We are replacing anything made of plastic in our kitchen with glass and metal in order to prevent health problems later on.
In recent years information has been coming out about the safety of certain plastics used in the kitchen. You have most likely heard about BPA and BPA free plastics. But you have probably not heard about any other health problems associated with plastics.
I am not going to get into the details of other chemicals which are found in plastics but lets just say that you should not use plastic in the kitchen with food or drink related items.
When you open a plastic container or package, you will often find warnings on the back side stating that materials in this product have been found to cause cancer and birth defects in the State of California. We see this very often these days.
My family has been reducing the use of plastics in the kitchen in recent years starting with anything that comes into contact with hot food.
When heat comes into contact with plastic products, certain chemicals and hormones are released into your food or drink. These can cause long term health problems.
We first got rid of all plastic plates and drinking glasses. These were replaced with ceramic or glassware.
Next went the plastic food storage containers. It is especially harmful when you put hot food into a plastic storage container which is not labeled BPA free. But there are other chemicals that can be released which are not so often talked about.
Then we replaced the plastic blender with a real glass blender.
Non stick pots and pans have a coating on them which peals off with time and gets into your food. These went out the door and were replaced with stainless steel or cast iron cookware.
Any plastic coffee cups were replaced with ceramic mugs for hot drinks.
Even our refillable plastic travel mugs were replaced with stainless steel cups. This is especially important for hot drinks.
We also removed any aluminum from our kitchen but that is another article for another day.
In this day and age you cannot completely get away from plastic products which come into contact with your food. But we certainly can take precautions and reduce the amount of plastic we use in our own home.
Most prepackaged food products and drinks come in plastic containers these days. But then again processed foods are not as healthy for you anyway. Yet another future article.
Stay tuned for more articles on health, organics and natural living.
