Healthy Home Highlight - Cookware

A bonus highlight on cookware, what makes it toxic, and what to use instead. 

Transcript

Natalie Ellis: 0:00

Here is a midweek Healthy Home Highlight. Let's talk a little bit more about cookware. In episode two, I recommended getting rid of your Teflon pans, but what is in Teflon that actually makes it so bad? Teflon is a brand name, but it refers to a coating that's called P T F E. Now during the production of P T F E, they use other chemicals that are P F A S and P F O A's. I know there's a bunch of these acronyms, but they're for words, that a lot of us can't pronounce. Now the P F A S and the P F O A's are supposed to burn off during production, but they've actually found that those chemicals are still in the cookware. Some of the companies are replacing the PFOA, with new chemicals that they've created, like Gen X but these new alternatives are suspected to have a similar toxicity and have already been linked to severe health conditions. There's a documentary on Netflix called Dark Waters. I think it's worth watching. It's about DuPont's alleged decades, long coverup of the harm caused by these chemicals. It was pretty eyeopening to what these chemicals can do. And a lot of them are quote, unquote, considered safe for now, which means that companies are using them until we actually find a reason not to. And it's not just pots and pans that use non-stick chemicals, if you think about all the things that are in your kitchen, you've got cookie sheets, muffin tins, inside of some ovens, electric skillets, some of the toaster ovens have these nonstick surfaces. So there's plenty of things we need to keep our eye on. As I mentioned in episode two, it only takes three minutes on a stove top in order to heat the pan to the level that it's going to start giving off these chemicals. I don't know about you, but I can't cook anything in three minutes. When you're shopping for cookware, I want you to look and see if there are any PF chemicals that are used in the production of the cookware. It may not say it right on the tag. You're going to have to look deeper. Sometimes you need to look on the company's website to see if there's any of these chemicals used in the production. But it's pretty safe to say if it's a Teflon like if it's a non-stick, if they're claiming non-stick. There's probably some type of chemical in there. So the other day I was actually at Costco and they sell a lot of different kinds of cookware. And they also have people come in and demo different cookware. So I was really intrigued because there was brand new pots and pans. Something I hadn't seen before. I was looking forward to seeing if these would actually work instead of the Teflon pans. So I watched the demo and I started speaking with the gentleman who was doing that and ask if the pans used any PFAS or any PFOA's, and he said no PFAS, but they did use PFOA's. then he told me even though that chemical was in there, it was totally fine. It wouldn't be toxic. And that I wouldn't have any problem with those pans. Well for me, that wasn't a good enough answer. I knew better with some of these chemicals and I thanked him and left. And that's why pans are so tricky. There's not a lot of stuff that's regulated with the chemicals and things that are used in the production of cookware. So it's time to dig out your grandma's old cast, iron skillet. If you take good care of it, it's going to last forever. A cast iron skillet can really enhance the flavor of your food. Plus it also adds iron to your food. Iron is an essential mineral that helps transport oxygen all over your body and helps to keep your cells healthy. I love cooking on a cast iron skillet. To season it, you heat the pan on warm for a few minutes, or you can stick it inside your oven to heat it up. And then you wipe some sort of oil on all of the surfaces. I like to use olive oil. You wipe it on the, inside the outside. And I actually do this every time I use it and it just keeps it looking beautiful. It keeps it completely non-stick and really functional. If you're looking for a really good ceramic cookware Caraway, or Our Place have some really beautiful pieces. They also have ceramic bakeware, which is great for cookie sheets for those muffin tins for your bread pans. And storage containers as well. Our place even has a cast iron ceramic skillet. So that's a really great blend of both worlds. In the beginning. I was really frustrated with the ceramic. Because it can be damaged and ruin the non-stick surface on the top of the ceramic. But once you get the hang of it, it works great. It looks great. And it's safe to use, which is the most important. I really love the storage containers from Caraway. I use them to store my leftovers and pack my lunch every day. The coral and the blue are my favorite colors right now. And my next big purchase is going to be the muffin pans. Now some people ask me about silicone and the jury is still out on that one. If you're really careful, you can find food grade, silicone that's BPA free, lead free, and doesn't contain any phthalates And make sure that it's from a reputable company. Silicone is usually inert and doesn't leach chemicals into the food when you use it at the right temperature. However, some studies suggest that silicone actually may release chemicals as it's heated, or under other conditions. So for now I stay away from silicone for cookware, but I do use it for my food storage containers to replace the plastic. Thanks for joining me on this Healthy Home Highlight.