Daily Aha!

Daily Aha! Teflon pans can release carcinogens while you cook.

There are many reasons to love nonstick cookware. It lets you cook with less fatty butter and oil, and is easy to clean. But there’s a downside. The flouropolymer coating that gives the pans their nonstickiness can release chemicals when it gets hot—including perfluorooctanoic acid, a carcinogen. There’s even an illness called “teflon flu” that you can get from inhaling the toxic fumes. To protect yourself, don’t preheat your nonstick pots and pans at a high temperature and try to cook over a low to medium flame.