Never heard of BPA? I just spent 3 days at a local hospital and even though they took great care of me, it was not an enjoyable experience. If you are in the baby boomer age group, as I am, you have been bombarded with chemicals in everything you have touched, eaten or drank since you were very young. Remember when planes would fly over cities and spray DDT and other chemicals to eliminate the mosquito threat? Remember when everything was covered or sprayed with asbestos to make our lives safer?
It takes a “long Term” to determine the long term effects of chemicals on our lungs, skin, heart and reproductive systems. BPA is in a lot of products you touch daily and it can play havoc with your hormonal system. It can and does act like estrogen and can promote problems like breast and prostate cancers as well as type 2 diabetes, autism, asthma, infertility and obesity. The bad news is that the new substitutes aren’t any better.
What is BPA?
According to Wikipedia, BPA is Bisphenol A, an organic compound used to make certain plastics and epoxy resins. It has been commercially used since 1957 and there are over 8 billion pounds used yearly.” BPA-based plastic is clear and tough, and is used to make a variety of common consumer goods (such as baby and water bottles, sports equipment, and CDs and DVDs) and for industrial purposes, like lining water pipes. Epoxy resins containing BPA are used as coatings on the inside of many food and beverage cans. It is also used in making thermal paper such as that used in sales receipts. BPA exhibits hormone-like properties that raise concern about its suitability in consumer products and food containers. Since 2008, several governments have questioned its safety, which prompted some retailers to withdraw polycarbonate products. A 2010 report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of possible hazards to fetuses, infants, and young children.[2] In September 2010, Canada became the first country to declare BPA a toxic substance.[3][4] The European Union, Canada, and recently the United States have banned BPA use in baby bottles.[5]“
How to Identifiy BPA
Also from Wikipedia –
There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Currently there are no BPA labeling requirements for plastics.
“In general, plastics that are marked with Resin Identification Codes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are very unlikely to contain BPA. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with the Resin Identification Code 7 may be made with BPA.”[32]
Type 7 is the catch-all “other” class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters “PC” near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.[6][33]
Type 3 (PVC) also may contain bisphenol A as an antioxidant in plasticizers.[6] This refers to “flexible PVC”, but not for rigids such as pipe, windows, and siding.
I Find it -You Avoid It
I am not going to do a long drawn out dissertation on how we should avoid plastics, because you all know that is true and I want you to continue to read what I write. What I’m trying to do is to elevate awareness to make us all more knowledgeable consumers.
I have always been a very healthy individual. I was an athlete in high school and college. I ate and trained on a very high level even avoiding carbonated beverages for most of the years of my training. At age 24 I developed testicular cancer. I was given less than 5% chance of living 5 years. Twenty years later, I got testicular cancer again. Then I was given an 80% chance of living for 5 more years. Progress most definitely has improved the survival rate for testicular cancer. Now I’m 60 years old and my body is treating me to a new problem. Kidney stones. Again, just as with the cancers, no one knows why I am getting stones.
I am a huge believer that environmental factors are at fault. Believe me or not, but keep an open skeptical mind to the BS that the government and industry is force feeding you. Be the captain of your own ship. – Jughandle
Read more about BPA from RODALE at “The BPA Replacement You Cannot Trust”
