Carcinogens in non-stick cookware?
Is teflon and other non-stick coated and stain-resistant products health hazardous? Are we at risk? According to an independent scientific review panel advising the EPA, animal studies have indicated that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used to make the coating long used in non-stick pans may cause cancer.
DuPont, the producer of PFOA disagrees and reiterates no human health effects and consumers product are safe. "PFOA induces benign tumors in male rats, but only at high doses and by a mechanism that is not likely relevant to humans" said Dr. Samuel M. Cohen, chairperson of the Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. "Thus, we can be confident that PFOA does not pose a cancer risk to humans the low levels found in the general population".
Hmm.. our daily appliances, be it rice cooker, frying pan, cooking wok are coated with non-stick material. As layman, as an ordinary consumer, we have no base to agree or dispute the above contradictory information. What I find disturbing is it seems that just about anything we do or eat these days allegedly causes cancer. Carcinogens or those things that increase our risk of developing cancer. And what is the one common denominator all of these carcinogens have? Increase oxidative stress!
It seems logical that if oxidative stress is indeed the cause of cancer, antioxidants used to bring free radicals back into balance would lower the risk of cancer. Dr. Bruce Ames, a leading cancer researcher, stated in an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association that individuals who consume the least amounts of fruits and vegetables have twice the risk of cancer as those who consume more.
Well, it is afterall not so difficult to consume five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Let’s start to take more fruits and vegetables or you can make your very own fruit and vegetables juices.
