Why You Should Toss Your Nonstick Pans

By Kelley Herring

Infertility... from a cooking pan? That's right.

A recent study published in Human Reproduction found that pregnant women and women of child-bearing age in the United States are at high risk for reproductive problems as a result of exposure to the toxic Teflon chemical PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). In fact, women with elevated levels of PFOA experienced more difficulties conceiving and were twice as likely to be diagnosed with infertility as women with lower PFOA body burdens.

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are all over your kitchen - especially in your nonstick pans, but also in tap water, food wrap, and microwaveable popcorn bags.

Toss those nonstick pots and pans and buy a set of nontoxic cookware (for example, from Emile Henry, Staub, Chantal, Le Creuset, or Mercola). And if you're still using a microwave, stop. It excites the molecules in plastic containers and wraps, transferring them into your food and devitalizing it.

[Ed. Note: Eating right goes a long way toward helping you stay healthy and live longer. Pick up a copy of nutrition expert Kelley Herring's collection of recipes for dozens of delicious and guilt-free desserts today.]

It's Good to Know: Self-Healing High-Tech Devices

A self-healing coating for cellphones, MP3 players, and other devices could soon make scratches a thing of the past. Derived from a protein in shrimp and crab shells, it was developed by a team at the University of Southern Mississippi. So when your device is scratched, you simply expose it to ultraviolet rays (sunlight), and both sides of the scratch bind together, making the damage disappear in about an hour.

The coating, still in development, could eventually be used with cars, furniture, even clothing. There is one catch: If the item is scratched in the same place twice, it won't heal the second time.

(Source: National Geographic)

Word to the Wise: Toady

A "toady" (TOH-dee) is a fawning flatterer or "yes man." The word has its origin in the 16th century. A "toad eater" was the assistant to a type of quack who claimed to be able to extract poisons from the body. The assistant would eat a (presumably) poisonous toad so the charlatan could display his skill. Since even pretending to eat a toad is such a lousy job, "toad eater" came to mean the type of person who would do anything to please a superior.

Example (as used by Edward Dahlberg in The Carnal Myth): "The bad poet is a toady mimicking nature."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2627, 03-27-09], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.