For anyone who has turned on the news recently, opened a magazine, or purused various newspaper articles online, you have indubitably heard something about BPA (bisphenol-A.)
BPA is a synthetic estrogen that is used to harden plastics. New research suggests that it is detrimental to our health. BPA breaks down easily; you might have heard to avoid drinking out of a plastic water bottle that has been sitting in your car during a hot summer day. BPA is leeched from the plastic into your water due to the high temperature. There has been a lot of discussion in the news regarding this- particularly focusing on baby bottles. Lab tests suggest that BPA can impair brain function, cause cancer, cause cardiovascular damage and so much more. Be reassured that some organizations are fighting hard for the ban of BPA. One of them is The Environmental Working Group (one of my favorite organizations.) Check them out here! Also, read more about BPA!
I think it is unrealistic to recommend that the public avoid plasticware completely, but there are a couple of things you can do to minimize your risk. For starters, you can avoid buying bottled water (and that's a whole other topic for another day!) and buy reuseable plastic water bottles BPA free from Camelbak or Nalgene, for example!
In addition, you can educate yourself on the coding on the bottom of a plastic item.
-Avoid containers markeed #3 or "PVC ."
-Avoid containers marked with a #7 or "PC"
*Choose containers marked with a #1, 2, 4, and 5 as they DO NOT contain BPA!
Read more advice and tips on the use of plastic items from EWG!
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