BPA IS TOXIC - HOW DO WE AVOID IT?

BPA (bisphenol A) is a polycarbonate chemical used in consumer and medical products to soften plastics. BPA was declared a toxic chemical by the Canadian government in October 2010.

You will still find it in:

• the coatings of canned foods
•    plastic bottles
•    plastic food storage containers and baggies
•    Beverage containers  
•   baby toys
• aluminum cans ....

I know BPA has been in the news for years and many of us have just assumed that something has been done about it already. Well, it is no longer in baby bottles in Canada and some reputable manufacturers have removed it from some beverage containers.  You will recognize the beverage containers because they have BPA free symbols on them.  If there is no symbol on the bottle, assume that it contains BPA. 

BPAs have been found in 90% of Canadians and 93% of Americans (according to studies).



JUST HOW CONCERNED SHOULD WE BE?

Many studies have been done on “our friends” the lab rats over the years and the studies have moved onto the correlation of BPA and disease states in humans in recent years. Here is the long list of harmful effects mentioned in the literature:

 

• Impaired, altered, and compromised immune system and functions
• Cancer (breast, prostate, and uterine)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Asthma
• Behaviour problems
• Hyperactivity
• Increased aggression
• Elimination of sex differences in behaviour
• Anxiety and depression in female children
• Impaired learning and memory
• Liver abnormalities  
• Reproductive disorders 
• impaired female reproductive development and miscarriage
• Lower sperm counts and sperm defects
• Chromosome abnormalities
• Down’s , Turner and Klinefelter Syndromes

I am worried. Are you ?

When you look at this list you have to wonder whether BPAs are responsible for the increase in lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Does BPA play a role in what seems to be increasing cancer rates in younger age groups?  Could BPA be the main culprit in the increased incidents of aggressive, violent behaviour in females and increasing behaviour problems in children. And how about the decreasing performance of boys in schools?
 

 JUST HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES?

•          Buy foods in glass jars and store foods in glass containers, porcelain or stainless          steel containers. 
•         Never buy plastic water bottles especially in hot climates. Heat increases the release of the toxic chemical. Just think how much heat those plastic bottles have been exposed to when transporting them or while sitting in your car. 
•         Buy BPA free beverage containers. 

I just bought a BRITA BPA free water bottle (officially the Bottle Water Filtration System) to carry filtered water to the tennis courts, the gym and outside activities. Drinking sufficient water is critical to health of the kidneys - a very important consideration for people with lupus.

The Washington Post published an article announcing the EAU good water bottle will be hitting American stores later this month. See blackandblum.com for more info about this charcoal-filtered water bottle.

•         Eat homemade soups or those stored in tetra paks. Yes, the tetra paks are not good for the environment either but at least you are not being exposed to a toxic chemical.
•          Don’t heat up plastic containers – either in the microwave or the dishwasher (despite what the American Chemistry Council might say).
•          Don’t eat canned foods if you can avoid it. Most cans contain PBA.
•        Do not use plastics including shopping bags which are releasing BPAs into the environment from landfills.
•         If you must occasionally use plastic, recycle it.

WHERE ARE THE GOVERNMENT PROTECTION AGENCIES IN REGULATING THIS TOXIC CHEMICAL?

Well, that is another topic in itself – find out in the next blog.