Saladmaster FAQ

If you are cooking on any chipped, non-stick pans, your food is directly exposed to the aluminum cooking surface… there is also a lot of controversy regarding consuming aluminum (more below).

If you read the back of a non-stick pan’s label it will warn you not to have birds in the kitchen, as fumes released from an overheated non-stick coated pan can kill birds. Furthermore, the fumes can also give you “polymer fume fever.” At 500ºF six different carcinogenic gases can be released from a non-stick pan. If inhaled, you can get flu-like symptoms, such as body aches, fever and nausea. A chemical found in non-stick pans called C-8 has also been linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

The last thing that touches our food in the cooking cycle is our cookware. Doesn’t it make sense it should be clean and safe?

Q: I have heard that aluminum could be hazardous to your health. Why do they make cookware that permits food to come in contact with aluminum?
 
A: There is a lot of speculation that aluminum causes various health ailments, specifically Alzheimers Disease.

The sale of aluminum cookware is prohibited in Germany, France, Belguim, Great Britain Switzerland, Hungary and Brazil. The FDA also forbids the use of aluminum utensils to store dairy products.

Aluminum is quite porous and the chemical reactions that take place while cooking make it more pitted with age. In addition, all vegetables cooked in aluminum produce hydroxide poison, which neutralizes the digestive juices, robbing them of their value to digest food, producing stomach and gastrointestinal trouble, such as stomach ulcers and colitis.

Source experts are now stating that the way you cook your food and what you cook your food on is just as important as what you eat.
 
Q: There are many brands of stainless steel cookware sold in stores. What are the differences?

A: When making a buying decision on cookware, you need to compare three very important features: (1) The grade of metal, (2) The distribution of heat, and (3) Temperature control.

Regarding the metal, most cookware sold in stores is an 18/10 grade of steel at best. Because of the softness of this grade of metal, when heated, it expands and the food sticks to the pan. You are then forced to cook with oil and the pan becomes difficult to clean. In addition the natural acids and salts contained in our foods can create a chemical reaction with inferior cooking surfaces.

Cookware sold in retail stores generally have a slab of aluminum or copper fused to the bottom of the pan. This gives good heat conduction, only on the bottom of the pot. Because of the uneven heat, one must constantly watch and stir the food or it scorches or doesn’t cook uniformly and prolongs cooking time. In the end, you have to work harder to cook your foods.

Because the nutrition of our food can be damaged by high heat, temperature control becomes another important factor to consider when shopping for cookware. All our stoves and fridges have a means of controlling temperature, why doesn’t our cookware have one?  Without an accurate system to notify you when the internal temperature of your pan reaches a specific point, you’ll always be stuck in the kitchen making sure your pot doesn’t boil over.

Some pans have steam vents, but if your vegetables are exposed to the high temperature of steam (212ºF + ), you will destroy the life-giving properties of your food.  Life begets life. So keep your food alive when you cook; below 200ºF.

Q: Is glass cookware superior to other types of cookware?

A: It’s fine for serving your food, but it’s the very worst heat conductor of all cookware materials (even the manufacturer admits that glass cookware has a cold spot in the center of the pan…). That means poor cooking results in unnecessary energy losses.

There are other limitations and inconveniences associated with glass cookware. It won’t melt but it will break! If it is exposed to hot and cold, it can literally explode into thousands of tiny pieces. A quick reading of the instructions will alert you to these potential drawbacks.

Health Professionals are also concerned about the use of lead in these pans. Studies have shown lead, a heavy metal, if consumed can cause neurological damage, especially in young children.

Q: What are the real problems associated with ingesting heavy metals from the leaching process of cookware?

A: Many people have become aware of the mercury toxicity problem. But it would be a mistake to think that metal poisoning is unique to this particular toxin. Consider: silver colloid is an antiseptic and has been used since ancient times to inhibit bacteria in drinking water. If it poisons germs, it will poison you.

The fact is that all metals are toxic and our bodies require special transport and handling mechanisms to keep them from harming us. This applies just as much as essential minerals, like iron, zinc and chromium, as it does to non-essential metals and metalloids, like cadmium and arsenical compounds.

