Gut health to thyroid, here’s why to use brass, iron, copper and Kansa cookware

Everyone wants to lead a healthy lifestyle but while many of us enjoy working out, adopting healthy eating habits and consuming nutritious food to ensure our health is intact, only a few people are aware that nutrition of your food is not only contingent on the ingredients that you cook with rather it also depends on what you cook in. Using the right kind of cookware is also equally important as a certain range of vessels have a toxic coating that breaks down at higher temperatures, affecting the quality of the food. 

When food is cooked in the right kind of cookware, it not only leads to an increase in its nutrient quotient through boosting its mineral content but also prevents the loss of nutrients by allowing it to cook at an even temperature. Many researches have pointed out that copper-rich foods boost collagen in the body and accelerate metabolism. 

It is also where the ancient Indian practice of drinking water from copper vessels every morning stems from. This brings us to the question – should you use brass and iron utensils for cooking, copper for drinking and Kansa for eating to maintain health?

Brass:

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Nutritionist Lovneet Batra shared, “Brass is basically called ‘pital’ which is made up of 70 percent copper and 30 percent zinc. Brass is non-magnetic, heat-conducting and long-lasting. The benefit of cooking with brass utensils is that only 7% of the nutrients are lost throughout the cooking process. Since brass utensils are a combination of zinc and copper, these contain the benefits of both these metals. Copper deficiency lowers the body’s immunity, causes anaemia, skin problems, and deteriorates bone health. Brass utensils are used for cooking non-acidic foods such as rice and dal.”

Copper:

Gushing over the benefits of drinking in copper vessels, Nutritionist Lovneet Batra revealed, “Storing water in a copper jar creates a natural process of water purification. It can eliminate moulds, fungi, algae and bacteria in the water that are potentially detrimental to the body, making the water safe to drink. Copper water shows antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.”

Adding to the list of health perks, Dhriti Udeshi, Fat loss, Weight Management Expert and Health Coach, shared, “Copper vessels can keep your water clean and fresh for a long time. Copper is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties that include relieving you of aches and pain from inflamed joints, strengthening your bones and helping in the efficient uptake of iron from your foods. A common Ayurveda recommendation is to store water in a copper vessel/jar overnight and drinking it first thing in the morning for good health. The metal copper has electromagnetic energy which is called Prana Shakti and therefore storing it for 8-10 hours and drinking it is believed to be very beneficial. Copper makes the water ionic which helps to maintain body’s pH (acid-alkaline) balance.” 

Echoing the same, Madhumitha Udaykumar, COO and Co-founder of The Indus Valley, said, “Copper vessels have been in vogue since times immemorial. In terms of drinking water, copper helps in purifying the water, by killing bad bacteria. Plus, drinking water stored in a copper utensil is beneficial in reducing any kind of stomach ailments including indigestion, inflammation and infection. Overall, copperware in general is elegant, hygienic, safe and durable. In copper cookware, you have the choice of choosing from different products such as copper jug, copper bottles, tumblers and water dispenser, to name a few.”

Iron:

Asserting that cast iron pans are a great replacement for non-stick pans, Health Coach Dhriti Udeshi revealed, “Non-stick pans are made with certain toxic chemicals that break down at high temperatures, which is definitely not a healthy way of cooking and consuming one’s food. Make sure to season your cast iron well before you begin using it, thereby making it virtually non-stick. There is a health bonus to this as well, which is that you don’t need to use a lot of oil while cooking. Another benefit of using cast iron is that it can leach some iron into your food and that’s a good thing. Iron deficiency is fairly common worldwide.”

Rooting for the same, Madhumitha Udaykumar elaborated, “Cooking in traditional cookware like cast iron and iron is quite beneficial in many ways. It releases a certain amount of iron in the food. This aspect helps in enriching your dishes with iron content as well as makes them tastier than the ones made in normal non-stick cookware. The main important factor about cast iron cookware is that it is completely free from chemicals or artificial coating, since it is made from natural materials. Another fact is that cast iron utensils are quite strong and highly durable, which can be used for generations. They are good in even heat distribution and heat retention. In cast iron cookware there is a wide range of options such as cast iron kadai, fry pan, roti tawa, paniyaram pan, appam pan and more.”

Kansa:

Kansa is also called bell metal or bronze and according to Nutritionist Lovneet Batra, it is one of the best metals to eat food from. She said, “It’s an alloy of tin and copper, both metals being considerably good for health. Kansa plate reduces the acid content in the food and promotes our gut health or digestive health. Using Kansa helps in reducing inflammation from arthritis, improves memory and assists in thyroid balance.”

As per Health Coach Dhriti Udeshi, “The benefits of using Kansa/bronze as serve ware is that it is an alkalising metal and is very beneficial for your gut health. As we know the root of every healthy person stems from their gut health and digestive system and Kansa alloy alkalizes and purifies the food and promotes digestive health. Kansa has an ability to destroy microorganisms making the metal hygienic for use, thereby improving immunity and preventing illness.”

Madhumitha Udaykumar added, “Cooking in bronze or kansa cookware has health benefits because it is made of various metals including tin, copper and zinc among others. This factor will help give our body the required essentials and thus improve digestion and food absorption, support in weight loss and boost immunity. On the other hand, bronze cookware retains nearly 92-97% of food nutrients. Whereas, this nutrition value is found to be very low in aluminium utensils, say 13% only. Be it for cooking or serving purposes, choosing bronze cookware over non-stick cookware is thus a better idea. Owing to its impressive looks, bronze cookware also makes a perfect choice for gifting.”