HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT HARD PLASTIC
-Bisphenol A (BPA) is it in your body, a question you need to ask? How it got there and how do you minimize being exposed to it? It's a hormone disruptor that can be found in almost everybody, and animal studies have linked it to breast and prostate cancer, and infertility; you need to learn how to avoid the chemical. It increases estrogen in the body.
-ESTROGEN OVERLOAD is one of the largest challenges I have discovered that affects both males and females of all ages. Synthetic estrogens are called xenohormones they create imbalances in the body. They are commonly found in Polycarbonate; one of the plastics that carry the No. 7 recycling symbol — it is clear, tough and lightweight. That makes it ideal for everything from bulletproof glass, water bottles, sippy cups, the dental sealant in your mouth, plastic knives, forks and spoons, food storage containers; the list is nearly endless.
-Polycarbonate is made from Bisphenol A. They are the epoxy resins that line the inside of food and beverage cans small amounts of BPA leach out when the plastic or can lining containers come in contact with food or water. “Close to 100 percent of our exposure occurs this way.” Say Michael Shelby of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a division of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
-“Low levels of BPA are also found in house dust, the air and in water,” adds Shelby, who is the director of NIEHS’s center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction.
-What worries some scientists is that BPA is an estrogenic “mimic.” It activates the same receptors in the body as estrogen does. In fact BPA was first studied in the 1930’s as a synthetic estrogen for women. Hormones are the messengers in the body’s endocrine system. Chemicals like BPA are called “endocrine disruptors.”
-“BPA is the largest volume endocrine disrupting chemical in commerce,” says BPA critic Frederick Vom Saul, a biologist at the University of Missouri, Worldwide, and more than six million pounds a BPA are manufactured every year. Vom Saul is convinced that BPA causes a host of problems, including breast and prostate cancer.
-How this affects you as a consumer ought to raise an eye brow. You see these compounds that you and your entire family are continuous and relentlessly bombarded with are a component of why there are tender breasts and heavy menses in females interrupting sexual intimacy, and potential prostate swelling and cancer in men; your children in fact may have accelerated secondary sexual characteristics with young girls having an increased sexual appetite and young boys having effeminate tendencies.
-The characteristics I see with prominent BPA exposure, and other toxic compound exposure from conventional foods, car exhaust, finger nail polish, hair and other aerosol sprays, paints, noxious vapor compounds released from carpets, wall paper, and magazine ink create body signals that create a congested liver with spider veins, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, skin tabs on the neck and around the body, and the elusive cherry hemangiomas. When you see these body signals on your or your family’s body, it is time to evaluate what you are doing to protect your self from toxic exposure.
-How'd it get there? Studies show canned foods are a common source of daily BPA exposure in our lives. Cans of soda generally contain less BPA than canned pasta or soup! The worst foods tested contain enough BPA to put pregnant women and formula-fed infants much closer to dangerous levels than the government typically allows. Even some liquid infant formula is packed in cans lined with BPA, which seems ludicrous given the special vulnerabilities of children's developing systems.
-Hold on before you run out and buy a metal water bottle -- make sure you know what you're getting. Many reusable metal water bottles are lined with the same BPA-leaching plastic found in cans of food. How do you get rid of it? Unfortunately, BPA is so widely used and manufactured that you're not likely to eliminate it from your system altogether.
How to Minimize Your Exposure to BPA
- Avoid plastic containers made of polycarbonate. Any bottle or container made of polycarbonate on it has No. 7 on the bottom. But the No. 7 can also appear on plastics that don’t contain BPA.
- When possible, prepare or store food – especially hot foods and liquids – in glass, porcelain, or stainless steel dishes or containers.
- If you have polycarbonate plastic containers, don’t microwave them. The plastic is more likely to break down and release BPA when it is repeatedly heated in high temperatures.
- Don’t wash polycarbonate containers in the dishwasher. The detergent may break down the plastic, which would release BPA.
- Use infant formula bottles that are made of glass or BPA-free plastic. Born Free (newbornfree.com) is one of the first companies that make them. This is very important for the health of your children.
- When possible, replace canned foods with foods that are fresh, frozen or packaged in aseptic (shelf stable) boxes. Be mindful and look for BPA FREE.
- Avoid older versions of Delton dental sealant. Dental sealants are plastic resins that a dentist bonds into the grooves of the chewing surface of a tooth to help prevent cavities.
- When possible, and especially if you’re pregnant and when feeding a young child, limit the amount of canned food in your diet.
- Avoid using old or scratched polycarbonate bottles. If you're in the market for a new water bottle, look for stainless steel water bottles that do not have a plastic liner.
- Soft or cloudy-colored plastic does not contain BPA. If you're formula feeding your infant, consider using powdered formulas packaged in non-steel cans.
WHAT EACH NUMBER MEANS
#1 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) or (PET). Polyester is its nickname.
Used for: soft drink and water bottles, beer bottles, mouthwash bottles, peanut butter and salad dressing containers, oven able film, oven able pre-prepared food trays.
Recycled into: Polar fleece clothing, fiber, tote bags, bottles, clothing, furniture, carpet.
#2 - High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).
Used for: milk, water and juice containers, trash and retail bags, liquid detergent bottles, yogurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners.
Recycled into: liquid laundry detergent containers, drainage pipe, oil bottles, recycling bins, benches, pens, doghouses, vitamin bottles, floor tile, picnic tables, lumber, mailbox posts, fencing.
#3 - Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC)
Used for: Clear food packaging, shampoo bottles, medical tubing, wire and cable insulation. There has been increasing concern over the potential toxicity of PVC, watch the media for developments.
#4 - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
Used for: Bread bags, frozen food bags, squeezable bottles (e.g. honey, mustard).
#5 - Polypropylene (PP)
Used for: Ketchup bottles, yogurt containers and margarine tubs, medicine bottles
#6 - Polystyrene (PS)
Used for: Compact disc jackets, food service applications, grocery store meat trays, egg cartons, aspirin bottles, cups, plates.
#7 - Other: Use of this code indicates that the package in question is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin used in combination.
Used for: Three and five gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and ketchup bottles
Lori M. Serra, ND
Reference: Nutrition Action April 2008.