Heavy Metals & Cancer

Metals can directly and indirectly damage DNA and that means an increased risk of cancer (we call this genotoxicity). There are also possibly non-genotoxic pathways, due to irritation or immuno-toxicity. Sure enough, a number of metals are known to be carcinogenic. These are:

arsenic and arsenic compounds,
beryllium and beryllium compounds,
cadmium and cadmium compounds,
nickel compounds and
hexavalent chromium (remember the movie "Erin Brockovich"?).
The usual target is the lung, though arsenic has a unique association with skin cancers that has been recognized for many years.

It is a fact that metal implants in the body (as, for example, in bone pinning or plates) may be associated with adjacent cancers, caused by irritation of the tissues. The late Patrick Stortebecker at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm also pointed out the frequency with which cancer of the jaw was found in association with metal amalgam fillings. That is disturbing, since this particular kind of "prosthetic" tends to be very long term and very common indeed.

Other Metals Which Cause Damage

The presence of toxic metals in our systems is highly significant for they are capable of causing serious health problems through interfering with normal biological functioning. Although they can be found in high concentrations in the body, a number of these heavy metals (aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, lead and mercury) have no known biological function. Others (arsenic, copper, iron and nickel) are thought to be essential at low concentrations, but are toxic at high levels. Generally speaking, heavy metals disrupt metabolic function in two basic ways:

Because their impact is at such a foundational level, heavy metals can be causal factors in literally any health problem. If your job or living circumstances expose you to heavy metals, you would do well to minimize or eliminate your exposure as much as possible. Be aware that there are many ways these toxins can be absorbed into your body--through foods and beverages, skin exposure, and via the air you breathe. So, whenever possible, wear gloves, use protective breathing apparatuses, and be sure to obtain fresh air ventilation.

Avoiding Heavy Metal Exposure is Impossible

Such preventative measures are worthwhile and important , but ultimately futile. The inescapable reality is that it is impossible in this day and age not to be exposed to heavy metals. It is only a matter of how much and how often.

Heavy Metal Sources & Effects

ALUMINUM (rest of the world says and spells: aluminium), alum, aluminum foil, animal feed, antacids, aspirin, auto exhaust, baking powder, beer, bleached flour, cans, ceramics, cheese, cigarette filters, color additives, construction materials, cookware, cosmetics, dental amalgams, deodorants, drinking water, drying agents, dust, insulated wiring, medicinal compounds, milk products, nasal spray, pesticides, pollution, salt, tap water, tobacco smoke, toothpaste, treated water, vanilla powder.

EFFECTS: ALS, Alzheimer's, anemia, appetite loss, behavioral problems, cavities, colds, colitis, confusion, constipation, dementia, dry mouth, dry skin, energy loss, excessive perspiration, flatulence, headaches, heartburn, hyperactivity, inhibition of enzyme systems, kidney dysfunction, lowered immune function, learning disabilities, leg twitching, liver dysfunction, memory loss, neuromuscular disorders, numbness, osteoporosis, paralysis, Parkinson's disease, peptic ulcer, psychosis, reduced intestinal activity, senility, skin problems, spleen pain, stomach pain, weak and aching muscles

ARSENIC, burning of arsenate treated building materials, coal combustion, insect sprays, pesticides, soils (arsenic rich), seafood from coastal waters, especially mussels, oysters and shrimp

EFFECTS: abdominal pain, anorexia, brittle nails, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chronic anemia, burning in mouth / esophagus / stomach / bowel, confusion, convulsions, dermatitis, drowsiness, enzyme inhibition, garlicky odor to breath / stool, hair loss, headaches, hyper-pigmentation of nails and skin, increased risk of liver / lung / skin cancers, low grade fever, mucous in nose and throat, muscle aches / spasms / weakness, nervousness, respiratory tract infection, swallowing difficulty, sweet metallic taste, throat constriction

BERYLLIUM, coal burning, manufacturing, household products, industrial dust

EFFECTS: disturbance of calcium and vitamin D metabolism, magnesium depletion, lung cancer, lung infection, rickets, vital organ dysfunction

CADMIUM, airborne industrial contaminants, batteries, candy, ceramics, cigarette smoke, colas, congenital intoxication, copper refineries, copper alloys, dental alloys, drinking water, electroplating, fertilizers, food from contaminated soil, fungicides, incineration of tires / rubber / plastic, instant coffee, iron roofs, kidney, liver, marijuana, processed meat, evaporated milk, motor oil, oysters, paint, pesticides, galvanized pipes, processed foods, refined grains / flours cereals, rubber, rubber carpet backing, seafoods (cod, haddock, oyster, tuna), sewage, silver polish, smelters, soft water, solders (including in food cans), tobacco, vending machine soft drinks, tools, vapor lamps, water (city, softened, well), welding metal

