HOUSEHOLD ITEMS LINKED TO CANCER AND THE SIMPLE SWAPS

Some of the most common items in your kitchen have a real link to cancer — and most people have no idea which ones. The clearest is the nonstick (Teflon) pan. Its coating was made with PFOA, which the World Health Organization's cancer agency now classifies as Group 1 — the category reserved for confirmed human carcinogens. Major brands phased PFOA out around 2013, but older and scratched, flaking pans are exactly where the concern lives. Swap to stainless steel or cast iron. Black plastic utensils are another. Many are made from recycled electronic waste and test positive for toxic flame retardants — some of them listed carcinogens. Swap to wood or stainless steel. And heating food in plastic containers can release phthalates like DEHP, a possible human carcinogen, straight into your meal. Swap to glass. None of this is worth panicking over. But they're one-time swaps, the safer versions cost about the same and last longer, so there's little reason not to. Scanned with the Pura App