the same skillet in my kitchen, but having two is suh-weet.
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inceptor
I have a few cast iron products and I'll be hard pressed to get rid of any of them.

I have a 10" egg skillet that gets used quite a bit. My wife loves making cornbread in the 12".
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Back Pack Hack
There aren't many things in this world better than cornbread made in cast iron.
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C
Back Pack Hack said:
There aren't many things in this world better than cornbread made in cast iron.
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Jalapeno and cheddar cornbread hot out of the oven with a side of ribs, homemade baked beans and some tangy coleslaw.

Breakfast of champions.

Godspeed
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Maine-Marine
My Grandmother - Rest her soul, had an embroidered wall hanging up in her bedroom

"I have Read so much about the bad effects of overeating, alcohol, and sex...
I have decided to stop reading!"​
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A
I use cast and stainless. Maybe some non stick for eggies
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OregonDreams
I love my cast iron and there is no way I'm giving it up. They said the same thing about aluminum pans years ago, I'm disinclined to believe the same is true for another type of metal now
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Kauboy
My grandfather grew up on cast iron AND well water.
The man had so much iron in him that his teeth literally broke dentist drills. His high iron content was the dentist's only explanation for this.
He passed at 86, if I remember right, and was never diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Anecdotal for sure, but way too many other folks grew up exactly like he did. If iron was the cause, a pattern would emerge.
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