EFFECTS: alcoholism, alopecia, anemia, arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid), bone disease, bone pain in middle of bones, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cavities, cerebral hemorrhage, cirrhosis, diabetes, digestive disturbances, emphysema, enlarged heart, flu-like symptoms, growth impairment, headaches, high cholesterol, hyperkinetic behavior, hypertension, hypoglycemia, impotence, inflammation, infertility, kidney disease, learning disorders, liver damage, lung disease, migraines, nerve cell damage, osteoporosis, prostate dysfunction, reproductive disorders, schizophrenia, stroke

COPPER, birth control pills, congenital intoxication, copper cookware, copper IUDs, copper pipes, dental alloys, fungicides, ice makers, industrial emissions, insecticides, swimming pools, water (city / well), welding, avocado, beer, bluefish, bone meal, chocolate, cookware, corn oil, crabs, gelatin, grains, lamb, liver, lobster, margarine, milk, mushrooms, nuts, organ meats, oysters, perch, seeds, shellfish, soybeans, tofu, wheat germ, yeast

EFFECTS: acne, adrenal insufficiency, allergies, alopecia, anemia, anorexia, anxiety, arthritis (osteo & rheumatoid), autism, cancer, chills, cystic fibrosis, depression, diabetes, digestive disorders, dry mouth, dysinsulinism, estrogen dominance, fatigue, fears, fractures, fungus, heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Hodgkin's disease, hyperactivity, hypertension, hyperthyroid, low hydrochloric acid, hypoglycemia, infections, inflammation, insomnia, iron loss, jaundice, kidney disorders, libido decreased, lymphoma, mental illness, migraines, mood swings, multiple sclerosis, myocardial infarction, nausea, nervousness, osteoporosis, pancreatic dysfunction, panic attacks, paranoia, phobias, PMS, schizophrenia, senility, sexual dysfunction, spacey feeling, stuttering, stroke, tooth decay, toxemia of pregnancy, urinary tract infections, yeast infections

IRON, cookware, drinking water, iron cookware, iron pipes, welding,. foods: blackstrap molasses, bone meal, bran, chives, clams, heart, kidney, leafy vegetables, legumes, liver, meat, molasses, nuts, organ meats, oysters, parsley, red wine, refined foods, shellfish, soybeans, wheat germ, whole grains

EFFECTS: amenorrhea, anger, rheumatoid arthritis, birth defects, bleeding gums, cancer, constipation, diabetes, dizziness, emotional problems, fatigue, headache, heart damage, heart failure, hepatitis, high blood pressure, hostility, hyperactivity, infections, insomnia, irritability, joint pain, liver disease, loss of weight, mental problems, metallic taste in mouth, myasthenia gravis, nausea, pancreas damage, Parkinson's disease, premature aging, schizophrenia, scurvy, shortness of breath, stubborness

LEAD, ash, auto exhaust, battery manufacturing, bone meal, canned fruit and juice, car batteries, cigarette smoke, coal combustion, colored inks, congenital intoxication, cookware, cosmetics, eating utensils, electroplating, household dust, glass production, hair dyes, industrial emissions, lead pipes, lead-glazed earthenware pottery, liver, mascara, metal polish, milk, newsprint, organ meats, paint, pencils, pesticides, produce near roads, putty, rain water, pvc containers, refineries, smelters, snow, tin cans with lead solder sealing (such as juices, vegetables), tobacco, toothpaste, toys, water (city / well), wine

EFFECTS: abdominal pain, adrenal insufficiency, allergies, anemia, anorexia, anxiety, arthritis (rheumatoid and osteo), attention deficit disorder, autism, back pain, behavioral disorders, blindness, cardiovascular disease, cartilage destruction, coordination loss, concentration loss, constipation, convulsions, deafness, depression, dyslexia, emotional instability, encephalitis, epilepsy, fatigue, gout, hallucinations, headaches, hostility, hyperactivity, hypertension, hypothyroid, impotence, immune suppression, decreased IQ, indigestion, infertility, insomnia, irritability, joint pain, kidney disorders, learning disability, liver dysfunction, loss of will, memory loss (long term), menstrual problems, mood swings, muscle aches, muscle weakness, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, myelopathy (spinal cord pathology), nausea, nephritis, nightmares, numbness, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathies, psychosis, psychomotor dysfunction, pyorrhea, renal dysfunction, restlessness, retardation, schizophrenia, seizures, sterility, stillbirths, sudden infant death syndrome, tingling, tooth decay, vertigo, unintentional weight loss

