Kitchen Detox
Take charge of your health with wise choices
A couple of years ago, I was up in the attic with my very nosey son, going through the boxes that my mom brought when she moved out from Arizona, when I came across a cache of aluminum pots and skillets that I fondly remembered using in my youth. (I loved to make dinner and surprise my mom.)
Aghhh! I can’t believe we used to cook with aluminum pans, which we now know can leach aluminum into food and have been linked to possible brain, liver, and kidney dysfunction! At first, my husband suggested that we bring them downstairs to the kitchen, to which I said there is no way on God’s green earth we are ever using aluminum again for cooking.
Since then, I’ve been in a conundrum. I can’t bring myself to donate them because it’s honestly not a good idea to cook on pitted aluminum pans, and I don’t want to be responsible for passing them on to an unsuspecting person. But they are sentimental, so I can’t put them in the dumpster… I’m uncertain what to do with them.
Anyway, they popped into my mind recently with the flurry of online info-bites about all the dangerous toxins that hide in plain sight in our kitchens. More than any other room in the house, the kitchen has become a repository for much of the home toxicity that impacts our health. The good news is that we can implement many small choices over time that can turn that ship around and make a big difference to our health and longevity.
Let’s get started swapping out toxic items for clean choices!
Cookware
You’ve heard me rail against nonstick and poor-quality cookware in favor of good old-fashioned cast iron and stainless steel. My tune hasn’t changed. About 20 years ago, when my husband and I were trying to get pregnant, I threw away my nonstick skillet, plastic spatulas, and other cooking utensils. We splurged and purchased the All-Clad stainless-steel copper-core cookware, supplementing it with a few pieces of cast iron, a couple of which we inherited, and a workhorse Lodge griddle. We have never looked back.
Granted, there is a bewildering array of cookware options, including ceramic, copper, titanium, anodized aluminum, and miraculous “green” coatings, but after all of the articles that I’ve combed through, it’s clear that stainless steel, black or blue steel, and cast iron still come out on top for the most dependably toxin-free preparation.
Look for stainless steel that is 18/10 (a ratio that refers to the composite of the alloys) with no coatings of any kind—no matter what the advertising promises! Black or blue steel is a carbonized steel surface that cooks much like cast iron but is lighter and achieves a non-stick surface with proper seasoning. Cast iron is tried-and-true, albeit heavy, but I welcome this as a challenge to my grip strength! It also requires maintenance with seasoning, but it’s not difficult to learn and implement. Pre-seasoned versions are available, although I steer clear of them because the oils used in the seasoning process are most likely vegetable oils that oxidize when heated, which may cause acid reflux, stomach issues, and more.
If you’d like to learn more, Mamavation did a thorough review and has a terrific list of recommended brands.
(There is also an expensive ceramic brand that is heralded, but I’m personally very leery of ceramic, especially from off-shore manufacturers. I question the composite and durability over the long term. But that is just me; many people love it.)
Cooking appliances
I know air fryers are all the rage right now, and at first blush they seem to be a healthy choice, producing delightfully crispy food without deep frying. However, there could be very toxic chemicals swirling about in all that hot air. First, most air fryers have those dreaded non-stick coatings with “forever chemicals” (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the composition, meaning they stay in your body forever. Really dangerous! Second, acrylamide is a potentially carcinogenic chemical that forms when foods are cooked at high temperatures. Finally, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are another carcinogenic chemical that can be released from cooking oils at high temperatures.
All in all, for my money, crispy food isn’t worth the potentially dangerous price. If you must have the crunch, the convection mode on the oven works just fine.
Deleterious non-stick surfaces are also present in many slow cookers. Opt for a stainless-steel interior if you slow cook a lot; additionally, it allows you to sear meats, which is a handy feature.
Let’s not forget about coffeemakers that are primarily plastic and are being heated repeatedly, which likewise releases chemicals. Years ago, I replaced our coffee maker with the glass Chemex pour-over, which is elegantly beautiful and makes delicious coffee. Made with high-quality borosilicate glass, the same glass used for lab ware, it imparts no chemicals or flavors into the coffee.
Bakeware
Surface considerations also apply to bakeware (no aluminum, no chemical-laden non-stick); glass and stainless steel are the cleanest choices. Oh, what about the silicone muffin pans and baking sheets, you may ask? According to the FDA, food-grade silicone is safe for baking, but I have concerns. Number one, it is still a man-made chemical, which I believe has inherent pitfalls. Number two, they are so popular that many questionable manufacturers have jumped into the market and may have varying quality silicone, color dyes, and possible fillers. While those may be safely inert in cold situations, I worry about what heat does to the stability of the chemicals. I’m unsure about the long-term consequences, so I avoid them.
