The new year is a great time to start practicing new, and healthier, habits and the kitchen is a great place to start!

For many people, cooking “healthfully” means choosing hormone-free dairy products, organic vegetables, unprocessed foods, and beef raised without antibiotics. But to cook truly healthfully, you need to pay as much attention to
you are cooking.




Virtually all cooking creates chemical compounds and particulates from the combustion and the food itself! Gas stoves release fumes from combustion. Electric burners create ultrafine particles by volatilizing dust. High temperatures turn the amino acids and sugars in some foods into carcinogens. Even some types of cookware can leach chemicals into your food. Since you are probably standing close to the stove or open oven when these chemicals and particulates get into the air, exposure risk can be high. Not to mention, many people cook multiple times each day, every day of the year!

Without appropriate ventilation, cooking can reduce indoor air quality and may cause health problems. A Berkeley Lab Study (2013) found that the aggregate health consequences of poor indoor air quality—of which cooking is the major but not sole source—are as significant as those from all traffic accidents or infectious diseases in the United States

#2 Chose Less-Toxic Pots, Pans, Utensils, and Cooktops

#3 Avoid High Temps and Charred Food