The vegetables we eat are less nutritious because of the depleted soils they are grown in, our meat is filled with antibiotics used to fatten up the animals, the air we breathe is polluted and even the toys our children play with are dangerous.
Well, the newest item to go on the list is the plastic containers we have grown to love and use daily. Now what can be harmful in those wonderful plastic bottles and containers? It appears that the suspected culprit is a petrochemical called Bisphenol A (BPA,) which is one of the ingredients that make plastic bottles and containers hard and clear.
A recent paper in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives surveyed 115 (104 government/university) (11 industry) studies that were done on BPA. They reported that 90 percent (94) of the government and/or university funded studies showed harmful effects, while all 11 of the industry studies showed no harmful effects.
In laboratory tests done by the Consumers Union, (people who put out the Consumer’s Report), found that small amounts of the additive BPA leach out of the plastic baby bottles and potentially may end up in the babies milk. Although the amount of bisphenol A that ended up in the milk was “small” (one part per billion) – Dr. Edward Groth, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, explained “that even that “small” quantity was “close enough to levels that had actual” effects on animals.”
It could affect behavior. It could affect learning ability. It could affect reproductive ability, fertility many years after the exposure occurs.”
In case you are interested the testing was done on mice and rats, which is the normal way most things are tested. It appears that the low doses of BPA caused structural damage to the brain, hyperactivity, abnormal sexual behavior, increased fat formation, early puberty and disrupted reproductive cycles.
Dr. Patricia A. Hunt, PhD, a genetics abnormalities expert at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine said in the tests they did on mice and rats showed damage to the egg cells of female mice. In humans this could result in spontaneous abortion, birth defects or mental retardation, according to Dr. Hunt. Over 6 billion tons of bisphenol A are used each year to make polycarbonate plastic, which keeps the plastic products from becoming brittle over a period of time.
The chemical bond that bisphenol A forms in plastic can unravel when heated, washed or exposed to acidic food, causing the chemical to leach into the food. Nearly all plastic baby bottles in the U.S. are made of this material and so are many common food containers, water storage bottles, aluminum can linings and even some kinds of dental sealants.
Other animal studies have linked BPA to low sperm count, obesity, small testes size and enlarged prostates, but Dr. Hunt’s study is the first one to indicate that BPA could have an effect on our future generations. The interesting thing here is that the mice were drinking out of old baby bottles.
The debate goes on with the industry saying there is nothing to be afraid of and the government and university studies saying there is great cause for alarm.
There are plastic baby bottles and containers that do not use BPA and I would diligently search the Internet and the market place to find them. I would not heat up food in plastic containers, I would throw away all old plastic containers that I have, as the older they are the more the BPA is said to leak through. I would start using more glassware and ceramic containers at home.
My feeling is that drinking from new plastic bottles of water or soft drink is relatively safe, but I would not reuse the bottles as most of us do. And if I were pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant I would stay away from anything plastic if at all possible.
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