Using cast iron for cooking presents a little known but serious health risk particularly for middle-aged men and menopausal women. How to avoid this issue and use safely! 
Given the amount of time I spend in the kitchen preparing meals for my family, you might be surprised to learn that I do not own any cast iron pans. What’s more, I don’t intend to purchase or use cast iron anytime in the future (I choose to cook in toxin-free, traditional clay pots).
This may seem like heresy particularly since cast iron skillets are almost universally considered to be a healthy and durable choice for the preparation of homecooked meals.
However, I have good reasons for my decision, and science bears out my serious concerns about using cast iron pans unless they also include a quality enamel layer to prevent contact of the food with the iron surface.
Excess Iron is a Health Hazard
My primary reason for opting out of cast iron revolves around the health problems caused by excess iron in the diet. Research has demonstrated that cooking with iron pots and pans significantly raises iron levels in food. Correspondingly, the iron levels of those who eat that food increase as well. (1, 2)
Women do not typically need to worry about this problem as long as they are menstruating. The monthly cycle is a protective factor against this condition. Growing children also are not particularly susceptible as growth obviously requires more blood and more iron.
Adult Men and Menopausal Women Most at Risk
However, for adult men (even fully grown young men) and menopausal women, cast iron can definitely pose a problem as the iron that naturally gets into food from the utilization of this type of cookware can result in iron rising to toxic levels. This condition is associated with a host of serious health problems.
Iron is one of the few minerals we cannot eliminate except through blood loss. Therefore supplements should never contain iron. Moreover, cooking with cast iron is a questionable choice for this segment of the population.
Most people view iron as a nutrient, and indeed it is. It is also a powerful agent of oxidation in the body. This means that excess iron increases the chances of cancer and can severely damage the heart, arteries, and other organs.
In addition, persons with an inherited condition called hemochromatosis, or iron overload disease, can be especially harmed from iron intake. If you have any family members with this condition (about 1 million Americans), you should be especially careful with sources of iron in your diet.
Iron Overload Symptoms
Unfortunately, the symptoms of iron overload are similar to those of other conditions. Therefore it may be wise to request a transferrin saturation test at your next check-up to eliminate iron as a potential source of your health woes.
Avoiding cast iron is particularly important if you suffer from any of the following conditions and/or are an adult male or menopausal female:
- Fatigue
- Joint or muscle weakness
- Mysterious stomach or other gastrointestinal pain/nausea
- Weight loss that cannot be explained
- Elevated liver enzymes
- Shortness of breath
- Early menopause
- Loss of sex drive
- Impotence
- Loss of body hair (this is also a symptom of adrenal fatigue)
Later stage symptoms of iron toxicity
If iron overload continues for extended periods of time, more serious symptoms can emerge such as the following.
- Greying or bronzing of the skin
- Blood sugar issues
- Irregular heartbeat
- Liver problems
- Arthritis
How to Resolve Iron Overload Quickly
If you’ve been cooking with cast iron for a long time and are an adult male or menopausal female, it might be wise to donate blood right away. This practice will reduce iron stores immediately. Remember, loss of blood is the only way to resolve iron toxicity problems.
Continue regular blood donation until you can completely switch over to another type of nontoxic cookware such as clay, enamel, glass, or titanium.
Anemia Usually from an Imbalanced Gut NOT Inadequate Iron
Believe it or not, there is plenty of iron in the diet of the typical American. Even those eating the horrific Standard American Diet need not worry about inadequate iron intake. In addition, there is almost certainly adequate iron intake for a person eating a diet based on traditional foods and also in the diets of vegetarians.
Therefore, if you are anemic or suffer from pregnancy anemia and feel the need to use cast iron to increase your iron levels, you may wish to consider an imbalanced gut as a more likely source of the problem. Common gut pathogens consume iron and are a frequent cause of anemia. These pathogens include Actinomyces spp., Mycobacterium spp., pathogenic strains of E. coli, Corynebacterium spp., along with many others. Previous use of the birth control pill or antibiotics makes one especially prone to anemia issues.
Unfortunately, increasing iron intake with cast iron only makes these iron loving pathogens grow stronger. It does little to remedy anemia over the long haul. Therefore, rebalancing the gut with beneficial bacterial strains through diet and lifestyle changes rather than use of cast iron or iron supplements is the best approach to solving the root of the problem.
Using Cast Iron Safely
As mentioned above, using enameled cast iron is a safe option if you prefer the ease of use and heavy feel of cast iron pans. The enameled layer protects the food from contact with the iron portion of the pan and hence, offers an option that is both practical and safe. I recommend Le Creuset cookware as one of the best quality brands on the market if this is something you wish to explore.
It’s not just cast iron that is a potential health hazard. Learning to use stainless steel cookware, aluminum bakeware, and other kitchen equipment safely is of paramount importance for the modern cook. It’s not just about the food. Preparation is very important too to avoid the introduction of unwanted toxins!
References
(1) Food prepared in iron cooking pots as an intervention for reducing iron deficiency anemia
(2) Iron Content of Food Cooked in Iron Utensils
(3) Excess Iron: A Health Risk?
