Christy CushingThis post contains links that are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. For more information, check out my disclosure policy.
When not at work, I primarily live in my kitchen and living room. Nickel is everywhere. Found in stainless steel to prevent corrosion and rust in common household items, like cookware and appliances. Visit any commercial kitchen or store selling cookware and you’ll be blinded by the amount of stainless steel shining back at you.
Continually exposing my body to nickel, both by contact and ingesting foods higher in nickel, ultimately resulted in my systemic nickel allergy. My entire body reacts internally and appears externally as severe eczema or atopic dermatitis.
Living low nickel by making conscious choices to reduce my exposure to nickel is my philosophy. I’m not a purist. There really isn’t any way to be nickel free, as our bodies still need some nickel to function properly. The key is to become aware of all the hidden places nickel exists in an effort to avoid it.
We can adapt what we eat and how we cook our foods. Changing everything in our lives overnight is not realistic or feasible. Remodeling our homes to be entirely nickel free is cost prohibitive in my world.
I’ve lived in eight different homes since my diagnosis with a systemic nickel allergy in 2009. Kitchen size and layout has become a priority in my home. By spending more time cooking low nickel meals and hosting family and friends instead of eating out, my kitchen has evolved into a gathering place. Last year, I purchased a home that’s the nicest place I’ve ever lived in. Our home was fully and professionally renovated. In all its beauty, the upgrades included brand new stainless steel appliances plus brushed nickel door knobs and handles.
My huge fridge is stocked with plenty of food. I always try to use a towel when opening my stainless steel fridge or an oven mitt when opening the oven to reduce my contact with the nickel. My dishwasher efficiently removes the mess of gourmet meals I regularly eat. I store nickel friendly lotion on the bathroom counter to minimize opening bathroom drawers. It seems so miniscule, these tiny contacts happen dozens of times every day. Each of them, introducing more nickel contact each time. Finding replacements for the custom cabinetry is costly and time consuming. Eliminating nickel entirely, even with my level of awareness and resources is still challenging or impossible.
You’d have to be a magician to hide all of the nickel found in the kitchen. Cookware is expensive and it takes time to build a kitchen full of useful cooking tools. Nickel from the stainless steel pans can leach into the food you cook, especially when heated and doubly so when acidic foods like lemons and tomatoes are introduced. I suggest avoiding using stainless steel pots and pans. Fantastic nickel free alternatives include ceramic, cast iron and glass options. Considering it takes time to upgrade your cookware, perhaps start with one or two pans to see the huge difference it makes when beginning to cook low nickel.
Before you switch out the cookware you use, ask yourself which method of cooking do you prefer? I primarily cook on the stovetop or in the oven. During the summer, we’ll often use our grill or Crockpot. Recently we purchased an Instant pot with a ceramic insert which has become a favorite tool that enables quickly cooking homemade meals when we don’t feel like cooking dinner at the end of the day. Identify what cooking tools you already use the most when figuring out which pieces of cookware to upgrade.
On the stove, I use a tramontina 12 inch porcelain enamel, that has an aluminum base and ceramic coated barrier. As long as the ceramic finish remains scratch free, the ceramic prevents toxic metals from leaching into my food. Originally I purchased a ceramic aeternum pan set, but I wouldn’t recommend them as it’s easy to scratch the ceramic. I also love to use my Lodge cast iron skillets and my Lodge cast iron dutch oven, (affiliate link) both of which can begin on the stovetop and later be placed in the oven depending on what you’re preparing. A hidden benefit of cooking with cast iron includes the fact it adds iron to your meal, which reduces your body’s absorption of nickel.
When I bake, I use cast iron or Pyrex glass (affiliate link) as alternatives to stainless steel pans. There are fantastic cast iron cookbooks that will train you on how to condition your cast iron and cook anything from a casserole to an apple pie. Until I saw someone’s two layer cake picture on Instagram, I didn’t realize you can even make fluffy cakes in them! From time to time, I’ll still use my stainless steel baking sheets or muffin pans. To create a barrier between the pan and my food, I’ll use parchment paper or cupcake paper liners. I’ve never tried silicone products in the oven, but there are many who use silicone baking liners or pans instead of stainless steel pans.
