You Won’t Believe What’s Hiding in YOUR NON-STICK PANS. And it’s making you sick

Non-stick cookware and bakeware has become enormously popular because of its convenience. Foods slide right off, reducing the amount of elbow-grease required to clean the pan.

Ditto for stain- and water-repellant clothing, carpets and fabrics, and many other treated products that have emerged over the past six decades.

But there may be a high price to pay for this convenience, as the poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used to create these surfaces are toxic and highly persistent, both in your body and in the environment.

As you can tell by the names, PFAS are fluorinated chemicals. It’s actually the fluorine atoms that provide that hallmark slipperiness. I first became aware of the dangers of fluoride-impregnated non-stick coatings back in 2001.

I revised my cookware recommendations back then, and many of the health concerns I’ve warned about since then were recently confirmed by hundreds of international scientists.

You Probably Have PFAS in Your Home—And in Your Body
When heated, non-stick cookware becomes a source of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a long-chain perfluorinated chemical linked to a range of health problems, including thyroid disease, infertility in women, and organ damage and developmental and reproductive problems in lab animals.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also ruled perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) as “likely carcinogens.” Despite that, these chemicals are still used in a wide array of household products. Besides non-stick cookware, PFCs are used to create heat-resistant and non-stick coatings on:

Soil- and water-repellant carpet and furniture treatments

Stain- and water-repellant clothing

Protective sprays for leather and shoes

Food wraps, pizza boxes, and microwave popcorn bags

Paint and cleaning products

They’re also found in flame retardant chemicals (and, hence, items treated with flame retardants). PFCs are also being released into the environment via factory emissions, and during house fires when treated items burn.

According to the CDC’s “Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals,”1 published in 2009, 12 different PFCs were detected in Americans, including PFOA. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR):2

“Once in your body, perfluoroalkyls tend to remain unchanged for long periods of time. The most commonly used perfluoroalkyls (PFOA and PFOS) stay in the body for many years. It takes approximately four years for the level in the body to go down by half, even if no more is taken in.”

While there’s a dizzying array of chemical names in the PFAS groups, if an item is either non-stick, waterproof, or stain-resistant, it has some type of fluoride-impregnated coating that provides the slipperiness, and you can be virtually guaranteed it will be problematic.

Phased Out PFAS Replaced with Others of Similar Concern

In 2006, the EPA launched the 2010/15 PFOA Stewardship Program,3 and companies agreed to voluntarily reduce the use of PFOA and related chemicals by 95 percent by 2010, with the aim to eliminate them by 2015.

Unfortunately, it was only a voluntary program and much of the damage has already been done, as these chemicals have been found to be extremely resistant to biodegradation. Some polyfluorinated chemicals also break down to form perfluorinated ones.

Making matters worse, the chemicals targeted for phase out are being replaced with anothergroup of PFAS that share many of the same problems as the ones being eliminated.4

The newer, short-chain PFAS are thought to be less hazardous, but scientists warn we don’t yet know enough about them to make a solid determination about their safety. There are certainly warning signs suggesting we’re just trading one danger for another…

For example, a recent Danish study5 looking into the health effects of PFAS, including the newer short-chain versions that are replacing the older long-chained ones, found that women with higher blood levels of PFAS had a 16-fold increased risk for miscarriage.

We see the same problem happening with flame retardants, which has lead a group of scientists to propose a ban on an entire class of chemicals (organohalogens) rather than tackling them one-by-one, in an effort to put an end to this “toxic whack-a-mole game” played by the chemical industry.6

As for the newer, short-chain PFAS taking over the market, Arlene Blum, a University of California chemist, and the executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute says:7

“We know these substitutes are equally persistent. They don’t break down for geologic time… It’s a very serious decision to make chemicals that last that long, and putting them into consumer products with high levels of human exposure is a worrisome thing.”

Non-Stick Cookware Release Toxic Fumes

In studies of heated non-stick pans on conventional stovetops, commissioned by the consumer watchdog organization Environmental Working Group (EWG),8 it only took two to five minutes of heating to reach temperatures at which dangerous toxins were produced.

