Unsuspecting Toxic Cooking Products

Is Bamboo BS? Stainless Steel vs Cast Iron

A couple weeks back on a camping trip, I had brought some wooden spoons with me since they are light and I figured better than plastic. I happened to be with my friend who is more knowledgeable/hyper-aware about some environmental toxins than I am, shocking I know, but this is possible.

“Bro did you know that bamboo is bullshit, that stuff is made with toxic glue.”

I was not aware. However, I did not even argue or act surprised. The day and age we leave in is what I call a giant “Toxin Soup”. Everywhere from cleaning products to cookware to clothing to cars and beyond is made with toxic material. They all are “carcinogenic” to some degree and you can debate until the cows come home about the legitimacy of the research. Here’s my take:

We live in a very toxic world. Every person has a daily war going on in their body that results in cellular damage. The more toxins you are exposed to on a daily basis, the faster you are going to lose that war and succumb to a chronic disease. The lifestyle habits you implement train the soldiers on the “good side”, the toxins you are exposed to ARE the soldiers on the “bad side”.

Back to the bamboo; which is most prevalent in re-usable utensils, tops to bottles/Tupperware, and cutting boards. Bamboo is made with wood that is held together with glue that contains formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is extremely toxic. It’s easy to use metal utensils instead of bamboo, but cutting boards are certainly an issue. Most think they are doing a huge health service by switching from plastic to wood, which is true, however if you have a low quality bamboo cutting board you may be getting trace amounts of toxic formaldehyde. Solution? Single piece wood that is finished with coconut oil or beeswax. How come the specifics? Here comes the even more annoying part…MOST wooden cookware (spatulas, stir spoons, cutting boards, etc.) are finished with “food grade mineral oil”. This oil is petroleum based and can also be very toxic and even carcinogenic. Toxins…got dang everywhere. Thankfully a lot of farmers markets I have been to sell handmade cutting boards. They might be a bit more expensive but you can VERIFY exactly what they are using and pay for a quality board that will last a lifetime if taken care of. Here is a good blog on cutting boards. As for the cooking spatulas and utensils, opt for stainless steel…always.

What about POTS and PANS? The stainless steel vs cast iron debate roars on. If you are not aware what I am referring too, there has been quite the back and forth about siding with stainless steel pans vs cast iron for the best non toxic cooking experience. My opinion: BOTH are great when it comes to avoiding toxins, but I personally prefer cast iron. For me more versatile as I am always camping and often making roasts, plus once I figured out how to cook over easy eggs on the cast iron (seasoning w/ tallow properly), I was hooked. What about the rest? Here’s a quick list:

AVOID

• “Non-stick” anything

• Teflon

• Aluminum

USE

• Stainless Steel

• Carbon Steel

• Cast Iron

Ceramic enamel is also good, but I have read some reports and blogs that talked about heavy metal leaching from the coatings of these types of pots/pans like a Dutch oven. Certainly would also be wary if you scratch them up.

Anything plastic in the kitchen should pretty much be tossed, ESPECIALLY if it gets heated up. This is when the very dangerous bisphenol chemicals leach out, and same goes for PFA “forever chemicals” in nonstick pans.

This is an introduction to non toxic living, and for me cookware is always a good place to start. If you are spending all this time and effort to eat “cleaner” but using toxic pans and cutting boards…well you are doing yourself a huge dis service. It can seem overwhelming to swap out everything at once, so take it one piece at a time and prioritize what you use most often. I likely will put together some sort of free guide of all the household products I use/don’t use at some point. Personal care products are an even more fun rabbit hole :)

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