Hidden Cooking Hazard Harms Your Health
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted June 7, 2024
Cooking can be a joy, right?
First of all, whether you’re whipping up a wicked stir-fry or making a batch of your killer stuffed burgers, cooking is a creative outlet.
Plus, you get a warm, satisfied feeling from providing vital nourishment for you and your family.
But it turns out what you’re cooking IN could be wreaking havoc on your health every time you make a meal.
A new study revealed that cooking—especially when it involves frying or sautéing in a pan—can produce nasty little particles called brown carbon aerosols (BrCOA).
BrCOA are microscopic bits of gunk that get released into the air when you don’t completely burn off all the oils and fats in your cooking. Experts warn that they can harm indoor air quality AND your health.
In a study published in the journal Environmental Science: Atmospheres, researchers investigated whether BrCOA produce harmful compounds when cooking. What they found was disturbing.
It turns out the particles can create something called singlet oxygen, a super-reactive form of oxygen that can damage cells and tissues.
Even worse, singlet oxygen can linger in the air long after it forms, giving it plenty of time to react with and potentially oxidize other compounds in your home.
BrCOAs are just the latest in a long line of indoor air quality issues, joining the ranks of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints, cleaning products, and furniture; mold and mildew growth due to excess humidity; dust mites and pet dander allergies; secondhand smoke from cigarettes and other tobacco products; and even radon gas seeping in from the ground.
So, what does this mean for those of us who love cooking but also want to be healthy?
There are some simple things you can do to reduce your risks:
- Make sure you have good ventilation in your kitchen. Open a window or two while cooking to let that nasty air out.
- Turn on your exhaust fan! This will help suck up those pesky brown carbon aerosols before they have a chance to cause trouble.
- To minimize the formation of these particles, use oils with a higher smoke point, like avocado oil, when cooking food in a frying pan..
- Invest in high-quality HEPA air filters to help remove these contaminants from indoor air.
With a few simple changes to your cooking routine, you can maintain better indoor air quality and shield your cells and tissues from more harm.
And another thing…
Here’s what else we’ve covered this week in Living Well Daily…
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P.S. Common cooking oil WARPS your brain!?
Source:
Nadine Borduas-Dedekind, et al., Singlet oxygen is produced from brown carbon-containing cooking organic aerosols (BrCOA) under indoor lighting, Environ. Sci.: Atmos., 2024, [DOI: doi. org /10. 1039/D3EA00167A]
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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