When we talk about heath and cooking, we usually start thinking about which foods are bad for us.
While this is an ever-so-relevant matter, we are here today to talk about the “hidden” dangers of your kitchen – toxic kitchen products.
So many of these overlooked kitchen hazards we use on a daily basis. We use them to cook, bake, and store our favorite meals, but majority of these are actually bad for us, and yet we talk about it so seldom. Let’s change that, shall we?
Aluminum Cookware
As aluminum is a highly reactive metal that is also rather soft, it can end up in your food quite easily. Aluminum has been linked to brain disorders and behavioral abnormalities in humans, which is why it is marked as a toxic substance by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry.
Utensils And Accessories Made Of Plastic
Cooking with these can be dangerous as they can start to melt or flake if exposed to extreme heat. Plastic accessories also wear down over time, causing hazardous chemicals to merge with your food.
If you use plastic utensils for cooking, it is time to opt for some other alternative materials. Think:
- Wood
- Bamboo
- Stainless steel
Plastic Packaging
When it comes to storing your various foods and beverages, plastic packaging can be pretty useful, however, we often overlook the fact that hard plastics can contain BPA – a developmental, neural, and reproductive toxin.
Scientists warn that even low doses of BPA exposure can lead to:
- cancer
- impaired immune function
- obesity
- diabetes
- hyperactivity.
Teflon
Much like plastic packaging, Teflon is a rather useful kitchen product as well, but it is also likely to give you cancer. Little do we know that Teflon coatings are made using perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is considered to be highly carcinogenic.
Melamine Dishes Made Of Hard Plastic
Hard plastic melamine dishes are made by combining the chemical melamine with formaldehyde. Like perfluorooctanoic acid, formaldehyde is also a known human carcinogen. Studies have shown that formaldehyde can “leach from dishware into food”.
Scary stuff.