MERCURY, adhesives, air conditioner filters, algaecides, antiseptics, battery manufacturing, body powders, broken thermometers, burning newspapers and building materials, calomel lotions, cereals, congenital intoxication, cosmetics, dental amalgams, diuretics, fabric softeners, felt, floor waxes, fungicides, germicides, grains, industrial waste, insecticides, laxatives, lumber, manufacture of paper and chlorine, medications, mercurochrome, paints, paper products, pesticides, photoengraving, polluted water, Preparation H, psoriasis ointment, seafoods (especially tuna and swordfish), sewage disposal, skin lightening creams, soft contact lens solution, suppositories, tanning leather, tattooing, water (contaminated), wood preservatives

EFFECTS: adrenal dysfunction, allergy, alopecia, anorexia, anxiety, birth defects, blushing, brain damage, cataracts, cerebral palsy, poor coordination / jerky movements, deafness, depression, dermatitis, discouragement, dizziness, drowsiness, eczema, emotional disturbances, excess saliva, fatigue, gum bleeding and soreness, headaches (band type), hearing loss, hyperactivity, hypothyroidism, forgetfulness, immune dysfunction, insomnia, irritability, joint pain, kidney damage, loss of self-control, memory loss, mental retardation, metallic taste, migraines, nervousness, nerve fiber degeneration, numbness, pain in limbs, rashes, retinitis, schizophrenia, shyness, speech disorders, suicidal tendencies, tingling, tremors (eyelids, lips, tongue, fingers, extremities), vision loss, weakness

NICKEL, butter, fertilizers, food processing, fuel oil combustion, hydrogenated fats and oils, imitation whipped cream, industrial waste, kelp, margarine, nuclear device testing, oysters, stainless steel cookware, tea, tobacco smoke, unrefined grains and cereals, vegetable shortening

EFFECTS: anorexia, kidney dysfunction, apathy, disruption of hormone and lipid metabolism, fever, hemorrhages, headache, heart attack, intestinal cancer, low blood pressure, muscle tremors, nausea, oral cancer, skin problems, vomiting

Stealth Pathogens

Today we are seeing more and more cryptic lingering infections due to so-called "stealth pathogens". In the 60s we used to talk of the "smouldering virus" but it is now abundantly clear that bacteria are also to blame and so the broader term is preferred. Notable are cytomegalovirus (CMV), Chlamydia pneumoniae, Epstein-Barr and Borrelia bugdorferi (Lyme disease). But there are others and probably plenty more waiting to be discovered.

A good doctor today, when confronted with any kind of chronic disease, must think of stealth pathogens. That in turn implies terrain problems. And terrain means pollution, possibly pesticides and chemicals, but more probably heavy metal overload.

It goes without saying that cleaning up the metallosis is more important than treating the pathogen or the disease, though this is alien to the modern drug-based medical canon!

Persistence In The Environment

One of the problems with metals is their environmental persistence. Once mined and brought into the ecology, they last almost indefinitely.

Also, we face the usually-ignored problem of potentiation, which means two relatively small doses of two different substances may have a dramatically enhanced effect when present together. For instance it is not widely known that the presence of lead (which is everywhere) makes mercury 100 times more toxic.

We call these metal-metal interactions and they might be quite critical in the formation of cancers. Animal studies also indicate, for example, that calcium enhances lead toxicity in rats and cadmium increases the likelihood of cadmium-induced prostatic cancer.

Given these insights, the complacency of traditional dentists over the cocktail of metalloids they put in our mouths as "amalgam" is little short of scientific folly. In the US they call them silver fillings, in an effort to imply purity and divert from the fact they are an amalgam of several different metals, of which silver is only a small proportion of the whole.

Protection From Other Metals

But it also works the other way. The presence of a second metal may actually protect against toxicity. Thus, for instance, magnesium was shown in animal studies to prevent cadmium-induced testicular tumours and zinc blocks lung cancer caused by continued inhalation of cadmium. Both magnesium and manganese were effective at preventing tumours which otherwise formed at the site of nickel injections in rats.