An American tradition, grilling adds unique flavors to your meats and vegetables. Many grills are stainless steel. If this is the case, you might be able to replace the actual grill grate with your grill’s manufacturer. Or you can use a Lodge cast iron grill plate on top. If your grill’s original grill plate doesn’t bother you, why change it? I use my original stainless steel grill grate alone and with cast iron cookware on top.
Once you finished cooking your delicious meal, remember to use ceramic plates and nickel free utensil. My eyes and lips react the worst when I eat foods higher in nickel. It’s not a coincidence that the eczema around my lips improved dramatically when I stopped using certain utensils that contained nickel. Technically I still use stainless steel utensils but today my silverware is stainless steel 18/0, which means 18% chromium, 0% nickel. The most common stainless steel silverware is 18/10 and the 10 is 10% nickel. I also have plastic and wooden utensil sets I keep in my lunchbox and car when I travel.
I’m not aware of a blender that doesn’t use some sort of metal blade. I don’t believe my blender causes me any issues. There’s a possibility when I make a fruit smoothie some acidic fruits could cause the nickel to release from the blade, but I only blend the smoothie for a short period of time. It’s more likely a lemon custard or lemon curd blended for an extended period of time, such as 10-20 minutes to heat the egg and lemon, would be more problematic than when I make a smoothie. I love using my mini Ninja blender to blend mixed drinks or cauliflower rice.
Balancing the amount of effort tirelessly using low nickel appliances has meant sometimes I’ll use stainless steel options. Previously I paid $3.00 for a loaf of white bread at a fancy grocery store I’d have to travel out of my way to purchase. Unless I froze half of the loaf, often the bread would go moldy before I finished it. Instead my spouse found a brand new Cuisinart Bread Maker for $15.00 at a local thrift store. Now we make our own 1 ½ pound loaf of white bread weekly at a fraction of the cost. I control all of the ingredients which include butter, water, honey, white bread flour, dehydrated milk and yeast. Despite the bread maker being stainless steel it doesn’t seem to bother me. Perhaps some of that is the reduction in my stress trying to find low nickel bread at the store! I still toast my homemade white bread in my oster toaster. If you find a nickel free toaster, please let me know where you found it.
As an avid tea drinker, I switched out my stainless steel teapot for a glass teapot. Many coffee machines contain nickel than can leach into your coffee. I had luck using a Hamilton coffee maker. All of my to-go mugs are plastic. The majority of to-go mugs are metal as it retains heat better than plastic. Beware of any hidden nickel in your coffee machine or your to-go mugs.
Focusing on low nickel cookware solutions, I’d love to hear what you prefer using or any tips you have to reducing your nickel in your kitchen, in the comment section below!
Christy Cushing
Stevie Howe
28 comments
Hi, Thanks for all of the good information. I had a lab test done a few years ago and it said I “react” to nickel, so I have made great efforts to reduce the nickel in my kitchen. I also want to reduce the number of heavy metals in my body. I have found ceramic peelers and ceramic knives to be wonderful, when used as directed. The brand I recommend is Kyocera. I’ve also been told that titanium utensils are excellent for people who are avoiding nickel and other heavy metals. Reasonably priced titanium utensils (forks, spoons, and knives) are available at REI Coop stores and in their online stores. I plan to get a set this week. I, too, have limited the amount of cast iron that comes in contact with my food, especially acidic foods. The idea of using ceramic-coated cast iron seems like a good idea since the iron that leaches out of cast iron cookware is supposedly ferric iron (not ferrous iron). My understanding is that ferric iron is not properly assimilated by our bodies (like ferrous iron is), but instead acts like a heavy metal and gets stuck in our liver and kidneys and isn’t properly used. This is something I read online, I am no expert on iron.
Hi Linda,
Thanks for your comment and appreciation for my post! I’ve never heard of a ceramic peeler, but I have seen the ceramic knives. Many say they prefer using their ceramic knives to metal knives. You’re correct, titanium is a great non-toxic nickel free alternative to stainless steel utensils. I’ll have to check the ones you describe the next time I’m at REI!
