Non-Stick Cookware: A Worthwhile Convenience?
I can remember the days before my family had a microwave. Days when our meals were sometimes slow-cooked for hours in order to bring out all of the flavors. I can also remember a family trip to the mall one Saturday when I was five years old, where a product demonstrator fried egg after egg – noting the convenience of the non-stick pan.
All of our cookware was almost immediately replaced by the magic Teflon pans. And, as time went by, we continued to upgrade to more and more un-stickiness.
Since then, I can recall countless times that the DuPont company and other makers of this cookware have been in the media regarding the dangers of toxic chemicals used in production. Claims range from damage to pets, cancer caused by inhaled fumes from the chemical plants and other diseases, like Alzheimer are caused by using the cookware itself. So many cases settle out of court, and the ones that prove this stuff is detrimental to our health don’t seem to scare consumers enough.
How Many Cases will it take Before We ALL Wake up?
Mercury is poison, right? So why cook with it? Why cook with materials that are known poisons to humans and the environment? We can choose to simply close our eyes and pray that we never personally feel the downside of these chemicals. But, each day more adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, more children with autism – and we are constantly reminded that cooking destroys our food.
Well, perhaps if we cooked with healthy materials at correct temperatures, food enzymes wouldn’t be destroyed and poison would leach into our food.
Dr Mercola describes the dangers of non-stick. Yeah, he is selling an alternative – but he is not a salesman. I know people who buy expensive cookware for look or brand name. But, if you really want your kitchen to have an image of peace and health, you will consider ditching the Teflon and scouring outlet shops for enamel coated cast iron.
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by Gina Laverde
A Chicago-based writer researcher and health coach whose expertise in natural health stems from her experiences recovering her son from autism. Also, the Managing Editor for Skrewtips
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Now is not the time to be silent. These issues affect us all
October 1st, 2007 at 11:08 am
Great article, Gina. What are your thoughts on using aluminum foil / pans to cook with? I’ve read studied that there are correlations between Alzheimer’s and aluminum. Would you suggest using steel pots and pans?
October 1st, 2007 at 11:22 am
I don’t suggest aluminum or even alumonum foil. I wholeheartedly believe in a correlation between aluminum and Alzheimer’s. I hear stainless steel is safer… but I’m still studying it. I recommend enamel coated iron, glass (like pyrex) or natural stomeware. I’ve seen adverse studies on glass as well. So, I think that’s why its important that we really study this further.
Part of the reason that raw food is so good for us is because it doesn’t have to be mutilated by all of these poisons on our stovetop.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:28 am
Are the pots ceramic or do they justlook ceramic? If they are made from natural clay and coated with enamel I don’t think there should be a hige problem. Some problems may arise frompaints or dies used inthe coating, temps you cook at. I cook a lot on a pizza stone. I dehydrate food (like crackers) at 100 degrees on the stone in my oven. I also use glass (pyrex) which are very inexpensive. Then of course, there is the crock pot, as long as it is made from natural stone. If you want to fry and don’t have the expensive pots you can oven fry in a glass pyrex at about 350 deg