Toxic Side Of Cooking – What’s Bad For Us?

I bet you’ve never thought about how your kitchen could be toxic to you and your family. Many harmful substances can be found in the composition of Teflon or plastic, but badly cooked food may turn out to be no less harmful.

In today’s article, we’ll take a closer look at this issue. The toxic side of cooking – get to know the details.

The dangers of contemporary kitchen

If we want to replace substances harmful to our health, Teflon will be one of them for sure . After all, it is still one of the most popular materials due to its structure, thanks to which the food does not stick when frying. 

Teflon

Teflon was invented in 1938 by the international company DuPont. Some people think of it as a wonderful material to make cooking easier, but the truth is that it is made of very harmful materials.

It is also used to build completely different things, such as spaceships, cables, prosthetic products, paints, varnishes, contact lenses, space suits, motors, waterproof membranes and much more.

Teflon is hazardous to health because of its main component: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOS, also known as C-8).

In 1961, DuPont knew that this material did not break down in the environment and could cause cancer, infertility, liver dysfunction, hyperthyroidism, fetal deformities, etc.

Despite this, the company continued to dump waste from the factory into the waters and atmosphere. PFOA has been found in rivers, lakes, oceans, drinking water, plants, and even the blood of 95% of the world’s population.

Using Teflon is harmful to our health because its surface is damaged and unstable, which means it sticks to the food you eat.

Worse still, when heated to over 160 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes toxic enough to kill a small animal. PFOA is also found in packages of crisps, hamburgers, popcorn, etc. Moreover, it has been shown to increase triglycerides and cholesterol levels.

Plastic

Another element that you shouldn’t use for cooking is plastic, which has millions of uses in today’s kitchen.

Its production is accompanied by the production of large amounts of impurities that are extremely difficult to process or are completely non-biodegradable.

Plastics contain substances that can cause hormonal disruptions in your body.  This means that they interfere with the body’s functions, causing changes (mainly in children and the fetus), especially flexible plastic containers, bottles and packaging for ready meals.

The food then comes into contact with such an element, its harmful effect is even intensified when you heat the food in a container in a microwave oven.

This mistake is made every day in thousands of homes where ready-made meals are prepared.

Heating food with a microwave oven can also be detrimental to health due to the waves generated during heating.

Toxic food

We won’t even broach the topic of “fast food” in this section of the article because its toxicity is all too obvious.

Instead, we’re going to focus on those foods that can be considered healthy and harmless to health, and which, if not prepared properly, can turn out to be extremely harmful (note: the products themselves are not unhealthy, only the way they are prepared makes them worse). that they are becoming)

Many foods become toxic if not properly prepared. Here are some of these foods:

Badly prepared red or white beans

Beans should be cooked at a temperature higher than 100 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the beans must be soaked for several hours (overnight, for example). If you do not wet it, a toxic compound (phytohaemagglutinin) will remain in it and can cause stomach problems.

Apple seeds

They contain glucose and the toxic compound amygdalin in small amounts. Fortunately, you would have to eat a lot of them to reveal their poisonous effects.

On the other hand, the digestive system absorbs them, although it would be much safer to simply avoid eating them. The same is true for peach kernels.

Bitter almonds

They don’t taste very good, so you probably won’t be able to eat them. This is due to the presence of amygdalin, which you already know, as well as other toxic substances. 20 bitter almonds can cause health risks.

Green potatoes

Solanine is a toxic substance found in potato sprouts. It is produced by the plant to protect against insects and fungi.

May cause poisoning if consumed in large amounts. If you have potatoes with sprouts, it is better to cut them before cooking. If your potatoes have a green skin, you shouldn’t cook them without peeling them.

Sweet potatoes

You should never eat them raw as they are very toxic and can even cause seizures and hallucinations. Raw sweet potatoes can have central nervous system effects.

When you cook sweet potatoes, you destroy the harmful substances contained in them. 

Tomatoes

When the leaves and fruits are green, they are not very good for health because they contain tomatin, which has the same effects as sweet potatoes. According to some, they lower cholesterol and have anti-cancer properties.

Tomatoes must be eaten when they are ripe, and never eat their leaves.

Nutmeg

When consumed in excess, it becomes toxic due to the myristicin contained in it, which can cause seizures in some people.  If you ingest too much nutmeg, you will have to undergo gastric lavage to avoid serious consequences.

Edible mushrooms

Mushrooms are considered a delicacy, but for some people they can cause digestive problems and discomfort. Some edible mushrooms contain hydrazine. If these mushrooms are eaten raw, they become toxic.