The coating begins to break down and release toxins into the air at 464 degrees Fahrenheit. When the pot or pan reaches 680 degrees F, they release at least six toxic gasses, including two carcinogens (PFOA and TFE), and monofluoroacetic acid (MFA), a chemical warfare agent that is deadly to humans even at low doses.

According to the EWG, studies conducted by DuPont’s own scientists revealed that when its non-stick cookware is heated it breaks down into 15 types of toxic gases and particles.9 For a list reviewing them all, please see EWG’s 2003 report, “Canaries in the Kitchen: DuPont Has Known for 50 Years,”10 which also notes:

“DuPont acknowledges that the fumes can also sicken people, a condition called ‘polymer fume fever.’ DuPont has never studied the incidence of the fever among users of the billions of non-stick pots and pans sold around the world. Neither has the company studied the long-term effects from the sickness, or the extent to which exposures lead to human illnesses believed erroneously to be the common flu.”

Hundreds of Scientists Issue Warning Over PFAS

Arlene Blum (mentioned earlier) is also the lead author of the recently published Madrid Statement,11,12 signed by more than 200 scientists from 40 countries,13 which presents the scientific consensus on the harms of PFAS chemicals, old and new. For example, the Statement points out that:

1. “Although some of the long-chain PFASs are being regulated or phased out, the most common replacements are short-chain PFASs with similar structures, or compounds with fluorinated segments joined by ether linkages.

2. While some shorter-chain fluorinated alternatives seem to be less bioaccumulative, they are still as environmentally persistent as long-chain substances or have persistent degradation products.

Thus, a switch to short-chain and other fluorinated alternatives may not reduce the amounts of PFASs in the environment. In addition, because some of the shorter-chain PFASs are less effective, larger quantities may be needed to provide the same performance.

3. While many fluorinated alternatives are being marketed, little information is publicly available on their chemical structures, properties, uses, and toxicological profiles.

4. Increasing use of fluorinated alternatives will lead to increasing levels of stable perfluorinated degradation products in the environment, and possibly also in biota and humans. This would increase the risks of adverse effects on human health and the environment.”

An editorial14 accompanying the Madrid Statement echoes the same warning, saying: “Given the fact that research raised concern about the long-chain PFASs for many years before action was taken and that global contamination and toxicity have been documented in the general population, potential risks of the short-chain PFASs should be taken into account when choosing replacements for the longer-chain compounds.”

In fact, 10 years ago, the EPA fined DuPont $16.5 million for withholding decades’ worth of information about health hazards associated with PFAS. As noted in a recent report15 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG):

“DuPont had long known that PFOA caused cancer, had poisoned drinking water in the mid-Ohio River Valley and polluted the blood of people and animals worldwide. But it never told its workers, local officials and residents, state regulators, or the EPA.” At the time, that fine was the largest the EPA had ever assessed, but it was still too small to act as a deterrent.

Documented Health Effects of PFAS
The Madrid Statement lists many of the documented health effects associated with the older, long-chain PFASs, including the following:16

Liver toxicity
Disruption of lipid metabolism, and the immune and endocrine systems
Adverse neurobehavioral effects
Neonatal toxicity and death
Tumors in multiple organ systems
Testicular and kidney cancers
Liver malfunction
Hypothyroidism
High cholesterol
Ulcerative colitis
Reduced birth weight and size
Obesity
Decreased immune response to vaccines
Reduced hormone levels and delayed puberty

How to Avoid These Dangerous Chemicals

The Madrid Statement17 recommends avoiding any and all products containing, or manufactured using, PFASs, noting they include products that are stain-resistant, waterproof, or non-stick. More helpful tips can be found in the EWG’s Guide to Avoiding PFCS.18 Besides listing a number of sportswear brands known to use PFCs in their shoes and clothing, the Guide also notes that Apple admits the wristband of its new Apple Watch Sport model is made with PFCs.