Even the very popular silicone baking sheets raise concerns. Many have a fiberglass core sandwiched between silicone layers. Fiberglass near food doesn’t seem like a good idea…and whatever you do, never cut on them!
For baking, I use unbleached parchment paper and paper baking cups for peace of mind.
Plastic everything
With every passing week, new research uncovers micro-plastics deposited in the various nether regions of our bodies, with an accompanying potential negative impact on our health. We may not be able to control many sources of these plastics in the outside environment, but in our kitchen, we have the power to limit their use.
Unfortunately, plastics lurk everywhere in the kitchen, from the ubiquitous Tupperware-style storage containers to utensils, measuring cups, shredders, blender jars, plastic wrap, baggies, cutting mats, and boards, just to name a handful. The list is truly endless. But take heart—many alternatives are available, and I’ve listed a few below to get you started.
Easy plastic swaps:
• Bamboo or wood cutting boards. (I have a set of bamboo boards I wash every day that are in perfect shape.)
• Glass or stainless bowls and blender jars
• Silicone storage bags (I’m fine with silicone in cold environments.)
• Parchment paper storage bags
• Beeswax and special cheese storage paper
• Glass storage sets (I’m replacing the plastic lids with silicone.)
• Stainless steel shredders
• Glass mason jars for soup and nuts storage
• Stainless steel cooking utensils, ladles, spatulas, etc.
• Glass water and beverage bottles
When grocery shopping, I also search out glass containers whenever possible. If I find something in plastic, I empty it into glass when I get home. I have a collection of small mason jars for just that purpose!
Cleaning products
There are some seriously toxic chemicals in this category that significantly and unnecessarily impact our health. If you are uncertain where in your kitchen to begin, this is the place to start!
The litany of concerns is dizzying. Bleach and ammonia can cause lung damage; VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in even green cleaning products have an increased cancer risk and developmental and reproductive impact; PFAS; phthalates are toxic chemicals found in some cleaning products and disinfectants; and of course, there are the synthetic fragrances that disrupt the hormonal system. Not to mention the unnaturally bright colored soaps and detergents. Why do we need vivid blue dish soap or sparkling aqua dish tabs?
Because it can be a confusing landscape, I keep it simple with three mainstay products for routine kitchen cleaning: eCloths that clean the counters with only water, white vinegar for greasy stove messes, and Branch Basics for the really tough stuff. If I need extra help, I’ll use baking soda and lemons as a scrubbing agent.
Plus, our kitchen has no bacteria-ridden sponges, only coconut fiber scrubbing pads that do just fine.
We use Eco free and clear (no color dyes or fragrance) dish soap (which doubles as hand soap) and Blueland compressed dishwasher soap tablets (not wrapped in plastic). Mamavation also has some great recommendations in this arena as well.
Garbage bags
One of the supermarkets in my rotation underwent a renovation and, in the process, downsized their staple items such as paper goods and garbage bags. Seems innocuous. BUT, the only garbage bags they retained were fragranced. What on earth?! I can’t even be in that section of the store because the synthetic fragrance gives me a headache! These fragrances are known endocrine disrupters that can interrupt normal hormonal health—which basically controls much of your body’s functions.
Although they are sometimes difficult to find, pick fragrance-free products, especially those bags whose odor can permeate your entire kitchen.
Aluminum foil
Last on my list is aluminum foil. In and of itself, it isn’t awful; current conventional thinking considers its effects negligible. However, every insignificant metal exposure combines with all the other metal exposures in our environment and can add up to something significant.
Though I’m not quite weaned off of it, I’ve been mitigating its impact when I do use it. For example, although I haven’t found a suitable replacement for tenting food, I have been putting unbleached parchment paper between the foil and food when I need to keep things warm
And by all means, if you regularly use foil, please don’t use the non-stick variety!
Little by little, eliminate and mitigate
I realize that this list may seem daunting, and I didn’t even address cooking sprays! Honestly, I’m sure I missed a whole slew of items that I’ll have to cover in Detox 2. The bottom line is that I wholeheartedly believe that we are bringing rising rates of disease and ill health upon ourselves through ultra-processed foods, harmful pesticides, and interior/exterior environmental toxicity.
While we don’t have much control outside our homes, within our “four walls,” we have nearly total control and can eliminate most offenders and mitigate the rest. Small changes, made little by little, add up to make a big impact. This is a worthy effort in the noble quest to live well, age great.