Health Benefits of Cooking in Cast Iron

Cast iron cookware has many benefits over aluminum cookware. It is virtually indestructable, retains heat well and spreads it evenly over the cooking surface, and cooks well at a wide range of temperatures. Cast iron cookware can also add necessary iron to your diet!

When food is cooked in cast iron, trace amounts of iron leach out of the cookware and into the food. Foods with high moisture content and acidity, such as applesauce, chili, and spaghetti sauce, which are stirred frequently and cooked for a long time, will absorb significantly more amounts of iron than foods that are fried quickly, like hamburgers.

It is estimated that 60% to 70% of Americans do not get enough iron in their diets. Iron is a vital mineral, and an essential factor in the body's ability to efficiently circulate oxygen through the blood stream. Iron is needed for the production of neurotransmitters, the chemicals which allow information to be passed between nerve cells.

Low levels of iron in the blood can result in insufficient amounts of oxygen being circulated, leading to tiredness and headaches. An extreme deficiency can lead to anemia, with nausea, vomiting, weakness, suppression of the immune system, and difficulty in maintaining body temperature. Inadequate iron levels can be caused by low dietary intake, excessive blood loss, or the body's inability to absorb iron due to an underlying disease.

Women who are pregnant or of childbearing age, or who have heavy menstrual periods, have the greatest need for iron. Pre-term or low birth weight infants, older toddlers, teenage girls, and patients with gastrointestinal disorders or kidney failure are also at high risk for iron deficiency. Athletes lose iron through perspiration.

It is possible to get adequate iron through a healthy diet, but how many Americans actually have a healthy diet? Iron absorption is negatively affected by the consumption of foods that are high in calories and low in nutrition: sugary sodas and desserts, potato chips, and other snack foods which have become diet staples for many Americans, especially children. Using cast iron cookware can inexpensively add more of this vital element to our diet.

Iron is stored in the body, and reserves are used as the amount of iron in the diet diminishes. It is possible to consume too much iron, but the trace amounts in food cooked in cast iron are not high enough to cause an iron overload in most people. Patients with an iron overload disease, such as hemochromatosis, should get their doctor's advice before using cast iron cookware.