We prefer home-cooked food over outside food for one good reason and that is for its high nutritive value but what if despite all healthy ingredients the food prepared with so much love and dedication becomes harmful to eat.

Yes, this can happen if the reaction of metal cookware with food items are not properly acknowledged. While preparing food, right cooking utensils have to be chosen carefully as it not only affects the quality of the recipe, it's flavor, texture, aroma but also hits the nutritive value of the food cooked in them.

Metals like copper, iron, steel, and aluminum are extensively used in our kitchens. Weight watchers prefer nonstick utensils. Markets are flooded with fancy-looking cookware and the convenient non-stick ones. These modern utensils are really making cooking easy but most of these appliances are harming the food by emitting toxic and cancer-causing fumes.

Traditionally, clay pots, iron, brass and bronze wares were used for preparing food. These not just shielded the nutrition of food but also enhanced the taste of it. But to match our busy life with the cooking time we have replaced these cookwares with modern quick-fixes and have invited serious health ailments.

Lets check which all utensils to use to add health to food

Safest & Healthiest Cookware Options

 Clay utensils-

The first option in the list of healthy cookware is the clay pots. Old-Fashioned cooking methods have made a come-back in kitchens around the world. This variety of vessels are the most ideal one for healthy cooking. Cooking in earthenware pots and ceramic pots is an ancient tradition that offers a distinct taste and keeps the nutritional value of food intact. Ceramic cookware is kiln-baked to high heat, rendering the quartz sand surface effectively non-stick. The clay content allows moisture and heat to circulate through the food that further helps in retaining nutrients. These wares save the complete nutrition of food. The only drawback with clay pot cooking is it takes twice the time to cook food as compared to other means.

Stainless Steel Cookwares-

In reality, stainless steel is really a mixture of several different metals, including nickel, chromium, and molybdenum, all of which can trickle into foods. Nevertheless, unless your stainless steel cookware is dinged and poked, the quantity of metals likely to get into your food is negligible. Stainless steel cookware in good condition is the safest for cooking.

 Cast iron

Using iron griddle (tava) and wok (kadhai) is a great way to increase the iron content of the food. Our body needs iron in order —While cooking in cast iron utensils, iron seeps off the cookware into food in small amounts and helps our body to produce red blood cells. Cast iron is also appreciated for its durability and even heat distribution. 

 Bronze 

 This metal is another ideal option for healthy cooking. In early times, it was used by royal families to cook and eat as it retains nearly 97 percent of nutrients. With the change in time, new-age restaurants and cafes have started serving food in bronze utensils. While buying bronze you have to ensure it does not have unhealthy amounts of nickel and tin and doing this is tricky. The best way is to buy from a trusted source.

What not to use: copper, cast iron and aluminum have proven to be chemically reactive to acidic and alkaline foods. They can alter the flavor of food and if food stored in them for a longer period it can lead to food poisoning.

Utensils to be avoided

• Aluminum cookware is made from toxic elements that leach their toxic substances and cause health complications. Even with the new anodized aluminum which claims an oxide layer that thickens the surface of the pan, there is still potential for aluminum toxicity itself. Uncoated and non-anodized aluminum cookware can leach heavy metals such as aluminum and lead into food during the cooking process. Acidic foods in particular increase leaching. Using aluminum cookware is dangerous as in the process of cooking aluminum leeches from the pot or pan and makes its way into food and then in the body. Aluminum inside the body neutralize digestive enzymes, increases risk of ulcers and if present in large quantity it can lead to Alzheimer's disease.

• Some non-stick cookware has chemicals that are toxic with the release of the Teflon coating back in 1946. Such chemicals include PFOA and PTFE. PFOA and PTFE are suspected of being linked to health problems (such as breast cancer.) There is no direct evidence that PFOA, PTFE, or silicon coatings are carcinogenic, however, it should be avoided at high temperatures. The coating on some nonstick cookware can emit toxic fumes if heated past 450-500 degrees; it may be a surprise that a frying pan can easily reach or surpass that temperature on the stovetop. 

• Copper cookware is made from 99% copper which creates exposure to copper toxicity. According to studies, adults should intake only 900 micrograms of copper per day. With copper leaching risk as a result of using copper containers, this could likely surpass the overall daily dose of copper and lead to poisoning.

So now invest in the right utensils and throw the ones out of the kitchen which can harm you. Those who cook at high temperatures may go for cast iron, while those who want mess-free clean up may choose nonstick options. Check your budget and buy accordingly.