Eating For Health

Years ago, a deficiency of iodine was common in many parts of the US.   Then Iodized salt became available and that solved the problem.  Now, however, pregnant women, and others may have low levels of iodine, and some doctors are reporting kids with iodine deficiency.  What is iodine and why do we need it? Iodine is a mineral our body needs for many functions and one our bodies can’t make but we can get it from foods we eat.      Our thyroids need iodine for our metabolism helping our bodies turn the food we eat into the energy we need every day.   Iodine also helps our thyroid regulate our:           Body temperature           Brain development and mental activity           Breathing           Heart Health           Digestion During pregnancy and after the baby is born, iodine helps the babies bone and bra...

Most kitchens are well stocked with Teflon pans or other nonstick pots and pans.   Most cooks love these pans as cooking with less oil and cleaning up is so much easier.   But now some states are banning Teflon and other nonstick pots and pans.   Why?   What is Teflon, a nonstick coating, used on pots and pans?   The kitchn states, “Teflon is a brand name for the chemical coating PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) that is used to make cookware nonstick.”     Teflon has been around for a long time .   Dr. Roy J. Plunkett, working for Dupont’s Jackson Laboratory, discovered Teflon by accident on April 6, 1938.     The first nonstick cooking pans were invented years later in 1954 in France.   The U.S. had the first nonstick cookware in 1961.   The “first commercially available Teflon coated frying pan” was the Happy Pan in 1957.   Why are some states banning Teflon and other nonstick pans? Consumer Reports recently w...