Smart Cooks Age Better - The Food Cure: Your Healthy Eating ...

Say “No” to Non-Stick
Think your non-stick pan is saving you time
and making for an easy cleanup
Possibly, but there’s something else it’s
doing that you may not know about:
leaching toxic substances like
trifluoroacetate (TFA) and perfluorooctanic
acid (PFOA) into your foods and the air you
breathe.
These chemicals, collectively called perflourinated compounds, act like estrogen and
have been linked with cancer, endocrine issues, ―polymer fume fever‖ and other
health problems in humans.
In animal studies, at least one perflourinated compound was found to be fatal to
rats, and fumes from Teflon coatings are fatal to birds.
In 2006, the EPA turned up the heat on eight companies producing or using PFOA
calling for a 95% reduction of PFOA in products and plant emissions by 2010 and
total elimination of PFOA by 2015.
And that’s a really good thing because PFOA was detected in close to 98% of the
population and in 100% of newborn babies.
Yet still, even with the evidence that these toxic chemicals are invading our bodies,
the makers of non-stick coatings contend that ―proper use‖ of non-stick cookware
(i.e. cooking at lower temperatures, not heating the pan without food or liquid, using
nonmetal tools, etc.) poses no threat of PFOA contamination.
But a recent study conducted by Cooks Illustrated again proved them wrong.
Comparing two varieties of non-stick pans (a cheap pan and a good-quality All-Clad
pan), the study prepared three recipes in each pan – skillet roasted potatoes,
chicken stir fry and a frittata.
Using an infrared thermometer gun to measure temperatures, the testers found that
it was very easy for both pans to get hotter than 500 degrees. In fact, on high heat,
it took three minutes for the cheap pan, and five minutes for the All-Clad, to pass
500 degrees. The testers also found that a gas stove was more likely to overheat the
pan than an electric stove.
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