Doctor warns why you shouldn't use non-stick pans if they've been scratched

A doctor has taken to TikTok to warn against using certain pots and pans when cooking.

If you've held onto the cooking equipment you used to use while at university, congratulations. Most of our household's pots and pans got so mouldy they had to be binned, were lost in a house party when there were no glasses left and a pot had to be used for a vodka coke, or were chucked when we realised we had so much junk to cart around when we moved accommodations that our beloved baked beans pot had to go.

Although, the likelihood is that your pots and pans are probably a bit battered, scratched and broken if you've had them since uni - and if the lingering bacteria from student accommodation hasn't made you ill already, Dr Poonam Desai has taken to TikTok to raise awareness of something else that might instead. Catch the science lesson here:

Dr Desai explains that, as a doctor, there are certain cooking pans she avoids using.

In a recent TikTok video, she explained: "And those are non-stick pans that have been scratched or chipped because they can leech millions of microplastics into our food.

"And microplastics are endocrine disruptors. They can cause hormone imbalances, fertility issues, and even increase our risk of cancer."

And that's not the only type of pan Dr Desai steers clear of either.

TikTok/ @doctoranddancer

Dr Desai also avoids using 'ceramic pans that are scratched'.

"Ceramic plans usually have a layer of aluminum under it and aluminum can leech into our foods," she says.

So, for the TikToker, if she has any non-stick or ceramic pans and they end up scratched or chipped she 'usually' ends up throwing them out.

TikTok/ @doctoranddancer

Indeed, according to Healthline, non-stick cookware gets 'coated with a material called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or more commonly known as Teflon [...] made up of carbon and fluorine atoms'.

The health information site continues: "However, over the past decade, the safety of nonstick cookware has been under investigation.

"The concerns have centered on a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which was previously used to produce nonstick cookware but isn’t used today. The investigations have also looked into the risks associated with overheating [PTFE]."

While PFOA hasn't been used in the production of non-stick cookware since 2013, if you have a hand-me down it may remain, and either way, it's probably best to throw away any non-stick item if it gets scratched.

Healthline resolves: "Avoid cooking on a high heat [...] [And] When Teflon coatings start to visibly deteriorate with excessive scratches, peeling, flaking, and chipping, they are ready to be replaced."