Nature’s Botox: use this 1 ingredient to help reduce wrinkles, dark circles and crow’s feet

Ah collagen. Nature’s botox. Ever since I discovered the importance of it, I’ve been hooked and cant get enough. 

What is Collagen?
Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in your body. You’ll find it in your skin, hair, nails, cartilage, and bones.

As we age, our bodies naturally produce less collagen. Our collagen is also constantly exposed to free radicals from toxins in our food and environment, which causes it to break down. These are two key reasons why our skin begins to sag and our joints get achy. 

Thus, to slow down the aging process, it’s important to protect your collagen by reducing your exposure to toxins and eating an antioxidant rich diet filled with lots of colorful vegetables.

In two double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, researchers found 8 weeks of collagen supplementation lead to a 12% increase in skin moisture, a 9% increase in collagen density, and a 31.2% reduction in collagen degradation when compared to the placebo group.

Now if you’re thinking this sounds too good to be true, numerous experimental studies have shown that hydrolyzed collagen is readily absorbed by the body and efficiently transported to the deepest layers of your skin where it works its magic. 

So, I have a morning cocktail that consists of 8oz of water, a splash of Organic 100% Lemon Juice and a tablespoon of Collagen. (find it here) Make sure to purchase organic, grass-fed bovine collagen or wild caught fish hydrolyzed collagen.  Good collagen will be tasteless and dissolve completely and clearly in water.  Of course, you can also add collagen to other liquids, smoothies, yogurts, etc.  

Can mangoes make you fat?

Every year, right about this time in summer, my mailbox is flooded with questions about whether or not you should eat mangoes.

"I have diabetes, so will mangoes cause my blood sugar levels to rise?"

"Mangoes are so sweet...won't they make me put on weight?"

"Are mangoes healthy to eat?"

Let me get one thing straight right away. You shouldn't be scared of a fruit—you shouldn't be scared of anything that grows naturally. What you should be scared of is everything that comes packaged, of everything that's processed, of your poor lifestyle choices.

You shouldn't be scared of a fruit... What you should be scared of is everything that comes packaged and processed.

Now let me tell you about mangoes, and why they are healthy for you—even if you have diabetes.

Mangoes are a very, very rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, and most of the B vitamins except vitamin b12. Mangoes also have traces of omega-3 and omega-6 and are loaded with minerals and fibre. One ripe mango will have approximately 29—32 grams of fruit sugar and a glycaemic load of just 10. So, while you don't have to be scared of mangoes, you do have to be scared of overeating them. This holds true for virtually anything that's good for you—too much of it can have adverse effects.

This rule applies in diabetes too—you can eat mangoes, but in moderation. Depending on your blood sugar levels, you can have one mango or half a mango quite safely. Thing is, mangoes are also rich in fibre, which doesn't allow your blood sugar levels to rise too high. I also always tell people who are trying to control their blood sugar to have some seeds and nuts with it or right after it, so that the levels are kept under check.

Let me tell you something else that's cool about mangoes other than the vitamins and fibre, they also contain a substance called mangiferin. Now mangiferin has an antiviral and anti-inflammatory impact on the body; it affects certain enzymes in your body, ultimately helping you control your blood sugar levels. Let me repeat that just so we are really, really clear: Mangiferin actually affects enzymes to positively control your blood sugar levels! So, just because a mango raises your blood sugar levels it doesn't make the fruit bad for you.

If you're highly diabetic, have half a mango in the morning and maybe enjoy the other half in the evening; couple it with nuts and seeds...

I'd also like to make a point about the importance of eating local and seasonal produce as far as possible. There's also plenty of folk wisdom that we could benefit from. Many locals in Goa believe that mangoes grow during the summer because of their cooling impact on the body. Mangoes are also very rich in vitamin C, which is an immunity booster—the theory in Goa (and there may be something to it!) is that the vitamin C in mangoes helps us to prepare for the monsoon, which is a season where more infections than usual tend to happen.

So, yeah, don't be afraid of mangoes!

