Saw this on the internets today. Yall should really be aware of the health risk posed by plastic. My sister’s been all about eliminating plastic products since before she became a mother – it’s no joke. Actually, don’t worry, the FDA says everything is all right:
More than 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies, but the FDA says the levels of exposure are too low to pose a health risk, even for infants and children. Other scientists, however, say BPA has been shown to affect the human body even at very low levels.
A study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association suggested a new concern about BPA. Using a health survey of nearly 1,500 adults, the study found that those exposed to higher amounts of BPA were more likely to report having heart disease and diabetes. Because of the possible public health implications, the results “deserve scientific follow-up,” its authors said.
Filed under: Upset The Setup | 5 Comments
Tags: 7, BPA, Health Risks, JAMA, Plastic
About Upset The Setup
A movement, a t-shirt, a sticker, a blog, a record label. Get with it...organize your local hip hop movement.
BUY AN UPSET THE SETUP SHIRT ONLINE!
Theory of The Package rocking the Upset The Setup Shirt! BUY ONE TODAY!
Email!
My girl has been on the eliminate-plastic trip for about a month now… it’s crazy how much of it touches your food and drinks without you even realizing it. She’s slowly getting rid of all our tupperware in favor of glass containers, and we’ve been replacing our plastic bottles (with those little Canada Dry tonic water bottles) and water pitchers (with glass juice containers – the Looza ones are great). Oh and she bought me a Klean Kanteen (http://www.kleankanteen.com/) so I would get rid of my Nalgene…
Is it just the #7 plastic that leaches BPA’s, or do the other numbers do that too?
#7 Plastics are what are called poly-carbonate plastics. They are in wide use because they are extremely strong, and can be made in a transparent form.
From what I understand, the concern with regard to BPA is that even in small amounts, particularly in fetus’ and young children, BPA is reported to induce neurological issues such as learning disabilities and ADD. In adults it is postulated that prolonged exposure is associated with certain types of cancer (breast and prostate).
When plastics are heated up, the chemical structure becomes looser, and therefore more of the chemical is released.
The major issue is that since #7’s are so strong and can be made in transparent forms, they are a natural fit for baby-bottles, which are often filled with warm milk to soothe the baby. This increases the presence of BPA in the milk, and thus the baby.
I don’t know if any of the other numbers are associated with these types of issues, and I’ve seen a lot of companies like Nalgene move to using #2 plastics because they apparently avoid the issue. I’m still skeptical tho.
Hooray for glass Mason or Ball jars!! I bring my lunch to work in a jar everyday. And the canning jars can be microwaved if necessary. Salsa lover? Green Mountain Gringos jars their salsa in a Mason jar. Its super easy to get canning lids to replace any lid that starts to get rusty. But the glass jars last forever.