As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Is Teflon really all that bad for you?
GameGrrl
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey, one of my roommates is trying to get me to throw out all of my teflon cookware since she claims it's going to give me cancer. I've tried to look this up online, but all I'm getting are conflicting sources that say Teflon is harmless and that Teflon will kill me instantly if I even stare at it.
Can the sensible heads at H/A tell me or link me up to some more scientific sources on the effects of Teflon? Preferably studies not funded by the National Teflon In All Homes lobby?
Can the sensible heads at H/A tell me or link me up to some more scientific sources on the effects of Teflon? Preferably studies not funded by the National Teflon In All Homes lobby?
GameGrrl on
0
Posts
Well, I believe they dont make teflon pans anymore because they were found to be carcinogenic or something. There's other ways to make non-stick pans though.
Even if you get rid of the pans though, most of the joints in your plumbing are probably sealed with teflon (PTFE) tape.
Nonstick pans that are still intact can only be harmful if they reach very high heat levels. Don't stick an empty pan over your hottest burner and leave it for 10 minutes. Heating up a pan over medium-low for a minute or two before you cook an egg should be fine. Don't put your non-stick cookware into a 500 degree or hotter oven. Lower than that, it depends on the manufacturer (obviously don't put pans with plastic handles in the oven) - Calphalon pans are pretty sturdy and can survive 450 degrees.
It's very common. It's pretty much the most common non-stick coating.
To be honest I can't find anything that suggests teflon is dangerous, other than references to a chemical used in it's manufacture, and the fumes it gives off if overheated.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/cancer-risk-from-bbq-meat
If you become super OCD Stainless and cast iron and a gem, though both require adding fat and cast iron requires a seasoning process before it really becomes usable.
Stick with what you got unless they happen to be damaged and follow this http://housewares.about.com/od/cookware/tp/10ruinnonstick.htm
If you scratch the coating off, you a) kind of wreck what you just cooked in it because it now has teflon flakes in it, and b) those uncoated parts are no longer non-stick, making it more of a pain to cook with.
'course eating the plastic flakes isn't bad -- it's just, you know, eating plastic.
You put oil on the stove and heat it way up until it starts to smoke, and that smoke is bad for you too, regardless of the pan its in. Tell your friend she should be more skeptical of what she reads.
So if the scratched-off teflon flakes get into the food, that's not going to cause cancer? I'm pretty sure that's her main concern here, and why she wants to throw out my cookware set.
I use a cast iron frying pan but mostly just because it's indestructible. :P
A few, the surface is a little marred but it still seems to cook pretty well.
No. Teflon is pretty much entirely inert, and won't give you cancer.
Anyways, that stuff's so heavily fluorinated that it won't react with anything. This is why it won't react with your bacon and melt it to the surface. You could probably eat PTFE by the spoonful and not know you did it because it will just go straight through your system.
The great stability might be a long-term environmental risk however since these sort of chemicals tend to build up in the ground water, as they won't break down. As an interesting comparison see Sucralose which we drink by the gallon without caring. (and for those of you that are chemically inclined, compare the Sucralose structure to DDT. I'll take Aspartame over that shit anyday)
Oh, I might have derailed there. But...
TL;DR It wont react with your food and therefore won't react with you
[EDIT] Or, you know. What the cat-dude above me said
Are you cooking for this roommate?
If you aren't, then tell her to fuck off and you'll cook with whatever you damned well please.
If you are, then stop cooking for her, and see above.
Alternatively, if you want to resolve the situation without being an ass, try the Canadian Cancer Society's page on the subject.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Yes, if you decide to go with the "ass" approach I outlined, there's a horde of Dumb Shit People Believe that we can provide, if you choose to truly plumb the depths of her idiocy.
"Having a fan blow on you when you sleep can kill you" I think was the dumbest one I ever heard.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I heard if you swallow too much gum
you become gum.
what horribly mangled thread of logic did that one follow?
A good non-stick alternative to teflon cookware would be hard anodized aluminum. It's non-stick, non-reactive, and you can still use metal utensils.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Teflon-Pans-Cause-Cancer?--Rumor-and-Truth&id=192542
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8404384
Something involving interrupting your normal breathing rhythm, and a stiff neck was a warning sign that you almost died in your sleep.
The worst part is that the person who told me this was neither drunk nor high at the time. Just stupid.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Toxic fumes != Cancer
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
It doesn't give you cancer, though. If you were to be in a small room all day with melting teflon you might get flu-like symptoms for several days, though.
So can a sufficiently hard kick in the junk, but that doesn't make it equal to either.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Thats something I want to avoid.
When applied to statistically significant number of birds.
But yeah, leaving pans while doing a cleaning cycle was really bad news. I'd worry about myself and the oven after that.
Leaving it on high heat (in temperatures in excess of 500 degrees) with nothing else on it for hours at a time might make you sick.
The girl was Korean.
Great, now I might be been being "culturally insensitive" or something when I called her a stupid cunt.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.