I am no iron expert. I used to be anemic when I donated blood, so the solution was to stop donating blood and my body self corrected. Hemochromatosis, which is a rare condition where your body overloads on iron runs in my family. I try to not eat too much red meat, even though I love and instead rely on some of the iron from cast iron pans to supplement my diet.
Balance is everything, but is also very challenging to continually achieve!
Warm regards,
Christy
Good morning!
I am recently wondering if nickel might be causing me major problems in my life. I live in a new apartment, beautifully designed with lots of stainless steel! I can barely spend time in the kitchen at all. I get itchy, cough and feel warm. My tongue burns, stings and itches and often turns white. I haven’t worn jewelry in months but the skin behind my ears will still break out and my scalp itches. My face burns and breaks out.
Have you heard from orhers with similar symptoms that have been able to pinpoint nickel? I have several other allergies, most that have come on quickly over the past few months. I’m looking for help in dealing with this.
Do you know if the nickel accumulates in our system or if it is flushed out?
Looking for a support group…
Thanks,
Stacey
Hi Stacey,
Thanks for your comment. I’m not sure about your personal situation. Nickel allergies are very common as nickel is everywhere! Some of us are more sensitive to nickel and those of us who develop systemic nickel allergies our bodies seem to accumulate more than others to the point our entire system reacts internally. Some have tried to “detox” or use “chelation” but it’s effectiveness varies depending on the person. There are private Facebook groups that could be useful.
Warm regards,
Christy
Hi, I have just been diagnosed with nickel and Colbolt allergies, I also have lichen planopilaris and oral lichen Planus, The burning , pain and whiteness in your mouth sounds like lichen Planus. Itchy scalp with break outs and hair thinning can be Planopilaris. Look these up and if you feel you might have these go to peridontis and dermatology. Many doctors are not familiar with these, it took 3 years for me to get biopsy for diagnosis. I have been a nurse for 40 years and never heard of lichen. Good luck
I was concerned about the nickel in the Instant pot inner pot so I bought the ceramic-coated inner pot and it helped me limit exposure to nickel. I like cooking with tomato based soups and sauces, but even then only once in a while. Is there a product for pot-in-pot cooking that isn’t stainless steel?
I emailed Pyrex, CorningWare, and Anchor Hocking and they do not recommend using their products in an electric pressure cooker.
There doesn’t seem to be many choices.
Hi JM,
Thanks for your comment. I use the instapot ceramic insert . The insert is lined with ceramic, so I wouldn’t think of it as being stainless steel. Does the ceramic instapot insert bother you?
Pressure cookers can be very delicate and dangerous. I wouldn’t use any cookware in an instapot that wasn’t specifically designed for it.
Warm regards,
Christy
Thank you so much for all your posts and help! I’ve had external issues with nickel for 36 years (since my first baby was born), but didn’t realize it could be systemic. I can deal with the eczema, but I’m trying to overcome chronic fatigue. Giving up my metal mugs has been a huge help! Even my weak, brittle, peeling fingernails are healing!
I know many people avoid teflon for other health reasons, but should it be avoided for nickel allergy? I tried to Google it. It is made of plastic, so I don’t think there’s any nickel it in, unless it allows nickel to pass through.
Hi Beth,
Thanks for your comment and appreciation for my website. That’s wonderful your skin and nails are healing with changing your to-go mugs! I’m not sure about teflon and it’s relationship to nickel allergies. I’ve avoided non-stick cookware because of the research about teflon’s correlation to cancer. Most generic cookware is stainless steel, which is high in nickel. If you’re seeing positive changes with your coffee mugs, you might benefit from changing out a couple of your pots and pans to ceramic or cast iron, neither of which contain nickel nor teflon.
Warm regards,
Christy
Can you recommend a brand of cookware that is nickel free. I see some glass and ceramic cookware can contain lead. Also can you recommend a hair colour and clothes detergent that is nickel free. I’m living in Ireland.
Hi Moll,
Thanks for your comment. I have not heard about ceramic or glass cookware containing lead. Cast iron is probably the safest low nickel cookware and I like Lodge cast iron. I don’t know about hair coloring, as I’ve never used any because of all the chemicals. When it comes to clothes detergent I use All Free and Clear.
Warm regards,
Christy
Hi Moll,
Surcare- washing powder/detergent + washing up liquid.
