4 ms·

Also cast iron and carbon steel both leach iron into food. Iron is now known to cause stress to cells and can even initiate a special form of cell death.

giantg2 5y ago
Iron is also known to be essential for human health and intentionally added to many foods. I can't tell, but maybe your comment was calling that out sarcastically.
- clsec 5y ago
  Not OP but many people (1 in 300 Caucasians [1]) need to closely watch and minimize their iron intake because they have hereditary hemochromatosis. With hemochromatosis ones body cannot process iron. There is no cure and the only way to deal with it is to minimize iron intake and, if iron levels are too high, blood letting (phlebotomy). [1] https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/hemochromatosis.htm https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/hemochromatosis.htm edit: forgot URL
  - kube-system 5y ago
    Many more people (1 in 7) have iron-deficiency anemia.
    - a9h74j 5y ago
      So many multivitamins, etc, omit iron out of fear of iron poisoning, that one can easily err on an individually-deficient side. (The optimal window also appears narrow enough -- even people with temporary anemia must limit supplements -- that I would not attempt to rely on cookware to supply my iron requirements.)
      - kube-system 5y ago
        I'm definitely not suggesting that iron pans should be a dietary supplement. I'm just doubtful that they're responsible for much iron poisoning.
        a9h74j 5y ago
        Yes, my parenthetical add-on was directed at the comments in general, not your comment. I did not intend to imply that you implied...
  - tonyarkles 5y ago
    > if iron levels are too high, blood letting (phlebotomy) A friend discovered a few years ago that he has (developed?) hemochromatosis. From what I understand, in Canada the "prescription" for this is to diligently donate blood to Canada Blood Services, I think more frequently than the general public is allowed to. He's got an awesome blood donation record now!
    - clsec 5y ago
      You can't "develop" hereditary hemochromitosis [1]. It is a genetic disorder. Both parents need to carry specific genes that when combined in the child cause hereditary hemochromitosis. I don't know about Canada but in the US it is illegal to donate blood when you have hemochromatosis. I get phlebotomy every other month (for the past 10 yrs) and my blood is always thrown away. [1] https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10746/hemochromatosis https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10746/hemochromat...
      - clsec 5y ago
        I should have added that, yes, you can develop hemochromatosis. Just not the hereditary type.
        tonyarkles 5y ago
        Looks like it's a-ok in Canada, given that you're otherwise healthy: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abcs-eligibility/hemochromatosis https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abc... I have no clue if his was hereditary or not, I just remember him going to Mexico, feeling funky about half-way through the trip, and his doctor diagnosed it when he got home. Would've been in his 20s.
        clsec 5y ago
        So this conversation has gotten me to research this topic a little bit more. I'm not exactly sure if it's actually illegal in the U.S., that's just what the nurses who do my phlebotomy have told me. Though I did find that the American Red Cross does not accept blood from individuals who have hereditary hemochromatosis [1]. My case was discovered when my doctor did an iron work-up as part of checking out my liver. The normal level in men is 12-300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Mine was very close to 1000 ng/mL at the time. These days my hematologist likes to keep me in the 50-75 ng/mL range. [1] https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/before-during-after/iron-blood-donation.html https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-pr...
margalabargala 5y ago
This is not useful information if not combined with the quantities involved. It's like warning that drinking water is known to raise your blood pressure and has even caused people to die of heart attacks. It's true, but not in the quantities a person usually encounters.
giaour 5y ago
I thought this was actually an important source of dietary iron in the early modern period, though that may be apocryphal.
AlexandrB 5y ago
When I was a kid I noticed that Cheerios are notably high in iron. I threw a bunch of Cheerios into a cup of water and let it mix for many hours on a chemical mixer. The iron fell out and stuck to the stirrer magnet as a small amount of iron filings. Is this dietary iron different from the iron you get from a pan? Or do Cheerios cause stress to cells and a special form of cell death?
- Tagbert 5y ago
  I suspect that that iron is not bio-available and so does not provide much nutritional benefit. To be available for absorption, you want an iron salt such as ferrous gluconate that is soluble in water and can be integrated by cells.
aceazzameen 5y ago
I've always wondered about the patina, or carbonized oil, on my cast iron and carbon steel pans. That stuff leeches over time too, and it's probably carcinogenic? Have there ever been any studies on the seasonings on those pans and any potential health effects? That being said, I love my pans and probably wouldn't stop using them.
- inimino 5y ago
  If you cook with oil and heat, regardless of the cookware you're already eating some amount of burnt oil. At least, that is how I think about it...

