My wife was anemic (vegetarian) for a long, long time. We use close to 100% cast iron these days, and she hasn't had an iron issue in 2+ years.<p>And as another commenter said, it lasts forever. My favorite pan has been in my family so long (at least 5 generations) that no one really knows who owned it first.<p>Most people I know who have had issues with cast iron either buy bad cast iron, or don't know how to season a new pan - an old pan can be re-seasoned in about 30 minutes, but a new pan will take several days, and possibly some sandpaper, to get its first good seasoning.
Cast iron cookware is a fun, low-grade/background hobby for me. Both using and restoring it. You can often find it affordably at garage sales, estate sales, etc - and even if it looks like it's in bad shape it often is quite recoverable. The restoration process is pretty simple - run it through the homemade electrolysis rig for a day or two, test for lead[1], season and it's ready to use. Once restored it can be sold or given away - and the collectors/aficionados will pay a pretty penny for some pieces.<p>On the cooking side, well seasoned cast iron is nice for a lot of situations, and the maintenance and care is a breeze.[2].<p>The part I like the most is that it lasts forever. Every day i use cookware that my great-grandparents bought and used when raising my grandmother, and after they passed, my grandmother used them cooking for the family, and now I use them. There's some other family heirlooms, but the cast iron is my favorite because there's that practical daily connection to my roots - and I don't have to be particularly careful or reverent with it. Somehow that makes it feel more real.<p>[1] This is really important, particularly with old cast iron. People used to be far less cautious about lead, and used it in a lot of settings. A cast iron pan is a pretty good vessel for melting it down. The tests are readily available and you can know for sure if you'll be poisoning yourself or others.<p>[2] You'll find a lot of nonsense about cast iron. A lot of it is accumulated wisdom that no longer applies, and a lot of it is myth. For example: soap used to be bad for cast iron because it had lye - a caustic agent like that can eat into the seasoning and cause problems (modern dish-soap isn't like that). Generally I find cleaning and maintenance to be equal to or less effort than any other pan, just different - I'm happy to trade an extra 30s of cleaning time over a non-stick pan so that I can use a good metal spatula or tongs instead of some flimsy plastic crap.
Small plug of company I love (not paid or anything). Field skillet is literally the best cast iron I’ve ever used. Their skillet size is truly sublime for breakfast stuff and smash burgers