Here’s Why You Should Never Cook With Teflon Again
No wonder Teflon cookware is popular. Who doesn’t want an easy to clean the pot? What people don’t know is that they are risking their and their family’s health by using Teflon. Teflon consumed 90 percent of aluminum cookware sold in 2006. Experts say that Teflon is safe to use while being cautious. Using the cookware “properly” constitutes to what? What else would we use the pots and pans for? As long as the coating of Teflon is not tampered with, it is safe to use. But, what if, for some reason, the coating gets scratched or chips away? What happens then?
Teflon, also known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene. It is commonly used in cookware and was discovered by DuPont Co. It was accidently discovered in 1938 by Roy Plunkett, he was working in New Jersey for DuPont. He was attempting to make a new chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant and the tetrafluoroethylene gas stopped flowing before the bottle’s weight dropped to empty. Teflon was registered in 1945 and by 1948, DuPont, started producing over two million pounds of Teflon. Its first use was to act as a coating for valves and seals in pipes in the Manhattan Project.
Experts claim that Teflon is safe to use, as long as you don’t scratch the surface or overheat the pans. Never preheat an empty pan, pans, that are pre-heated, can reach 500 in less than five minutes. Also, don’t cook on high heat. Heating the Teflon to high temperatures exposes toxic chemicals to the air, you should never cook above medium heat when using Teflon cookware.
When Teflon gets too hot it releases toxins into the air that can cause you to be sick. When the pans are heated to 680 degrees they release two carcinogens (that can cause cancer), two global pollutants, and MFA, chemical that is deadly to humans at low doses. So, you’re the best cookware can be your family’s health worst enemy.
You can develop flu like symptoms if Teflon is heated to high or the coating has been compromised. Symptoms include; headaches, chills, fever, coughing, and chest tightness. These symptoms will expose themselves hours after being exposed to the dangerous chemicals from your cookware. It has been proven that birds can die from expose to Teflon gases being released into the air. 98 percent of the U.S. population have detectable amounts of PFOA in their systems.
So, instead of cooking with Teflon cookware, try using ceramic cookware. Aluminum cookware is suspected to be linked with Alzheimer’s disease. Stainless steel cookware contains nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and carbon. Copper cookware can be lined with other metals, but it must be lined due to the risk of copper poisoning.
