Teflon - friend or foe ?

A couple years ago we decided to ditch teflon pans & we went back to using cast iron frying pans ( like grandma used to use !) . With all the stuff we've learned lately about it, we would like to add a few other things to the list, that are coated in teflon. A few things that aren't widely advertised...
Remember my last blog about green lunches ? Well it turns out that not only is ditching those handy little tetra packs ( drinking boxes ) a good idea from a waste reduction point of view( yes they can be recycled, but reusing a thermos is still better ) but it turns out that they , and many other packaged items are coated inside with teflon ( or other brands of non-stick coating ) which, it's being discovered is a health risk.

The chemicals, Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate acids (PFOA) which are used in stick and stain-resistant products, are being found in human and animal blood around the world. Fluorotelomers, which are chemicals used in food packaging as well as in rugs and clothing, break down into PFOA in the environment and when you ingest them. Several animal studies have demonstrated this, including one by the Environmental Protection Agency. PFOA causes cancer & other health problems in lab animals.
In animal studies PFOA has been associated with:

• "Significant increases in treatment related deaths" in rat offspring at doses that did not affect the mothers
• Serious changes in the weight of various organs, including the brain, prostate, liver, thymus, and kidneys
• The deaths of a significant number of rat pups of mothers that had been exposed to PFOA
• Damage to the pituitary at all doses in female rat offspring (The pituitary secretes hormones that regulate growth, reproduction, and many metabolic processes. Change in pituitary size is associated with toxicity)

PFOA can now be found in the blood of 90 percent of Americans, and in one study that tested 600 children, 96 percent had PFOA in their blood. Unfortunately, while you can choose whether or not to use Teflon pans, there is currently no way for consumers to tell if packaging contains fluorotelomers. PFOS and PFOA’s are used in or associated with production of thousands of products, including:

• Non-stick cookware
• Carpets
• Food wrapping
• Clothing
• Electrical equipment
• Packaging for fast foods like sandwiches, chicken and French fries
• Packaging for pizza, bakery items, drinks and candy
• Packaging for microwave popcorn

• The precise environmental and health impact of Teflon and similar heat-resistant coatings is uncertain, but the findings suggest that continued use of the compounds may contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming.
• The best and safest cookwear to use is believed to be ceramic-coated metal, as ceramic is virtually inert and will not transfer any metal ions to your food. Cast iron at low temperatures is believed to be okay though, unless you are one of those people that already stores too much iron in your body. As for the rest, reduce your packaging & processed foods, use a hot air popcorn maker, don't buy stain resistant clothing or use stain guarding sprays on your furniture & carpet. Read the labels !
  

Bad for us, bad for animals, bad for the planet. That's enough for me , we're going teflon free !
for more info go to www.mercola.com & type in the search word teflon.