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A few months ago, I took a look at some of the health risks associated with Teflon cookware. When Teflon is heated in excess of 654 degrees Fahrenheit, it emits a gas that can kill pet birds and cause flu-like symptoms in humans.
The good news on Teflon
The good news is that very few of us cook at those temperatures, so cooking on Teflon probably won't kill your birds or give you flu-like symptoms.
The bad news on Teflon
A new study has linked Teflon and PFOAs with a new set of serious health risks. Teflon has had health charges leveled against it before and has seemed to slip by them, but this new one just might stick.
Should You Worry?
The study, which came out of UCLA, finds that Teflon, specifically PFOAs, are linked to infertility. Women who have elevated blood levels of PFOAs have a greater difficulty conceiving and are twice as likely to be infertile than women who had lower PFOA levels in the bodies.
From Environmental Working Group
| The chemical PFOA is a member of a class of industrial chemicals known as perfluorochemicals (PFCs). Chemicals in the PFC class are found in a wide range of consumer products, including water, stain and grease repellants, cookware, food wrap, carpeting, furniture and clothing. Products containing PFCs are marketed under such trade names as Teflon, Scotchguard, Stainmaster and Goretex. |
From the UCLA study:
Perfluorooctanoate and perfluorooctane sulfonate were considered to be biologically inactive, but recently animal studies have shown that these chemicals may have a variety of toxic effects on the liver, immune system and developmental and reproductive organs,” said UCLA researcher Chunyuan Fei, the study’s first author. ”Very few human studies have been done, but one of our earlier studies showed that PFOA, although not PFOS, may impair the growth of babies in the womb, and another two epidemiological studies linked PFOA and PFOS to impaired fetal growth.
Teflon is also dangerous to use if it is scratched. Do you need another reason to switch to cast iron?
More on Health in the Kitchen
Try These Healthy Cookwares
Avoid Plastics When Feeding Your Toddler
How to Shop for Green Cookware : Planet Green
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