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Important facts about the dangers of your cooking pans
Last month I had written about how alarmed I became when I noticed that my Teflon pan had scratches and that I had not noticed and I been heating foods in a pan that potentially could be leaching toxin chemicals in my body. I unceremoniously got rid of the old pans without a second thought.
You can still read the post here: Debate over the danger of Teflon-coated pans: I just got rid of my Teflon-coated pan because it was chipped and scratched
I did a bit more research and found more information. Now, before I get into the meat of things, I thought I’d say openly that this is information that you can choose to use as you wish and not information meant to alarm you. I know that for many people this might be the first they hear of the fact that their cooking pans might be dangerous to their health and given the cost of cookware these days, it’s surely not possible for everyone to throw out everything they’ve bought and start from scratch.
I make a point of cooking exclusively in stainless steel pots, glass or ceramic pans. I know that some people even have an issue with stainless steel and some say that’s not 100% safe, but then again nothing really is anymore in the world we live in and my philosophy is to lower risks as much as humanly possible. Basically, if I know that something is really bad or lethal, then I won’t use it, but that’s not the case of stainless steel (well, not from my understanding).
I guess, the ideal scenario might be to cook exclusively in glass pots, but those are mega heavy even before you put any foods into them.
Now, I should also mention that I still use a Teflon pan for two very specific reasons (to cook eggs and crepes) and the second I see a scratch, I discard the pan. I’ve not yet found a substitute to cook those foods, but if I did, I most likely would give up using Teflon pans all together.
So what’s the big deal about Teflon pans?
In May 2006 it has been reported that DuPont had been subpoena by the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section to turn over documents about PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) safety.
The scary thing is that a few weeks prior to this incident, DuPont settled a lawsuit, with a fine of $10.25 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alleging that DuPont hid health data about PFOA for twenty years!!! I really have an issue with the word “hid” because when you “hide” things from the government it’s because you know that your profits will fizzle once the public finds out that your product could be a hazard to their health.
So what is PFOA and why does it matters?
Well, from my research I’ve read a few results from studies conducted on animals and PFOA is NOT something you want in your body because it’s been linked to the following:
* Tumours in at least four different organs in animal tests.
* Increase in prostate cancer in PFOA plant workers (I guess this would be those who create these Teflon pans for a living).
* Changes in the pituitary in female rats, at all doses. The pituitary controls growth, reproduction, and many metabolic functions. Changes in the size of the pituitary indicate toxicity.
* Serious changes in the brain.
* Serious toxicity affecting the prostate, liver, thymus, and kidneys.
* Death of several rat pups due to PFOA exposure.
Just in case you were dismissing these findings by thinking this only applies to lab rats, a study reported in 2007 and conducted by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, showed alarming evidence newborn human infants face exposure to PFOA while in the womb.
It is possible that the levels might different from what you would be exposed to compared to what these lab animals were exposed to, but I’m sooooooooooooooo not taking a chance by over-exposing my body to Teflon.
There are many generic brand of Teflon-coated pans now produced in China, but there are a number of well-known brand names that you might think are safe, but might be all that good for your long-term health: T-Fal (most popular French brand), Xylon, Resistal, Excalibur, Silverstone, Supra, Duracote, Autograph, Greblon and Fluron.
What about aluminum pans … are those safe?
Well, not quite. I used to cook food in aluminum foil to make clean-up time easier. When I started reading that aluminum can leach and cause metal poisoning in your body, I started changing my ways. I now don’t even bake my plantains in aluminum foil because I’ve found ways of baking them in a glass pan in the same way I would roasted potatoes.
I still buy ready-made pie crusts to cook my quiches and that’s in aluminum, but I’ve decided to buy a glass pie dish and transfer the uncooked pie crust from the aluminum shell into the glass dish. Is this a bit too radical? Maybe to some, but given the Alzheimer scare associated with metal overload in the body and brain, I’d rather tread on the side of extreme caution.
What’s the link between aluminum pans or foil and Alzheimer?
Well a number of studies are suggesting that aluminum could be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows how devastating Alzheimer can be because of recent reports on televised medical reports or simply because a family member has been affected by the disease.
I don’t know about you, but I intend on keeping my mind as sharp as it is now when I’m in my 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and older.
The connection between aluminum and Alzheimer is because of the fact that aluminum reacts when in contact with salty and acidic foods (which covers pretty much anything you might eat). When in contact with those two elements, aluminum reacts and it’s released in the foods you are cooking. If you notice most aluminum cans are now coated with a white substance to prevent that reaction to acid foods. There was a point in time where I used to drink pineapple juice and once I became aware of the dangers of aluminum, I stopped and switched to fresh pineapple juice that comes in cartons (I buy the PC Fresh Pineapple juice). The one that comes in the cartons is easily twice the price of the canned one, but since pineapples are quite acidic, I just was not going to take that chance.
Here’s another thing you might not know: if Teflon chips off a coated aluminum pan, you can potentially be exposed to aluminum!!!
Here’s my previous post on the dangers of Teflon. You can still read it here:
So, were you aware of the dangers of Teflon and aluminum pans? What do you think of these new findings?
Photo by somegeekintn
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July 6th, 2010 at 9:02
Persians first began using colored eggs to celebrate spring in 3000 BC. Thirteenth century Macedonians were the first Christians to use colored eggs in Easter celebrations. Crusaders returning from the Middle East spread the custom of coloring eggs, and Europeans began to use them to celebrate Easter and other warm weather holidays.
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