Are Your Pots and Pans Killing You?

I told you several months ago to avoid Teflon-coated pots and pans. And now theres even more evidence that you should avoid kitchen utensils made of Teflon.

Teflons makers designed it to be indestructible. And it is. The chemicals they used to make it are fluorinated. Fluorine bonds are the strongest there are. No natural process can break them down.

However, two chemicals used in Teflon, perflurooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate, cause cancers in the pancreas, testicles, thyroid, and mammary glands of lab animals. Other studies show that workers in Teflon plants are three times as likely to die of prostate cancer as the general population.

Teflon is tough to avoid. But you can do it. I recommend using glass or stainless steel pots and pans. I prefer the former. Stainless steel is very heat efficient and fairly resistant to acids and food chemicals. But it does contain nickel, a potentially toxic metal. If you use it, make sure you are taking an oral chelation product to protect yourself from the nickel. Otherwise, stick with glass.

Ref: AlterNet, January 2, 2007.