E- cover Zero – clothes detergent and washing up liquid.
It’s Pure – Henna hair dye.
Neutral Whitewash (sensitive skin) – clothes detergent.
Our 8 year old was just diagnosed with a nickel allergy and finding bread has been the hardest part (well other than the chocolate). We are going to start to make bread for him but we are very confused, do you know if All Purpose Flour contains whole wheat? Thanks for your help. This site is truly the best resource we have found.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your comment and appreciation for my website. Since I often receive questions about wheat on the low nickel diet like yours my latest blog post addresses this question
https://nickelfoodallergy.com/what-about-wheat-on-the-low-nickel-diet/
Let me know if you have further questions.
Warm regards,
Christy
Omg. Your page has helped me so much. I have a nickel allergy and I’ve been using a moisturizer with oats thinking that it’s helping and I’m so confused as to why I have rashes all over my face. Omg. Thank you so much lol.
Hi Pam,
Thank you for your comment and appreciation for my website. I’m glad it’s helped you! I can’t use anything with oats on my body, but especially face, which is even more sensitive. I like to use Skintifique and there is a discount link if you want to try it within that post.
Warm regards,
Christy
Hi there,
I’d like to bring to attention one curious source of nickel almost nobody notices – colored glass – brown-ish expecially. See https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/03/03/coloured-glass/
Hi Art,
Thank you so much for sharing that graphic and information about how nickel is used to color brown glasses! That’s so fascinating and will be the topic of one of my upcoming posts, as I think it is very beneficial to share the info!
Warm regards,
Christy
You are able to tolerate tea and coffee?
I find that they have too much nickel content for me
Let me know! 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Yes, I’m able to tolerate both tea and coffee. I’ve written about both on my blog: The Question of Tea & Why I Drink Coffee.
Warm regards,
Christy
Hiii!
Thank you so much for your article.
Where can I buy 18/0 silverware?
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your comment. You can find 18/0 silverware online or at some kitchen stores. I’ve heard that Hometrends brand at Walmart in the U.S. and Canada offers an 18/0, where it says so on the label of the silverware. You might have to do some research or contact the company to verify whether it’s 18/0 or something else, but it does exist!
Good luck with your search,
Christy
Hi,
Thank you so much, your website has been an eye opener. I have been diagnosed with nickel allergy through patch testing but had no thought to reduce nickel in cooking/eating. Feeling so silly! I own a thermomix. I’m wondering if you know if they would be made of nickel containing stainless steel?
TIA!
Hi Bridget,
Thanks for your comment and appreciation for my website. It is really eye opening once you realize and see all the places nickel hides, especially in our cookware. I don’t know about the thermomix. At first glance, it probably contains stainless steel which most often contains nickel. The best way to learn is to contact the manufacturer and ask. If it’s 18/0 stainless steel then hooray, no nickel, but most stainless steel is 18/10, which is 10% nickel and 18% chromium.
Warm regards,
Christy
I have just been diagnosed with a nickel allergy along with something in soaps. I have a lot of the same issues you discussed. What was your first steps you took towards making life easier? Also I have IBS and hashimotos hypothyroidism and I struggle with organizing what needs to be done first or in what order so that I can see if nickel is indeed the culprit to my intestines, skin issues and scalp. If you have any words of wisdom I would appreciate it.
Hi Crystal,
Thanks for your comment and welcome. My story is a great place to start, and it also includes various links to other posts that can be helpful when you’re first navigating a nickel allergy diagnosis, such as using a food journal and my low nickel recipes.
Warm regards,
Christy
I was diagnosed with a nickel allergy in July.
I have been reading all I can find about nickel
and today I found your blog. Thank you for your
suggestions on cookware and snack options.
Figuring it out can be frustrating. Apparently
nickel affects my eyes causing severe itching,
burning, and swollen skin. It took months to get
this diagnosis, so now I am determined to do everything
I can to see improvement.
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for your comment. Glad to hear you’re so determined to do what you need to completely take care of yourself. It is true that living with a nickel allergy – especially at the early stage of diagnosis and discovery – can be very frustrating and challenging. It still challenges me sometimes even now after more than a decade of finding solutions, however the days and decisions have become much easier for me as with time.
Warm regards,
Christy