Harvard Study Supports BPA Leaching Theory

Further to my original posts [1, 2] about the issues with BPA in plastic drinking bottles, Harvard has released a study which further confirms what everyone should by now know: stay away from products that leach chemicals:

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who drank for a week from the clear plastic polycarbonate bottles increased concentrations of bisphenol A - or BPA - in their urine by 69 percent.

BPA is used in hundreds of everyday products. It is used to make reusable, hard plastic bottles more durable and to help prevent corrosion in canned goods such as soup and infant formula.

Numerous animal studies in recent years suggest that low levels of BPA might cause developmental problems in fetuses and young children and other ill effects. The health effects on adults are not well understood although a recent large human study linked BPA concentrations in people's urine to an increased prevalence of diabetes, heart disease, and liver toxicity.



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Bisphenol-A is a widely used chemical additive. The only advice one can really give to pregnant women and families is to try to use stainless steel where possible (water bottles, etc. - check out Sigg and Klean Kanteen, or cut BPA out otherwise. Having canned foods only occasionally, using fresh produce, avoiding the microwave, and cooking in stainless steel pots and pans will greatly reduce the risk of disorders associated with BPA consumption. In short: live naturally, and avoid plastic in unnecessary applications like water bottles.

Bisphenol-A, part 2

Further to my first Bisphenol-A post, a new study links the dangerous, and widely used, chemical with heart disease and diabetes.

BPA is used to line most canned goods, from soups to soft drinks, to prevent corrosion. It helps make sunglasses and compact discs durable. And it strengthens virtually all transparent, light-weight, hard plastic bottles.

Today's study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, released early to coincide with a US Food and Drug Administration hearing this morning, finds evidence for broader concern in adults.

Researchers led by Iain A. Lang of Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England, analyzed urine levels of BPA among 1,455 American adults, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004. Higher levels of BPA in urine were associated with the form of chest pain called angina, coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and type 2 diabetes.

Feel free to digg and comment on a similar article here.

This is extremely disconcerting, but hardly surprising. Our government and the corporations that have bought it up piece by piece are not concerned with your health. They decided that Canada was jumping the gun when trying to ban BPA earlier in the year, when even they didn't know the facts.

How does this chemical even get past our FDA? Because our FDA isn't made up of an army of altruistic scientists looking out for the health of Americans, sadly enough. Maybe our tax dollars should go toward creating such an organization though, instead of, I don't know, benefits for people who don't belong here and a broken welfare system

Full article on Boston.com here: [+]

Bisphenol A banned in Ottawa

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Why would anyone want to use harmful chemicals in the form of plastic on their newborn/toddler/child? Why were these materials ever allowed in the first place? Oh, right, because they're convenient and people make a lot of money off of them.