The “toxic” Side Of Cooking And Contemporary Cuisine

The kitchen. I bet you never thought that this area of ​​the house can be both beneficial and harmful to your health. It has been proven that materials such as Teflon and plastic can be dangerous, but there is also the problem of cooking food incorrectly. Let’s take a closer look at it in this article.

The dangers of cooking in today’s kitchen

If we were to name a list of materials that are hazardous to our health, Teflon would certainly be one of them. It may be, but it is still very popular due to its non-stick properties when cooking and baking food. DuPont, a multinational company invented Teflon in 1938.

Some people see it as a great invention for cooking, but the truth is that it is made of very harmful materials. It is also applied in other fields, such as in spacecraft, cable routing, medical prosthetics, paints, varnishes, contact lenses, spacesuits, engines and waterproof membranes.

The dangers of Teflon are in its main component, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as C-8), indestructible and accumulative. In 1961, DuPont knew that this material did not decompose in the environment and that it caused cancer, infertility, liver problems, hyperthyroidism, fetal deformities, etc. Still, they didn’t care and continued to dump factory waste into waters and the atmosphere.

PFOA can be found in rivers, lakes, oceans, drinking water, plants and even in the blood of 95% of the world’s population.

Using Teflon is bad for our health because the surface deteriorates and is unstable, meaning it sticks to our food. Once heated above 160 degrees Celsius, this element is poisonous enough to kill a small animal, such as a bird. PFOA can also be found in bags of chips, hamburgers, popcorn  etc.

It has been proven to increase triacylglycerol and cholesterol levels.

Plastic

The second element that goes bad in cooking is plastic, which has millions of different uses in today’s kitchen. The manufacturing process creates large amounts of contamination and it is also difficult to recycle or not biodegradable.

Plastic contains substances that disrupt the hormones in our body. This means that they disrupt the functioning of the body and cause changes (mainly in children and fetuses). The biggest culprits are flexible plastic containers, bottles and composite food packages.

The food comes into contact with this element, which is even worse when you heat it up in the microwave. This happens every day in thousands of households that buy or order prepackaged meals. They heat their food in this electrical device which is also negative for health because the heating creates waves.

“Toxic” Foods

We’re not even going to talk about fast food in this section, because that’s obvious. We are going to talk about foods that are thought to be healthy and harmless to health, but which are quite the opposite if not prepared properly (NOTE: they are not bad, but the way they are prepared is ).

A lot of foods hide their toxic content without us even realizing it, which only becomes apparent when they are prepared incorrectly. Following are some examples of these foods:

Poorly cooked red or white beans

Both should be cooked at a temperature higher than 100 degrees Celsius. In addition, you should let them soak for a few hours (all night, for example). If not, they retain their toxic substance (phytohemagglutinin), which can cause stomach problems.

apple seeds

They contain a glucose and cyanide compound called amygdalin. This is only a small amount, so one has to eat a large amount of seeds to experience a poisoning effect. Although the digestive system absorbs them, it is better to avoid consuming the seeds.

The same goes for peach pits.

Bitter almonds

They don’t taste very good and you probably won’t eat them all. This is due to amygdalin and another toxic substance: emulsin. Twenty bitter almonds can have dangerous consequences.

green potatoes

The substance in potato shoots is called solanine. The plant creates this itself to protect itself against insects and fungi. It can cause poisoning if consumed in large quantities.

If you have a potato with shoots, it is better to take them off and cut the surrounding area as well.

If it has green skin, don’t boil it until you peel the potato first.

Sweet potatoes

These should never be eaten raw, as it is highly toxic and can cause convulsions and delirium, which affect the central nervous system. You must boil sweet potatoes to destroy the dioscorine, the element that causes these problems.

tomatoes

When the leaves and fruit are green, they are not good for your health because they contain alpha tomatine, which produces the same effects as sweet potatoes. Some people say they lower cholesterol or even reduce tumors.

Tomatoes should be consumed when they are ripe. Never eat the leaves.

Nutmeg

If you use it in excess, it is toxic because it contains myristicin, which can cause convulsions in some people. You should do a gastric lavage to avoid serious problems.

Edible mushrooms

Photos courtesy of Bert Dickerson, Rene, Schwietzke, TwentyFour Students, Tom Ipri, Fotologic, Dr Romesh