this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 234 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Hate to break it to you, but you are also full of Teflon.

[–] [email protected] 135 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 119 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry, it's hard to think with all this plastic in my brain.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Don’t forget the lead and steel.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think they might be referring to when steel workers were exposed to heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and manganese through their work.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah... Steel wouldn't be a big deal. It's mainly iron and carbon, both things that our bodies use.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I came to say this. I have also noticed a strong trend amongst people from each generation for health.

Teflon was introduced in 1938, when my grandfather was 11. In the 1955, when my father was born, is the last time that we have Teflon untainted blood from. At some point between 1955 and 1985 when I was born, Teflon proliferated to the point that it was being found in every blood sample around the world.

So my grandfather lived ~40-50 years without being massively contaminated with Teflon, my father probably got to adulthood, and I have never been without it. Now an anecdotal sample that follows a larger trend. My grandfather is in his 90's with pretty good health and is still going pretty strong. My father and both of his siblings are in their 60's-70's and all have failing health, and I know so few people in my own age range that are actually healthy without autoimmune disease or other systemic issue that I couldn't fill a high school auditorium with them.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago

Not saying that there's nothing wrong with microplastics or PFAS, but keep in mind there's survival bias at play here.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I have seen the exact opposite as, aside from obesity problems, each generation I've seen has had significantly higher life expectancy than the last.

I know multiple people now who have outlived the short life expectancy their health complications in the 80s supposedly gave them. I know a few families who have people living longer than anyone else in their blood line ever has. The heart and lung problems that killed off my grandparents have been dealt with now and my parents and my generation are already outliving them and far healthier at our ages.

This is all thanks to great medical advancement, of course, but the point is this isn't some dire threat that warrants doom and gloom, but another medical hurdle for us to be aware of and work out like we have all the others.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

And they're all full of microplastics, and we also all have a decent amount of lead.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And animal 'roids AND microplastics

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

At least the animal 'roids are much more avoidable.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yes, by either raising your own farm animals, buying dairy and meat products from known and truly eco producers or going vegan. The last option, though, might get you into another category of chemicals and/or GMOs if you don't carefully select the products and categories based on labeling and nutritional values and knowledge

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

...or by living in Sweden :)

Guess that's not really an option for most though, lol

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Teflon is so unreactive (by design) that it largely passes right through you.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Scientists are still learning about the effects of PFAS on humans, but studies show these chemicals can harm different systems in the body.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says exposure to PFAS may lead to higher risk for kidney or testicular cancer, increased cholesterol levels, and damage to the liver and immune system.

My hospital sent an email out that for unknown reasons liver disease is on the rise for non drinkers and people without diabetes.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pfas-forever-chemicals-health-risk-water

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/1106863211/the-dangers-of-forever-chemicals

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well it also looks like PFAS is a big group of chemicals, and brand name Teflon now uses a specific version called PTFE which they (can you trust them?) claim is not as bad as PFAS.

But even if that’s true, the production of it still produces tons of known toxic waste.

Ya know… I think my original notion I got from Johnny Harris…. Whom I’ve actually grown a bit skeptical of lately.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I switched over to ceramic pans, specifically the Ayesha Curry ones, but who knows if that will be bad in the future. I tried the Caphalon ceramic and those were horrible. The nonstick pans are bad for you over a certain temperature where it breaks down. There's an excellent movie called Dark Waters about the original lawsuit and that man is a hero.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9071322/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You seem to know this so I'll ask. Are all non stick pans PFAS? If not, how to tell if it's a good one?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Ceramic pans are non stick as well as properly seasoned cast iron, neither of which uses Teflon.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The problem is that it's so inert, it becomes impossible to remove from a contaminated environment or particularly a person's blood stream.

The amount that inevitably gets caught in your blood will just stay in your body forever, settling down in a critical organ like your brain or kidneys and giving you cancer or some other horrible problem.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Sounds pleasant

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

We're running on theory alone here, but if thats true, then its too inert to be reabsorbed by your kidneys and therefore would pass into your urine and leave your body that way. Also how is it causing cancer if it's inert?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

EPA article on PFAS

Much more in depth NIH article (go to section 3)

We are definitely NOT in theory territory here, there have been studies and reports of people directly suffering from the effects of PFAS, what we are not clear on is how it's interacting with our bodies.