(4) Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Here’s the thing:
1) I don’t doubt that people can get an overload of iron. BUT, this article doesn’t discuss if, in fact, a traceable amount of iron is absorbed from food cooked on cast iron. I’ve heard from other sources that the iron from cookware is not absorbed.
2) The philosophy behind this website is that of using traditional food preparation. Well, guess what? Cast iron has been in use for hundreds of years. One would think that concerns about using cast iron cookware would have surfaced earlier.
3) The entire conveyance of this information is that of a “scare tactic”. Classic “tells” of a scare tactic include sharing controversial information about a topic of little consequence, while providing no referenced backing and no alternatives to the thing being bashed (Unless you’re a millionaire and can afford the gold-plated version of everything). Unfortunately, I’m seeing a trend of scare tactics in recent posts on this website. Certainly, sometimes the truth and facts are little-known and not well-received. (Take the truth about “healthy” fats like margarine!) I’m all about listing to the little-known voices, especially in the medical/health realm. But when a source is frequently and consistently “discovering” controversial information that has little to no scientific or historic backing, it makes the source less than credible. At this point, I feel this website is drawing at straws simply to keep fresh content going. I am disappointed, since I’ve appreciated and respected Sarah’s research in the past.
I’m wondering if anyone has used the “Cast-iron lite” pans made by Hertiage and if there are any health hazards with these pans? They are ceramic coated and state they are PTFE & PFOA free, but unfortunately they are made in China.
Inaccurate article 🙁
My husband and I are trying to choose the best cookware. We have some stainless steel frying pans, but those eggs sure to stick! About is your opinion about the following non-stick pans?
Did you ever find facts about the non-stick pan you were interested. Can you share with us the information?
Thanks.
WS
A really well seasoned cast iron skillet cooks the best slow cooked scrambled eggs ever 🙂
Using the stainless steel I find if you heat the pan slowly wait for it to get really really hot and then really really really hot then drop a drop of water in and see if it dances across the pan is a good way to learn if the pan is at the right temp. Then add oil or butter just enough to barely coat the pan and then when the oil is hot add eggs and cook how ever you like. It takes a bit to learn how to keep an egg from sticking but I find a little olive oil with a little butter works great.
Don’t know if that helps there are big differences in stainless steel cookware brands.
Hello Sarah,
Your claims are not backed up by any cited research. The iron given off in American made cast iron cooking is miniscule. It does improve an iron poor diet. There is no proof that it harms menopausal women or men. It also is broken down in the body to be excreted. It also can be excreted whole through defecation. IT IS THE ONLY WAY OXYGEN IS CARRIED TO CELLS. It constipates the system because it has an Iron binding capacity that BINDS. Therefore if you have average to high iron levels, it is a good idea to regularly take stool softeners. New research is old research. There is growing eveidence that a theory produced in 1934 is correct in killing cancer cells. That is the ability to oxygenate cells, increasing ooygen inside a cancerous cell, thus killing it. Most cancer cells survive, mutate and grow through aneorobic means, i.e. fermentation and acidosis. It is the sugars from aneorobic conditions that feeds cancer cells. Oygen litterally reverses this process and eplodes and kills CA cells. Again the only way O2 gets into cells from the blood stream is through Fe+ or iron carrying through the blood.
Interesting article, but I have to disagree with you. No offense or anything but my own personal research and involvement in the health community has led me to favor cast iron (with proper use and seasoning). good luck to you.
Cast iron cannot be that bad using it just a few times a week. You stated that oxidation causes cancer ? Wrong ! It fights cancer cells and free radicals. Although you do have a point. You must be middle aged, using cast iron for breakfast and dinner cooking ? Users that use it 2 to 3 times a week may be good for you.
My wife and I have a chronic iron deficiency. In my wife case, it is really bad. We bought a whole Lodge Signature collection from the USA to cook two years ago. My levels of iron are now normal. My wife’s level improved but were not sufficiently good, so she takes some iron suplements sometimes.
We were going to buy unexpensive old French cast iron pottery from the late XIX and early XX century, when we discovered that the old sale brochures (from 1914) of Pied-Selle cast iron (from Fumay in France) had a mild cover of tin. Then we realised that we have to buy something modern and made in Europe or in America, not Asian and not old, that is truly safe (no tin or heavy metals).
The choice was then between the only two US or EU manufactures of non-enameled cast iron cookware: Lodge from the USA or Skeppshult from Sweden. We choosed Lodge Signature because it was the most beautiful one.
I am tired of you tools. Cast iron is fine to cook by. And if it is not what would you have us do, cook by the spit. You will only come in with comments about how we are using the wrong wood. Please do us a favor and use a proper knot to hang yourself.
I read today, (been researching fluorine), in a subtitle of an article that you have to pay for to read, that ceramic over cast iron has fluorine in it, not good, too bad since I love the old blue speckle ware. I am, however, tossing out my green teflon pan today, into the trash, I didnt realize that teflon had fluorine in it. Gonna go garage saleing for old cast iron immediately to add to my cast iron collection, not going to use anything else anymore if I can help it. except clay.