As much as we try to be healthy, taking alternative and preventive measures to live well, most Canadians are still unaware of the dangers lurking in their kitchens-non-stick dangers.

Non-stick cookware became all the rage after DuPont, the world's first and largest manufacturer of non-stick cookware, came out with TeflonŽ technology. Many companies followed their lead. We all loved it, and why not? Non-stick was cheap, cooked food fast, and was easy to clean! Too bad it kills pet birds, as well.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reports that the vapors from using TeflonŽ pans on high heat caused instant death to pet birds. In fact, the toxic particles and off gases are linked to hundreds, maybe even thousands, of pet bird deaths and an unknown number of human illnesses each year. After 50 years of insisting that their TeflonŽ coating does not emit hazardous chemicals, DuPont has publicly acknowledged that TeflonŽ can kill birds, and that the fumes make their workers sick, calling it "polymer fume fever."

TeflonŽ-coated aluminum contains perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), among other hazardous chemicals. It is a synthetic chemical known to cause a variety of health hazards, from organ toxicity to tumors, and an increase in prostate cancer in PFOA plant workers. In as little as three to five minutes, a non-stick TeflonŽ pan releases at least six different toxic gases. Of these gases, two are carcinogens (cancer-causing), two are global pollutants, and one is a chemical deadly to humans at low doses (MFA), according to an EWG report.

In 2006, a voluntary pact, crafted by a scientific advisory panel to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asked companies including DuPont to reduce and phase out 95 percent of PFOA manufacturing emissions by 2010.

Perhaps you're an informed consumer and have thrown out your toxic pots and pans years ago, as our family did. But I have to ask: What did you replace them with? The Seattle-based Toxic Legacy Coalition recommends stainless steel, cast iron and enameled cast-iron (leadand cadmium-free) cookware as our best cookware options.

The Weston A. Price Foundation points out that magnetic stainless steel is a good cookware option because it does not contain nickel, which is allergenic and carcinogenic. In other words, a magnet will stick to better quality cookware. Glass and Pyrex are also considered by most natural health experts to be safe cookware for baking.

Beware of coloured, glazed enamel casserole pots, however, as they may contain lead and cadmium. To be safe, purchase only enamel with a cream or white interior. Clay pots, also known as earthenware, have been trusted and safe cooking pots for centuries. However, beware, once again, of coloured glazes.

Buy only from quality manufacturers that have labeled "No lead or cadmium" on their earthenware. Cast iron pots are known to add iron to foods, which is perhaps not a bad thing in our iron-poor North American diet. High quality cookware can be purchased at most respected department stores and higher end cookware and kitchen shops.

My grandma once said, as I was cursing while scrub the eggs off her cast iron fry pan, "Honey, that pan was considered as valuable as gold and silver back in the old days." Grandma always new best-she lived to the age of 96!

HANS Member Kimberly Easterbrook is a longevity researcher and an interior stylist. She re-aligns homes and offices to create healthy, balanced and tranquil environments. tranquilplacesconsultinggroup.com; 604-945-4497

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