But now for a word of caution. There are people who eat five to six mangoes a day. If you're one of them, take it easy: there's a whole season to enjoy mangoes and it's you should to limit your intake to one or two a day. If you're highly diabetic, have half a mango in the morning and maybe enjoy the other half in the evening; couple it with nuts and seeds if you feel your sugar levels are rising too fast.

As for weight gain, mangoes will not by themselves cause you to pile on the kilos. They have negligible fat in them and they pack a lot of nutrition, including as I mentioned vitamin C, which helps detox your body.

6 herbs to include in your daily diet for a healthier, happier you

Focusing on health in the hectic and stressful lives that we lead today is becoming difficult. Incorporating relevant herbs in your daily diet is the first step towards a healthier you. 

Ayurveda texts and modern research say that herbs contain compounds that have beneficial health properties that can help prevent many lifestyle disorders and rejuvenate our bodies.

Ayurveda Expert Dr Shruthi M. Hegde suggests incorporating the following herbs in your daily diet to practice preventive wellness and take a concrete step towards maintaining good health.

Tulasi: Popularly known as "The Queen of Herbs", it yields beneficial results for respiratory wellness. It has compounds which are known to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and expectorant properties. 

Tulsi helps modulate healthy immune response and supports early recovery from respiratory conditions. Use it to get relief from cough and cold, especially during seasonal changes, when your body is particularly prone to such respiratory ailments. 

 

Ashvagandha: This herb contains rejuvenating properties, and being an adaptogen, helps cope with stress, reduces harmful effects of long-term stress on the body, and promotes healthy sleep. This makes it particularly useful in our stressful lives, where good work-life balance is often difficult to maintain. 

 

Triphala: It's difficult to always consume healthy and hygienically prepared food in our hectic lifestyle, making digestive issues a common problem. Triphala helps promote overall digestive wellness in a number of ways. It acts as an effective colon cleanser, regularises normal bowel movements, and aids healthy digestion.

 

Neem: This helps fight acne by inhibiting the bacteria that causes acne growth. The herb helps promote skin wellness, which becomes even more important during summer, when the skin is more prone to acne breakouts and inflammation. It helps rejuvenate your skin, and prevents the recurrence of acne and blemishes.

 

Haridra (turmeric): This herb contains beneficial inflammation-relieving properties. It boosts cell health through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, helping improve overall health. This makes it a potent tool in your preventive wellness toolkit, helping you overcome a number of health problems before they even have a chance to make an appearance 

 

Guduchi: This herb supports the immune system and helps fight against infections by increasing the effectiveness of disease-fighting white blood cells. Including this herb in your daily diet will help increase your body's resistance to stress and illness.

 

Make a commitment to getting healthier and staying fit by including these health-boosting herbs in your daily diet. Regular usage of these herbs in addition to other activities such as exercising and consuming a balanced diet will lead to a healthier, happier you.

'Money talks': A $1.2 trillion fund manager is about to pull investment from companies that won't act on climate change

Legal and General, which oversees more than $1.2 trillion in assets, said it would punish companies with a bad record on climate change and strip them of their funding.

Helena Morrissey, head of personal investing, said the firm will be “naming and shaming” companies that have failed to act on climate change next week, and pull investments from those companies.

“There comes a time when talk is over, and it’s time to vote with our feet. Money talks as they say,” Morrissey said at a conference in London on Monday.

She emphasised the need for the financial sector to work together, driving change through sustainable investments, and said that these investments can produce both “profit and purpose.”

Many individuals don’t invest in the market because of fear their money will be used for purposes they disagree with, Morrissey said. She suggested sustainable investing as a solution.

“Legal and General runs almost a trillion pounds of money so we are doing a lot with that. But if we add all our trillions together, we can certainly drive change.”

FBI raided Manafort over records of Trump Tower meeting with Russians, Mueller confirms

A new court filing by Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel confirms that Paul Manafort was raided by the FBI to look for documents relating to the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 with Russian lobbyists, which was brokered by Donald Trump Jr.

Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, is indicted on five counts, among them conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, and acting as an agent of a foreign government without registering as such. The 69-year-old political consultant made tens of millions of dollars by working for the Ukrainian government, then controlled by the Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych.

