I’ve been saying this for a long time, to work colleagues, to client, at home – it’s not good to keep using the same plastic bottle over and over as it can have negative effects on your health.
Lo and behold it was in the press this week with a study by Harvard School of Public Health showing a high degree of bisphenol A (BPA) showing up in urine.
In the food industry, BPA is a chemical used in plastic drinks bottles, food containers and clear plastic baby bottles and over time this chemical breaks down and leaches into the contents. BPA as been found to mimic ostreogen – no wonder that half the male fish population are turning female with the amount of BPA making it’s way into our rivers! The study showed that participants who had drunk out of the same bottle for 7 consecutive days had a 69% increase of BPA in their urine.
If it’s disrupting our hormones, then what else is it doing to us. Indeed, BPA has also been linked to other health problems including diabetes, heart disease and birth defects. It’s banned in many US states and totally in Canada although elsewhere in the world there is disagreement as to it’s negative effects. The European Food Safety Authority currently believes the body changes the chemical into a less harmful substance (which of course puts pressure on our liver and kidneys to work harder).
BPA is also found in products througout the home as it helps to harden plastic and many toys have contained BPA. As such, in the US, Walmart Stores and Toys ‘R’ Us are making plans to make all their products BPA-free.
So, to minimise health risks, don’t keep a plastic bottle on your desk all week and keep filling it up with water every day. Water is great but use a china cup, large glass or stainless steel container (and walking to the water cooler more often will do you good – you’ll have a break from your desk, rest your eyes from the screen and stretch your muscles!). Or invest in a BPA-free bottles from TreeHugger.com
Try not to keep food in plastic containers too long. I’m not entirely innocent here – I do worry that I am using my tupperware over and over and am looking into alternatives. I don’t put that much into containers and usually things like cheese wrapped up in paper in the fridge. But using containers made of glass or earthenware must be better for us. I shall investigate and blog with my findings.
Meanwhile, for mothers worried about the baby bottles they are using, BabyBornFree sell BPA-free plastic bottles.
BPA-free bottles from Baby Born Free
Do let me know about any alternative you use, or companies that also sell BPA-free products.
Brandy said,
July 22, 2009 @ 3:38 am
Hey, great article. You asked about alternatives, how about glass. We have a green blog at http://livinglavidaverde.net/store.aspx where we also sell a glass bottle with our logo etched in the glass. As for food containers there is a great amount of options. We personally use pyrex food containers. They do have a plastic lid, but the food never comes into contact with the lid. However, if you want a great alternative to plastic, try a reusable glass bottle from our site. The water tastes great, it is good for the environment and good for you too. Thanks for raising awareness!!