An independent advisory panel to the EPA recently ruled perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), the chemical used to make non-stick cookware, and other non-stick and stain-resistant chemicals are "likely" carcinogens. The EPA's own Science Advisory Board has now unanimously approved that recommendation.

Now that the EPA has called for a ban, albeit voluntary, on the production of PFOA, the manufacturer of the leading non-stick cookware brand is starting to worry about the publicity backlash.

However, the pricey full-page ads they've taken out in USA Today, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, hoping to change your minds about non-stick coating toxicity, may have the opposite effect. Calling attention to the problem by defending a product can create concern when none was present in the first place.

Because the PFOA ban is merely a voluntary one, for now, I urge you take matters into your own hands today by removing every non-stick coated pan you own from your home. If you're not convinced and want an example of how PFOA can harm your health, I urge you to review Gary Craig's account of treating a long-standing health problem by getting rid of his tainted cookware.

By the way, PFOA isn't the only toxic chemical you need to be worried about. In fact, only a handful out of some 80,000 chemicals used commercially are regulated by the EPA. So what can you do to minimize your exposure to all these chemicals?

Since eating is the most likely way you will introduce the majority of these chemicals into your body, you should clearly focus most of your attention on that first.

Minimize your restaurant food and have home-prepared meals as frequently as possible. Take your lunch to work. Avoid purchasing fast foods. And purchase organic whenever possible, as that will dramatically reduce your exposure to many of these chemicals.

I also strongly urge you to read Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call. The author, Dr. Doris Rapp, does a thorough job of uncovering the many ways you are exposed to toxic chemicals, and how they could take a toll on your health and contribute to several chronic diseases.