There is a big misconception that only fat and sugar impact heart health, but there are many more factors at play. Dr Sanjay Bhojraj, MD, an integrative cardiologist, in an Instagram post dated July 4, 2026, shared other reasons that impact heart health apart from just sugar and fat.
Kitchen utensils are the real culprit
Dr Sanjay Bhojraj highlighted that the modern kitchen setup has become one of the biggest sources of chemical exposure in most of our homes. According to Dr Sanjay, your air fryer or cooking pans might be a culprit. Most basket-style air fryers and non-stick pans utilise a PTFE coating, commonly referred to as Teflon. He highlighted that if used properly, they’re generally considered safe, but once that coating gets scratched, chipped, or starts flaking, tiny fluoropolymer particles can end up in your food, and the coating is more likely to degrade with repeated high heat. That’s my cue to replace them with safer options like stainless steel.
