Is Your Cookware And Other Household Items Killing You, Your Family And Your Pet?
Posted on January 27th, 2014Using easily cleaned, non-stick cookware, does make doing the dishes easier, but is it really safe?
Teflon coated cookware has really come under the eye of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based upon 1 to 15 different toxins that a Teflon coating could release, when it becomes overheated. Of all the toxins that are released from this cookware, Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) seems to be the most serious for you, your family and your family pets.
If you over heat any Teflon cookware, it will also release polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFC) which will kill your pet bird, if housed to close to your kitchen. A fact like this must concern you especially if you, your family and your pets are travelling through this “danger zone” frequently!
What is known at this time about Teflon cookware is that if temperatures for cooking are too high, it may release toxic gases that can cause you, and your family to have symptoms of the flu referred to as the “Teflon Flu”. This “Teflon flu” may manifest itself as a headache, nausea, fever, muscle aches and a general state of malaise where you just don’t feel well. Unfortunately our pets can’t talk, but I wonder how they feel when exposed to this toxin?
Once the PFOA is absorbed by the body or released into the environment, there appears to be no breakdown but rather a buildup. This definitely is just another way to pollute ourselves, our family, our pets and our environment, by just trying to cook honestly and eat healthy while making cleaning the pots and pans more easy. Trading good health for convenience may never be the answer!
PFOA has been linked to cancer and birth defects in laboratory animals.
PFOA may be linked to birth defects in two families that had a member of their family working in a factory that produced Teflon cookware. The EPA labeled PFOA as a probable carcinogen.
The Dupont Corporation happens to be one of the larger producers of Teflon cookware. Note: They have assured the EPA that PFOA would be taken out of their product by 2015. I still wonder how many people and animals may develop catastrophic diseases from PFOA, while we wait!
In all fairness to all the manufactures of non-stick Teflon cookware, overheating and abuse will cause this toxic release, so if you use this product please pay attention to your cooking and use of this cookware and their warnings.
As I said before, the other major toxin that can be released from Teflon cookware that kills birds is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Birds of all kinds, that reside to close to the cooking area, when exposed to PTFE, are generally found dead on the bottom of their cage. If the birds are only moderately exposed to PTFE, they may experience difficult breathing, possible wheezing, loss of coordination, weakness, depression and seizures.
A note of interest is that any pet bird that is close to boiling vinegar which often is used in home canning, can also cause the pet bird to die!
Apparently, for the release of PTFE to occur, the temperature needs to exceed 536 degrees. By burning your cooking while being distracted for whatever reason, could cause major damage to you and your pets, so please pay attention, because the life you save may be your own or that of your family or that of your pet.
Often by the time we see these birds, the damage is so extensive, that treatment is hopeless. Like most diseases, prevention may be the only treatment. At the time of autopsy, the entire respiratory tract is damaged beyond repair.
Any aerosol products can also cause these same terminal effects, including tobacco smoke, room fresheners, natural gas, ammonia, burned food and burned cooking oils.
Maybe Grandma was wiser than we thought, when she was wheeling her heavy cast iron skillet around the kitchen and knew that if she added a little olive oil to her skillet, she too could have a non-stick frying pan that did not make people or animals sick. And you know what? I do miss my Grandma.
More recent blood studies in Californian women show a definite increase in 12 types of these damaging chemicals.
Perfluorooctase (PFC) is number one chemical found in the blood samples from these women and (PFOA) Perfluorooctanoic acid is the second most common chemical present in their blood stream. The studies further indicate that the from 1960 to 2009, the PFC has increased 10 fold and the PFOA had also increased in 1960 to 1980 but then has slightly decreased by 2009. Both these chemicals stay in the body for many years, but even if their exposure is reduced to zero, their half-life remaining in the body is at least 4 years.
Dr. Mercola reports that these chemicals also come from other sources besides non-stick cookware. He has listed the following of other sources of this chemical contamination:
- Stain resistant clothing
- Stain resistant carpeting (to vacuum this type of carpet will release the chemical into the air and circulate throughout the house)
- Contaminated drinking water (particularly if located near a PFC manufacturing facility)
The toxic effects that PFC creates for people have been listed by the Environmental Working Group. Their list includes the following:
- Cancer
- Reproductive disorders
- Birth defects
- Hypothyroidism
- Immune system disorders
- Organ damage
They also list types of products to avoid:
- Non-stick cookware (use glass or ceramic cookware)
- Stain proof clothing and carpeting
- Carpet and carpet stain protectors
- Flame retardants with PFC
- Paper and cardboard packaging used for greasy foods
- Microwave popcorn
This article is designed to give you some insight as to what chemicals you may be exposing yourself to, as well as your family and your pet!
My final thought is that “the world of convenience that man has created for himself, in essence may be leading to our death”.
For more information on this same subject please go to a book entitled, Against the Odds, Given Up for Dead, Spangenburg and Plechner, “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire”, p. 273 -276, 2012.