He attended the Trump Tower meeting, at which a Russian lawyer with links to the Kremlin and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer were also present, while running the presidential campaign. They allegedly promised dirt on Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.

According to the latest court filing by the Mueller inquiry, which is defending a warrant attached to a raid on Manafort’s home in July 2017, part of what the FBI were hunting for were “communications, records, documents, and other files involving any of the attendees of the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, as well as Aras and [Emin] Agalarov.” 

Investigators were also searching for documents relating to Manafort and his associates' financial dealings, bank accounts, payments made by foreign individuals, and work on behalf of foreign entities, such as governments or officials.

The Agalarovs, a wealthy Azeri family, helped arrange the meeting by connecting the Trump campaign with the Russian lawyer, though they are not believed to have been present at it. 

Details of what exactly happened at the meeting are murky amid contradictory statements by those who were involved. Mueller is investigating suspicions of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to undermine American democracy.

There were at least eight people in attendance at the meeting. They include Manafort; Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son; Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law; Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer and lobbyist with close ties to the Kremlin; Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian-American lawyer and former Soviet counterintelligence officer; Rob Goldstone, the publicist of Emin Agalarov, who is connected to Trump Jr's attorney and Ike Kaveladze, a Georgian-American executive at Aras Agalarov's real estate company.

Trump Jr released publicly his email correspondence with Goldstone after reports of the meeting’s existence first emerged in mid-2017.

Goldstone told Trump Jr that the Aras Agalarov had met with the crown prosecutor of Russia who “offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump—helped along by Aras and Emin.”

Trump Jr replied that "if it’s what you say I love it," and sought more information ahead of a proposed meeting.

President Trump denied any knowledge of the meeting taking place at the time and said that he only found out about it when the media reported it.

The UK has been powered without coal for three days in a row, setting a new record and underlining the polluting fuel’s rapid decline. Demand lower following recent warm weather, making it easier for gas, renewables and nuclear to cover UK’s needs

The UK has been powered without coal for three days in a row, setting a new record and underlining the polluting fuel’s rapid decline.

Coal has historically been at the cornerstone of the UK’s electricity mix, but last year saw the first 24-hour period that the the country ran without the fuel since the 19th century.

New records were broken last week when zero power came from coal for nearly 55 consecutive hours.

That milestone in turn was smashed on Monday afternoon and the UK passed the 72-hour mark at 10am on Tuesday. The coal-free run came to an end after 76 hours.

Without the fossil fuel, nearly a third of Britain’s electricity was supplied by gas, followed by windfarms and nuclear on around a quarter each.

The rest came from biomass burned at Drax power station in North Yorkshire, imports from France and the Netherlands, and solar power. Drax said it expected to go without coal on Tuesday.

The coal-free records are a reversal from the recent highs that coal plant owners experienced during the so-called “beast from the east” cold snap.

During cold weather in February and early March, demand for gas to use in heating pushed up the price of gas for power, which brought coal power stations online.

However, overall power demand is now much lower following the recent warm weather, making it easier for gas, renewables and nuclear to cover much of the UK’s needs.

National Grid has forecast electricity demand this summer will be lower than last year, with minimum demand at 17GW and peak at 33.7GW. Demand on Tuesday is expected to peak at about 35GW.

Experts said to expect more milestones this year. “Ever rising renewable capacity in the UK will see these records fall more and more frequently, clearly showing progress made over the past decade or two,” said Jonathan Marshall, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

However, one observer cautioned that the shift away from coal could be a “false dawn” if it was just replaced by gas.

Andrew Crossland, who tracks electricity generation on the MyGridGB site, said: “Shifting to gas is likely to make our electricity market more volatile as our energy price becomes increasingly locked to international gas markets. That will only hurt consumers.”

A carbon tax, the cheaper price of gas and the rise of renewables have all hit coal operators. The government has set a deadline of October 2025 for phasing out coal entirely.

Two coal plant owners have said they will shut this year, which will leave the UK with six coal power stations including Drax, which has hinted it will cease burning coal before the 2025 target.