The Worst Cookware Lurking In Your Kitchen (Toxicologist Explains)

Dr. Yvonne Burkart gives us a rundown of the worst offenders, and what to use instead:

Hot mess

The very worst offender is non-stick cookware, the kind with materials such as Teflon. These are the most toxic, due to PFAS chemicals.

Non-stick pans release toxic gases, leach chemicals into food, and release microplastic particles, which can accumulate in the body.

One that a lot of people don’t think about, in that category, is the humble air-fryer, which often as not has a non-stick cooking “basket”. These she describes as highly toxic, as they combine plastic, non-stick coatings, and high heat, which can release fumes and other potentially dangerous chemicals into the air and food.

You may be wondering: how bad is it? And the answer is, quite bad. PFAS chemicals are linked to infertility, hypertension in pregnancy, developmental issues in children, cancer, weakened immune systems, hormonal disruption, obesity, and intestinal inflammation.

Dr. Burkart’s top picks for doing better:

1. Pure ceramic cookware: top choice for safety, particularly brands like Xtrema, which are tested for heavy metal leaching.
2. Carbon steel & cast iron: durable and safe; can leach iron in acidic foods (for most people, this is a plus, but some may need to be aware of it)
3. Stainless steel: lightweight and affordable but can leach nickel and chromium in acidic foods at high temperatures. Use only if nothing better is available.

And specifically as alternatives to air-fryers: glass convection ovens or stainless steel ovens are safer than conventional air fryers. The old “combination oven” can often be a good choice here.

For more on all of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• PFAS Exposure & Cancer: The Numbers Are High
• It’s Not Fantastic To Be Plastic ← for the closely related topic of microplastics and nanoplastics

Take care!