In fact magnesium has been shown to have a wide variety of beneficial effects against metal carcinogenesis risk factors. Yet another reason why magnesium is one of the most vital and health-giving nutrients we have. Avoid deficiency at all costs.

We have known for decades that selenium is vitally protective against mercury and also has a powerful anti-cancer benefit. When the daily intake is 100 microgrammes or more (200 mcg. is better), the risk of cancer from all sources drops dramatically.

What Can You Do?

Apart from living in isolation on an organic farm, not much. And that's only relative. Don't be fooled that you would be safe in this environment; metals are in the air, as experience with strontium 90 and other radio-active atoms shows. Attempts to remove lead from our motor combustion engines is a good start. Better copper-based plumbing is also a right move.

But there is much pollution in the food chain. Lead dust is everywhere by the highways and in the dirt, left there from over a quarter of a century ago, when it was spewed by motor exhausts. Having an intelligent strategy to get rid of heavy metal poisons is critical to survival in this century and much wiser than wishing it wasn't there or wanting to run away to some transient utopia.

Do All You Can To Reduce The Load By All Means

But rely more on competitive inhibition: that means the presence of "good" metals to squeeze out the bad ones. Remember all metals are toxic. But in reasonable physiological doses zinc, magnesium and selenium are important protectives. Fill up the seats with good guys and the bad guys can't enjoy the show.

You should be taking 200 mcg. daily of selenium, 20- 50 milligrams of zinc (citrate form is shown to be best absorbed) and 350 milligrams of magnesium, as the orotate, gluconate or amino-chelate. Watch out for diarrhoea from magnesium salts, otherwise you might actually suffer a loss of mineral intake. These will tend to squeeze the bad guys.

Finally, remember that once the source of contamination is removed, if you support your body with good de-tox and nutritional requirements, the heavy metals will gradually disappear from the tissues by slow attrition, a process termed depuration.

Q: Which vegetables and fruits are better to eat: fresh, frozen or canned?

A: What a great question! After seeing our dinner shows, our guests are often concerned about the types of foods (specifically vegetables and fruits) that they're purchasing. In a nutshell, here's your answer.

Fresh vegetables and fruit today can be procured in a number of ways: (1) Growing your own in a garden, (2) purchasing from a farmer's market or street vendor, (3) purchasing from an organic grocer, or (4) purchasing from a supermarket.

Vegetables and fruits get the majority of their nutrients in the last 24 hours prior to their ripening. This sudden influx of nutrients is what causes them to have great taste and high nutritional content.

Home grown and farmer's market vegetables and fruits are - by far - your healthiest choice, so long as there are no pesticides used by the grower (organic). This source allows for the longest growing season where vegetables and fruits are able to be picked at their ripest point and still be delivered to you in good condition.

Your second best choice is organic frozen fruits and vegetables. These are also picked ripe and are then flash-frozen at the source and shipped to your supermarket frozen. Frozen non-organic are good as far as nutritional content is concerned, but may contain pesticides.

Your third best choice is organic canned fruits and vegetables. Again, these are picked ripe, but they are put into an aluminum can (see Aluminum question above) and then cooked in the can prior to labeling and shipping. Canned non-organic are good as far as nutritional content is concerned, but may contain pesticides.

Fresh vegetables and fruits do not transport very well over long distances from the growing field to the store. Because of this, they are often picked before the final 24-hour ripening process occurs. Picking them early means that they're not ripe and means that the nutritional content is severely lessened. For instance, tomatoes picked ripe and shipped from California to Colorado would never survive the trip. Instead, they are picked green and shipped green. On the way to the store shelves, an ethylene gas bomb - not poisonous - is discharged in the shipping truck to redden (not ripen) the tomatoes. When they arrive, they are red and pretty, but they taste terrible (compared to home-grown) and have minimal nutrition. Knowing this...

Your fourth best choice is a purchase of fresh vegetables & fruits from an organic grocer. While it is assumed that these vegetables and fruits are healthier due to the lack of pesticides used in the growing process, the above shipping process generally occurs which means the nutritional content is low.

Your final choice is a purchase of fresh fruits & vegetables from a local supermarket. These are not organic nor are they ripe. You run the risks of the added pesticides without the benefits of high nutrition.