A cast iron skillet allows you to cook great tasting food with ease. In no time you can have full flavored, perfectly seasoned fajitas, juicy hamburgers bursting with flavor, steaks and chops seared just the way you like, grilled veggies and more.
However, a cast iron skillet does more than just take your cooking to the next level. Cast iron skillets add trace amounts of iron to food cooking in it. However, do not go jumping for joy just yet. While there are people touting cast iron cooking health benefits, the truth is that the amount of iron provided is minimal. That means the health benefit from the iron is minimal.
On the contrary though, when you prepare your food with cast iron cookware instead of chemically treated non-stick cookware, you are avoiding the possibility of allowing those chemicals to leech into your food. This benefit is high. At high temperatures the chemicals found in nonstick pans have been known to lead to flu-like symptoms and cause certain illnesses.
Another cast iron cooking health benefit often touted is the fact that when you cook with a cast iron skillet you will need to use less oil. That is because a thoroughly seasoned cast iron skillet creates a nonstick coating that cooking oil usually creates. That means the more you cook with your cast iron the less oil you will need to use with it.
Additionally, thanks to the cast iron seasoning when it comes to vegetables and other certain foods you will seal in more vitamins and nutrients. This is because of even heat distribution which will allow you to fully cook your food, but in less time. Vegetables lose their benefit the longer they are cooked but the evenly heated cooking surface of quality cast iron cookware allows vegetables to cook but still taste fresh. That fresh flavor is not only good to the taste but also better for you too.
So now you know the health benefits of cast iron cooking and the truth about the claims of health benefits of iron in cast iron cookware. The trace amounts of iron are beneficial but they are no replacement for iron from leafy green vegetable and other whole foods. I hope you this serves you well and happy cooking.
