3 ms·

Do you have sources for the claim that “western kitchens are built incorrectly”? Or are you referring to the same studies as in the OP? It feels intuitive but I

Do you have sources for the claim that “western kitchens are built incorrectly”? Or are you referring to the same studies as in the OP? It feels intuitive but I would like to see the extent of damage. As someone looking to build a home this could be extremely relevant.

infecto 4y ago
I don't have studies to back this claim up directly and I think this is one of those areas that are hard to study because I am assuming it would require recording participants through their lifetime. I do think this will be something that seems obvious once we do look back at it. Here is my line of thinking, apologies it is not well put together and is only a stream of thoughts. 1. We now accept that cooking with wood causes lung disease/cancer. There are studies that show an increased rate of lung issues with women in developing countries due to inhalation of smoke. 2. We are increasingly seeing studies that show inhaling any pollutants is not safe/healthy. I am not fear mongering about it but I do try to be more aware because of this. 3. When I cook in my kitchen I see pm2 and voc measurments spike almost instantly even on measurement devices in a bedroom across the house. This is without having central air on at the time. Our home is 20ish years old and not modern air tight. I once burned some bread in the oven slightly, just the smallest bit of visible smoke came out of the oven, readings spiked and stayed that way for 2hours even with two medium size hepa filters on. 4. I originally came to my conclusion prior to the more recent studies showing indoor natural gas combustion can be an issue. Originall I was more concerned with pollutants that come from the cooking process as it is very hard to ventilate inside a house. When I originally read some of these studies and it appeared that the main issue was burners that were combusting improperly. So its mostly my own extrapolation based on what has been seen in populations that are exposed to pollutants on a regular basis. I could be overthinking it but it makes sense to me that its best to reduce exposure where possible. I cook outside and it keeps both the smells and the pollutants out of the home. And I also just make my original statement with the functionality of chinese style apartment kitchens. The kitchen is almost like a wetroom in a sense but for smells. It closes off from the rest of the unit and is open to the outside so you can do whatever you want cooking wise and not impact the rest of the unit.
- nemo44x 4y ago
  > Our home is 20ish years old and not modern air tight. I once burned some bread in the oven slightly, just the smallest bit of visible smoke came out of the oven, readings spiked and stayed that way for 2hours even with two medium size hepa filters on. This is the part it seems like most people are not considering. The actual cooking of food, especially if something gets burnt, creates far more "hazardous" vapors than anything else, unless you have malfunctioning equipment. I put it in scare quotes because at the end of the day you have to live your life and if you mainly take care of yourself you'll have a healthy life, even if you burn some toast here and there. Get a great extraction system that can remove > 500 CFM and start it before you cook and run it for 10m after. > We now accept that cooking with wood causes lung disease/cancer. It's also completely enjoyable. I cook over open fire probably about 20 times a year and over charcoal many more times. I love cooking with wood and smoking food. The process of it is completely relaxing and enjoyable. It's a risk worth taking. It's also done in the most vented possible area - outdoors.
  - infecto 4y ago
    Totally agree on this point. I don't think either need to be villified. I still smoke meats with wood a few times a week and we don't fret over burning anything. Since we cook at home daily we shoot to minimize it though.

infecto 4y ago

I don't have studies to back this claim up directly and I think this is one of those areas that are hard to study because I am assuming it would require recording participants through their lifetime. I do think this will be something that seems obvious once we do look back at it. Here is my line of thinking, apologies it is not well put together and is only a stream of thoughts. 1. We now accept that cooking with wood causes lung disease/cancer. There are studies that show an increased rate of lung issues with women in developing countries due to inhalation of smoke. 2. We are increasingly seeing studies that show inhaling any pollutants is not safe/healthy. I am not fear mongering about it but I do try to be more aware because of this. 3. When I cook in my kitchen I see pm2 and voc measurments spike almost instantly even on measurement devices in a bedroom across the house. This is without having central air on at the time. Our home is 20ish years old and not modern air tight. I once burned some bread in the oven slightly, just the smallest bit of visible smoke came out of the oven, readings spiked and stayed that way for 2hours even with two medium size hepa filters on. 4. I originally came to my conclusion prior to the more recent studies showing indoor natural gas combustion can be an issue. Originall I was more concerned with pollutants that come from the cooking process as it is very hard to ventilate inside a house. When I originally read some of these studies and it appeared that the main issue was burners that were combusting improperly. So its mostly my own extrapolation based on what has been seen in populations that are exposed to pollutants on a regular basis. I could be overthinking it but it makes sense to me that its best to reduce exposure where possible. I cook outside and it keeps both the smells and the pollutants out of the home. And I also just make my original statement with the functionality of chinese style apartment kitchens. The kitchen is almost like a wetroom in a sense but for smells. It closes off from the rest of the unit and is open to the outside so you can do whatever you want cooking wise and not impact the rest of the unit.

nemo44x 4y ago
> Our home is 20ish years old and not modern air tight. I once burned some bread in the oven slightly, just the smallest bit of visible smoke came out of the oven, readings spiked and stayed that way for 2hours even with two medium size hepa filters on. This is the part it seems like most people are not considering. The actual cooking of food, especially if something gets burnt, creates far more "hazardous" vapors than anything else, unless you have malfunctioning equipment. I put it in scare quotes because at the end of the day you have to live your life and if you mainly take care of yourself you'll have a healthy life, even if you burn some toast here and there. Get a great extraction system that can remove > 500 CFM and start it before you cook and run it for 10m after. > We now accept that cooking with wood causes lung disease/cancer. It's also completely enjoyable. I cook over open fire probably about 20 times a year and over charcoal many more times. I love cooking with wood and smoking food. The process of it is completely relaxing and enjoyable. It's a risk worth taking. It's also done in the most vented possible area - outdoors.
- infecto 4y ago
  Totally agree on this point. I don't think either need to be villified. I still smoke meats with wood a few times a week and we don't fret over burning anything. Since we cook at home daily we shoot to minimize it though.