Cookware Chemicals Linked To Several Diseases

You want your cookware to be reliable — a dream to use, durable, and easy to clean. If your cookware ticks those boxes, you'll probably be happy, but could your cookware be making you ill?

You might never have considered it, but concerns have been raised about chemicals called perfluorinated carboxylic acids or PFCAs. These hazardous substances, commonly used in non-stick cookware, are getting into food and causing health issues. The chemicals are released when cookware coated with non-stick materials such as Teflon™ is heated to high temperatures. Research has linked two of these chemicals, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, or C8) and PFOS (perfluoroctane sulphonate) with medical conditions, including thyroid disorders, cardiovascular disease and arthritis. 

PFOA and thyroid disorders

In 2010 researchers in Great Britain used blood samples from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which covered the whole of the US. They found that individuals with the highest concentration of PFOA in the blood were more likely to have a thyroid disorder, although which kind of thyroid condition i.e. over- or under-active thyroid, was not identified. It is also not known whether thyroid conditions lead individuals to handle PFOA differently so it accumulates.

PFOA and heart and blood vessel disease

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2012 linked cardiovascular disease (CVD or heart disease), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and high levels of PFOA in the blood.  The association remained after allowing for the effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol levels. Those with the highest levels of PFOA were at twice the risk of developing heart disease, compared to those with lower levels.

PFOA and osteoarthritis

A US study found a link between PFOA and PFOS levels and arthritis. It was found that women in the highest quarter for PFOA levels, had twice the risk of having osteoarthritis, compared to those in the lowest quarter for PFOA exposure. Interestingly, the same risk was not found in men.

Does PFOA definitely cause illness?

Nobody knows the answer to that at the moment.  The tricky task is to establish what scientists call causality, meaning that something definitely causes an event or illness.  An association, relationship or link does not prove that a substance causes an illness. (For example in a group of bald men it might be found that a high percentage drink alcohol, but this cannot be assumed to mean that drinking alcohol causes baldness!). None of the studies showing a link between PFOA or PFOS and health disorders has been able to conclude that one causes the other.  These are some of the comments the researchers have made:

So Is Anything Being Done About PFCAs?

Yes, because of the research findings, governments have pledged to monitor the situation, and manufacturers have agreed to work towards phasing out PFCAs by 2015.  Also, in 2004 residents in six communities around the DuPont plant in West Virginia which processes PFCAs, took a class action against the company, alleging health issues arising from drinking water contaminated by the plant. 

Nothing was proven, but in settlement the C8 Health Project was set up to carry out research in the Mid-Ohio valley to determine if there are health risks associated with exposure to PFOA. Although some research has been reported, the project is still on-going and no conclusions have been drawn as yet.

As an update, even in 2021, concerns about PFCAs remain ongoing, but research has not conclusively proven their association with causing health conditions. Cookware with these chemicals remains in many kitchens, but to be on the safe side, you may wish to consider other options such as cast iron.

What about other chemicals in cookware?

Plastic food wrap

You may have seen e-mails warning that chemicals called dioxins, and a substance called DEHA can leach out of food wrap into food, especially when the wrap is used to cover fatty food being cooked in a microwave.  The research behind the story, allegedly showed that DEHA can move from plastic wrap into food when heated, but it was never published and therefore cannot be reviewed.

With regard to dioxins, they are a group of chemicals, only one of which has been linked to any health issues.  They are by-products from some industrial processes and some plastics release dioxins when burned at high temperatures. But there is no evidence to show they are released from plastic wrap when heated in a microwave. An expert from Johns Hopkins university (where the rumors falsely claimed to originate) recommends:

Aluminum pans and Alzheimer’s Disease

There has been concern in the past that absorbing aluminum from food cooked in aluminum pans is linked with Alzheimer’s disease.  While some researchers claim there is a link, others say none has been found.  Other substances such as tea, beer, baked products and anti-perspirants which contain aluminum have also been investigated, but again, no link found.  This may be because the small amount of aluminum we absorb from food and other sources is removed in the urine or incorporated into bone.  

The causes of Alzheimer’s are likely to involve more than one factor and it is difficult to actually prove that a substance causes a disease – circumstantial links are often found i.e. a substance may be present in high or detectable amounts in people with a certain disease.  But, as mentioned, that does not prove that the substance causes the disease.