Q&A: What cookware do you recommend using and also avoiding?

As someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen (and eating haha) I have put lots of thought and research into this one! 

For me it comes down to looking at two key factors: performance and safety levels. While many popular brands and styles of pots and pans are perfectly safe and versatile in their uses, there are a few types that may pose health risks if used regularly. 

The following are my picks for the three best and three worst types of cookware:

Best

• Cast iron - durable and provides great conductivity and heat retention. It is perfect for cooking dishes that need to go from stove-top to oven, and is excellent for searing meat.
• Stainless steel - can be used for any type of cooking, but is especially useful for quick dishes, browning meat etc.
• Enamel - The best quality can be found in enameled cast iron, but enameled ceramic or steel are other great choices. Enamel is ideal for dishes where heat retention and balance are required.

Worst

• Teflon - If there is one cookware material I would never use, it’s one with a non-stick plastic coating like Teflon. Teflon, made of the chemical known as PFOA, is the most persistent synthetic chemical, and is found in the blood of nearly every person tested! Animal studies have shown that PFOA causes cancer, liver damage, growth defects, immune system damage, and death! Besides just leaching chemicals into the food, Teflon cookware has also been shown to release dangerous chemicals into the air during use. This one is bad bad bad!  Here is a great, affordable alternative from Stevens that's perfect for cooking pancakes, eggs etc and it's only $39.  
• Aluminium - aluminium cookware has been shown to leach a significant amount of aluminium into food during cooking, which could pose a toxicity threat. This raises some concerns due to the effects of aluminium on the human nervous system and the hypothesised connection between aluminium exposures and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Copper - as much as this looks beautiful I don't recommend this cookware due to leaching of copper into foods. An excess of copper can cause a variety of health problems, many stemming from a copper-zinc imbalance. Some symptoms of this imbalance include behaviour disorders, depression, acne, eczema, headaches, and poor immune function to name a few.

To find out more about toxins in general check out my toxin podcast (episode 12)