Plastics

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an estrogen-mimicking chemical used to make hard plastics and epoxy resins found in numerous products you probably use every day.

Of 115 published animal studies, 81 percent found significant effects from even low-level exposure to BPA, so there’s probably no real safe limit. Among the many health problems linked to this toxic chemical are:

• Structural brain damage
• Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired learning
• Increased fat formation and risk of obesity
• Altered immune function
• Early puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development, disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction
• Changes in gender-specific behavior, and abnormal sexual behavior
• Stimulation of prostate cancer cells
• Increased prostate size, and decreased sperm production
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Liver damage

In response to these overwhelming dangers -- and the fact that BPA is widely used in canned goods, soda cans, plastic water bottles, milk jugs, baby bottles, pacifiers and more -- many people are looking to avoid BPA, and companies are coming out with BPA-free product lines.

What BPA manufacturers are facing is not a lack of alternatives … it’s a lack of responsibility to acknowledge the chemical is toxic and should no longer be on the market at all.

BPA Makers Resort to Trying to Scare You into Buying Their Toxic Chemical

The meeting, which was attended by companies such as Coca-Cola, Del Monte, Crown, and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, aimed to develop potential communication strategies to put BPA in a better light.

Well, it’s not easy to paint a rosy glow around a chemical that’s known to be toxic, so they have resorted to using tactics of deception, including:

• Fear tactics, such as suggesting that moms will no longer have access to baby food, and minorities and the poor will be worse off without BPA
• Misinformation, such as implying you’re better off buying a less expensive canned good (with BPA in the lining) than a more expensive frozen or fresh food
• Implying that BPA is not so bad and “it does not matter what the next material is, there will be issues with it”

Clearly they are grasping at straws here.

It’s very possible for BPA to be taken out of consumer products. Numerous companies have already removed it from their baby bottles and some have also gone a step further and taken it out of the lining of their baby-food can lacquers.

What BPA manufacturers are facing is not a lack of alternatives … it’s a lack of responsibility to acknowledge the chemical is toxic and should no longer be on the market at all.

Time to Ditch the Plastic and Other Tips for Reducing Your BPA Exposure

Scientists have found that 95 percent of people tested have dangerous levels of BPA in their bodies.

Some of the biggest victims of all are your children, who may be exposed to the chemical while in utero, and are literally “fed” the chemical via plastic baby bottles and toys (which they often put in their mouths).

In the event that you do opt to use plastic containers for your food, be sure to avoid those marked on the bottom with the recycling label No. 7, as these varieties may contain BPA.

Containers marked with the recycling labels No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 do not contain BPA (however they may contain other unsavory chemicals that you’re best off avoiding by using glass instead).

To be fair, you probably can’t completely eliminate your exposure to BPA since it’s likely in the air, water, and food supply too, but you can certainly reduce it by eliminating the most obvious culprits.

The following tips will not only reduce your exposure to BPA, but also to many of the other dangerous plastics chemicals as well.

1. Only use glass baby bottles and dishes for your baby and yourself
2. Give your baby natural fabric toys instead of plastic ones
3. Store your food and beverages in glass -- NOT plastic -- containers
4. IF you choose to use a microwave, don’t microwave food in a plastic container
5. Stop buying and consuming canned foods and drinks (including soda)
6. Avoid using plastic wrap (and never microwave anything covered in it)
7. Get rid of your plastic dishes and cups, and replace them with glass varieties
8. If you opt to use plastic kitchenware, at least get rid of the older, scratched-up varieties, avoid putting them in the dishwasher, and don’t wash them with harsh detergents, as these things can cause more chemicals to leach into your food
9. Avoid using bottled water; filter your own using a high-quality copper-zinc + carbon + fluoride removal filter system instead
10. Before allowing a dental sealant to be applied to you, or your children’s, teeth, ask your dentist to verify that it does not contain BPA

Do you have experience of this issue? Click here