Most people think their kitchen is the safest place in their home. The truth is the opposite. The cookware you use every day, the cutting boards you trust, the utensils you stir with, even the coffee maker on your counter, may be quietly leaching forever chemicals, microplastics, and heavy metals into your food and into your brain. In this episode, I sit down with Jordan Nathan, founder and CEO of Caraway, the brand redefining what nontoxic actually means in the modern home. Jordan walks me through the night he called poison control after overheating a Teflon pan, the 2-year journey to launch a cookware line free of PFAS, and why six U.S. states have now banned forever chemicals in cookware. We unpack what PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE actually are, why they accumulate in fat tissue and cross the blood brain barrier, and why scratched pans, plastic cutting boards, and black nylon utensils are some of the most dangerous things in your kitchen.

Then we go deep on the science. I break down the Nature Medicine 2025 study showing microplastics in human brain tissue at higher concentrations than the liver or kidney, with the highest accumulation found in dementia brains. We cover the rise of autoimmune disease, the credit card's worth of plastic the average person consumes every week, Caraway's third party testing for over 600 PFAS chemicals, and a full kitchen audit on a $1,000 budget covering induction vs gas, dishwasher dangers, and what's coming next as Caraway expands into the broader nontoxic home. This conversation will completely change how you think about what is in your kitchen, what is in your body, and what you can actually do about it.

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TOPICS DISCUSSED

00:00 Intro: Plastic Is Hiding in Plain Sight in Your Kitchen

01:36 The Night Jordan Called Poison Control Over a Teflon Pan

05:06 PFAS, PFOA, and PTFE: What Forever Chemicals Actually Are

09:35 Why PFAS Accumulate in Fat Tissue and Cross the Blood Brain Barrier

13:31 The Birth of Caraway and What the Name Actually Means

17:50 Why 6 States Have Banned PFAS in Cookware

19:22 Third Party Testing: How Caraway Tests for 600+ PFAS Chemicals

23:10 The Steve Jobs Mentality: Industry Standards Aren't Our Standards

29:31 Scratched Pans, Plastic Cutting Boards, and the Hidden Risks

33:18 Microplastics Found in Human Brain Tissue: The 2025 Study

37:28 Caraway's Bestsellers and the Expansion Into the Whole Home

40:20 Cast Iron, Stainless Steel, and How to Choose Cookware

41:29 Why You Should Never Put Cookware in the Dishwasher

43:02 Gas vs Induction Stoves: Which One Is Actually Safer

44:30 The Full $1,000 Kitchen Audit: Where to Start

49:21 Black Plastic, Nylon Utensils, and the Truth About Takeout Containers

51:00 One Thing Jordan Wishes He Knew About the Average Kitchen

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I’m Louisa Nicola - clinical neurophysiologist - Alzheimer’s prevention specialist - founder of Neuro Athletics.

My mission is to translate cutting-edge neuroscience into actionable strategies for cognitive longevity, peak performance, and brain disease prevention.

If you're committed to optimizing your brain- reducing Alzheimer’s risk - and staying mentally sharp for life, you’re in the right place.

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