Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press

You know, the news lately hasn’t been exactly uplifting. I find myself reading the obituaries more often just to feel good I’m alive… lovely. Well, this morning I sit down after the kids go to school and there is a gem of an article in the morning paper about the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) – widely used to make plastic products hard and clear. Now, I know about BPA and have already changed over all of our reusable sport bottles to the BPA free variety. I have also stopped buying beverages in portable plastic bottles too. But this article still had an alarming effect on me.

The first major study was recently published and released by the Journal of the American Medical Association and it found that in a survey of 1,500 adults, those with higher levels of Bisphenol A in their urine were more likely to report suffering from heart disease and diabetes. You see, in your body, BPA can mimic your body’s own hormones. It can act like estrogen and cause hormonal imbalance that leads to disease. Studies in mice show that BPA causes pancreatic cells to increase their production of insulin which can cause both diabetes and heart disease.

The FDA is well aware of the adverse health affects of BPA and is thankfully under pressure to limit its use. It is startling to think that there is about 7 billion pounds of BPA produced every year and about 93% of Americans have detectable levels of this stuff in their urine. There are even reports that BPA has been suspected of being hazardous since the 1930’s! Regardless of this,  it is used in baby bottles, water bottles, eye glasses and goggles. It is used to line MOST types of canned foods and beverages (sodas too) to keep the metallic taste from the can out. It is used in CD’s and DVD’s and cars and carbonless receipts, medical devices, sports equipment – I could go on…

Even more infuriating is that California lawmakers had an opportunity to pass a bill to ban BPA in food and drink containers intended for use by children 3 and younger but it was defeated on August 29th. At least it would have been a start. “Right now, our tentative conclusion is that it’s safe, so we’re not recommending any change in habits,” said Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA’s office of food additive safety. The agency said more research was needed.

Ok – so here are some helpful tips:

1. Avoid polycarbonate plastic food containers marked with letters PC & recycling #7 (the catch all grouping) which means it most likely has BPA.
2. Avoid recycling group #3 and #6 as it too may leach BPA.
3. Plastics with #’s 1,2, 4 & 5 do NOT contain BPA
4. Choose fresh or frozen veggies and glass jars (of spaghetti sauce) in place of canned.
5. Some metal bottles have plastic liners that contain BPA so stick with stainless steel with NO liner.
6. Pay special attention to childrens plates, dishes and bottles.
7. NEVER expose these plastics to hot liquids as BPA leaches out faster than under normal conditions.
8. For more information on this scourge to our well-being, please check out this article

Now, go read the obituaries. You’ll feel better.