Wellness Tips
Your guide for achieving optimal health ... |
Drink - Water bottles and plastics update
In a
previous tip I suggested which water bottles do not leach chemicals into the water, and how to tell which bottles are safe to use. I suggested that those extremely popular hard plastic
colourful lexan water bottles with the recycling number 7 on them leach Bisphenol A, a xeno-estrogen and endocrine disruptor, into the water. You can't taste it at all, so it is easy to think your water is not
affected. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. Nalgene, the company that manufactures the lexan water bottles also makes #2 HDPE bottles in the same sizes and shapes, so we have a viable alternative. Order one at
Nalgene.
Unfortunately, most plastic
baby bottles and drinking cups are made with plastics containing Bisphenol A. In 2006 Europe banned
all products made for children under age 3 containing BPA, and as of Dec. 2006 the city of San Franscisco followed suit. In March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was commenced against Gerber, Playtex, Evenflo, Avent, and Dr. Brown's in Los Angeles superior court for harm done to babies caused by drinking out of baby bottles and sippy cups containing BPA. To get safe plastic baby products, try
BornFree Natural Baby Products, or better yet, use glass bottles.
We need to move away from storing food and water in plastics, and use glass or
ceramic instead. If you still use a microwave, remember to NEVER microwave food
in plastic containers or use plastic wrap to cover the food, as the plastic will
infiltrate the food and you will then be eating it.
Plastics may be convenient, but they are not generally good for our health
nor the health of the planet, as they don't break down easily.
Plastics frequently wind up polluting our oceans and waterways, and are
very harmful to the sea birds and other marine life that get entangled in
plastic bags, fish net remnants etc. Wildlife frequently ingest
small plastic pellets thinking they are fish eggs which makes them sick.
And the onslaught of plastics into our oceans continues, year after year.
For an insight into that topic read
The Plastic Sea
to learn what our consumption habits are doing to our home, and the home of our fellow species.
Related tips:
Plastic water bottles
Microwave ovens: convenience vs. health and nutrition
Chek, Paul; How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2004.Alonso-Magdelena, Paloma; "The estrogenic effect of Bisphenol A disrupts pancreatic β-cell function in vivo and induces insulin resistance" Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 114, No. 1, Jan. 2006.
vom Saal, Frederick and Hughes, Claude; "An Extensive New Literature Concerning Low-Dose Effects of Bisphenol A Shows the Need for a New Risk Assessment" Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 113, No. 8, August 2005.
Hunt,Patricia;"Bisphenol A Exposure Causes Meiotic Aneuploidy in the Female Mouse" Current Biology, Vol 14, 546-553, 1 April 2003.
Schonfelder, Gilbert et al.Parent Bisphenol A Accumulation in human maternal fetal placental unit Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 110, No. 11, Nov. 2002.
More studies
Copyright 2005-2007 Vreni Gurd
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