Plastic the evil

Anyone who has ever spoken to me, inevitably will hear me say “stop drinking water and eating foods in a plastic container.” Now what is the big deal with plastic, and why should we avoid it? The answer can be found in one word, Bisphenol-A (BPA). What exactly is BPA and how is it related to plastic? Essentially BPA is an estrogenic plastic by-product, used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, and can leach into food or drinks from the plastic containers holding them.

An often unknown fact is that BPA has been identified as an estrogen-mimicking compound since the 1930s, and is particularly dangerous to humans. Another unknown fact, is that in the early 1930s, BPA was used as an artificial estrogen to not only fatten poultry and cattle, but as a form of estrogen replacement therapy for women during that period. Bayer and General Electric in the 1940s first used BPA to harden polycarbonate plastics and make epoxy resin.

So what makes BPA dangerous? As I indicated earlier BPA mimics estrogen in the body. NO ONE, especially women, needs excess estrogen as this will put them at a greater risk for breast cancer, fibroids, endometriosis, Polycystic ovary syndrome, cyst, early puberty in girls, inability to drop bodyfat, and possibly disruption of the endocrine system (thyroid gland). In men excess estrogen can reduce testosterone levels.

Now bear mind because of our environment, we are exposed on a daily basis to other forms of man-made estrogens. However, BPA is most pervasive because of our reliance on plastics. Think about it, how much bottle water do you drink per week? How many times do you heat up foods in a microwave in a plastic container? As you can see we are flooding our bodies with BPA every week. To this date, Canada is the only country in September 2010, that declared BPA as a toxic substance. No other country has followed suit, although BPA has been banned in baby bottles in Europe and the US.

As a result of some public outcry, several companies have rolled out "BPA-free" plastic products. These range from bottles and sippy cups to reusable water bottles, meant to appeal to those health-conscious consumers looking to avoid toxins. But there is a possible catch. Some studies now show another bisphenol, bisphenol-S (BPS), in human urine concentrations at levels similar to those of BPA.i Some heath advocates are now speculating that manufacturers are simply swapping one bisphenol for another.

Now here is the messed up part. In the case of BPS, there's reason to believe it is just as dangerous to human health, and possibly more so, than BPA. Bear in mind there hasn’t been an abundant supply of studies. But writing in the journal Toxicology In Vitro, researchers stated:

"In 2011, the European Commission has restricted the use of Bisphenol A in plastic infant feeding bottles. In a response to this restriction, Bisphenol S is now often used as a component of plastic substitutes for the production of babybottles. One of the major concerns leading to the restriction of Bisphenol A was its weak estrogenic activity. By using two highly standardised transactivation assays, we could demonstrate that the estrogenic activity of Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S is of a comparable potency."

Loosely translated BPS seems to be similar to BPA and has the same effect on the human body. With all that being said I encourage you to not drink bottled water unless its in a glass container or stainless steel, and do not eat foods in a plastic container, especially one that has been warmed, since heat releases the chemicals.

I hope you found this information useful. Stay fit and well family.