giantg2 5y ago

Iron is also known to be essential for human health and intentionally added to many foods. I can't tell, but maybe your comment was calling that out sarcastically.

clsec 5y ago
Not OP but many people (1 in 300 Caucasians [1]) need to closely watch and minimize their iron intake because they have hereditary hemochromatosis. With hemochromatosis ones body cannot process iron. There is no cure and the only way to deal with it is to minimize iron intake and, if iron levels are too high, blood letting (phlebotomy). [1] https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/hemochromatosis.htm https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/hemochromatosis.htm edit: forgot URL
- kube-system 5y ago
  Many more people (1 in 7) have iron-deficiency anemia.
  - a9h74j 5y ago
    So many multivitamins, etc, omit iron out of fear of iron poisoning, that one can easily err on an individually-deficient side. (The optimal window also appears narrow enough -- even people with temporary anemia must limit supplements -- that I would not attempt to rely on cookware to supply my iron requirements.)
    - kube-system 5y ago
      I'm definitely not suggesting that iron pans should be a dietary supplement. I'm just doubtful that they're responsible for much iron poisoning.
      - a9h74j 5y ago
        Yes, my parenthetical add-on was directed at the comments in general, not your comment. I did not intend to imply that you implied...
- tonyarkles 5y ago
  > if iron levels are too high, blood letting (phlebotomy) A friend discovered a few years ago that he has (developed?) hemochromatosis. From what I understand, in Canada the "prescription" for this is to diligently donate blood to Canada Blood Services, I think more frequently than the general public is allowed to. He's got an awesome blood donation record now!
  - clsec 5y ago
    You can't "develop" hereditary hemochromitosis [1]. It is a genetic disorder. Both parents need to carry specific genes that when combined in the child cause hereditary hemochromitosis. I don't know about Canada but in the US it is illegal to donate blood when you have hemochromatosis. I get phlebotomy every other month (for the past 10 yrs) and my blood is always thrown away. [1] https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10746/hemochromatosis https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10746/hemochromat...
    - clsec 5y ago
      I should have added that, yes, you can develop hemochromatosis. Just not the hereditary type.
      - tonyarkles 5y ago
        Looks like it's a-ok in Canada, given that you're otherwise healthy: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abcs-eligibility/hemochromatosis https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abc... I have no clue if his was hereditary or not, I just remember him going to Mexico, feeling funky about half-way through the trip, and his doctor diagnosed it when he got home. Would've been in his 20s.
        clsec 5y ago
        So this conversation has gotten me to research this topic a little bit more. I'm not exactly sure if it's actually illegal in the U.S., that's just what the nurses who do my phlebotomy have told me. Though I did find that the American Red Cross does not accept blood from individuals who have hereditary hemochromatosis [1]. My case was discovered when my doctor did an iron work-up as part of checking out my liver. The normal level in men is 12-300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Mine was very close to 1000 ng/mL at the time. These days my hematologist likes to keep me in the 50-75 ng/mL range. [1] https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-process/before-during-after/iron-blood-donation.html https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-pr...

margalabargala 5y ago

This is not useful information if not combined with the quantities involved. It's like warning that drinking water is known to raise your blood pressure and has even caused people to die of heart attacks. It's true, but not in the quantities a person usually encounters.

giaour 5y ago

I thought this was actually an important source of dietary iron in the early modern period, though that may be apocryphal.

AlexandrB 5y ago

When I was a kid I noticed that Cheerios are notably high in iron. I threw a bunch of Cheerios into a cup of water and let it mix for many hours on a chemical mixer. The iron fell out and stuck to the stirrer magnet as a small amount of iron filings. Is this dietary iron different from the iron you get from a pan? Or do Cheerios cause stress to cells and a special form of cell death?

Tagbert 5y ago
I suspect that that iron is not bio-available and so does not provide much nutritional benefit. To be available for absorption, you want an iron salt such as ferrous gluconate that is soluble in water and can be integrated by cells.

aceazzameen 5y ago

I've always wondered about the patina, or carbonized oil, on my cast iron and carbon steel pans. That stuff leeches over time too, and it's probably carcinogenic? Have there ever been any studies on the seasonings on those pans and any potential health effects? That being said, I love my pans and probably wouldn't stop using them.

inimino 5y ago
If you cook with oil and heat, regardless of the cookware you're already eating some amount of burnt oil. At least, that is how I think about it...