Persistent stomachache? Check your Cooking Pots

Certain materials are more inert than others. This means the pots you use to cook with can interact with the food you make. Traces of metals can make their way into your food.

This is not so important for adults. For babies and small children it can be a risk to health. Experts are divided on exactly what the effects are. The biggest risks are attached to those who are allergic to certain metals. And babies can't always tell you what has given them a stomachache or that unsightly rash.

When your cooking pots are shiny and new, there is no risk. As soon as they begin to get chipped, the metals they are made of can get into your food. Here are some tips from the experts to help you avoid any health risks:

- Avoid using copper pots that are not lined or insulated to prepare your baby's food. Copper can break down folic acid and vitamins C and E once it is heated to a high enough temperature. Some foods are acidic - anything that incudes vinegar for example. Acidic foods break down the copper in your pots - and this is deposited in your food.

- Pots made of aluminium react with acidic food, releasing traces of aluminium that may get into your baby's food. A safer alternative is anodized aluminium cookware which prevents any aluminium getting into your food.

- Stainless steel pots are fairly inert and won't react with food even though they are made of a variety of metals. But you'd be better off not using them to prepare baby food if the pots are old - especially if they are dented or chipped.

The non-stick material coating non-stick pans can chip off into the food you're preparing, so you should avoid using them to prepare your baby's food. Toxic fumes may be released if you heat a non-stick pan to a high enough temperature.

In general, scrubbing your stainless steel cookware with an abrasive substance such as wire wool is not a great idea. As well as scratching your pots, it releases small quantities of of nickel and chromium into your food.

However, the news is not all bad. Cooking with iron cooking pots can benefit your health. When you cook acidic foods such as tomatoes in iron, the foods actually "pull" the iron from the pot. This boosts the important dietary iron in your food.

The FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition say that ceramic, glass and enameled cookware is safe. They recommend not using older enameled cookware because it may contain cadmium. Cadmium is toxic and is no longer used in the manufacture of cookware in the US.