Update on Plastics - Current information that you should know for yourself and your family.

I wanted to update you on plastics and BPA's with a new study from the University of North Carolina, Simon Fraser University, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital  which has linked aggressive behavior in two year old girls to their mother's exposure of BPA's.  Boys whose moms had the highest BPA levels exhibited slightly
more internalizing behaviors, but
 the association was not as strong as that seen in girls, study researcher Joe M. Braun told WebMD. 

BPA's are found in most plastics, the lining of some cans as well as many other commercial goods.  BPA was found in the urine of more than 90% of Americans in a random sample conducted by CDC researchers in 2007.  For almost 10 years, scientists have debated whether exposure to BPA through commercial products poses a health threat to humans. Hundreds of animal studies suggest it might, but only a few human studies have been published.

For this study, urine samples were taken from 249 pregnant women in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 16 weeks and 26 weeks of pregnancy, and again at birth. BPA concentrations in the samples were measured. Then, when the children were 2 years old, behavior problems were assessed, using the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2).

Although this new information is far from conclusive, the study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, is the first to examine if there is a link between prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure and behavior problems in children. Results suggest that if a woman is exposed to BPA early in her pregnancy, development of the baby’s nervous system might be adversely affected.

“Many government agencies and consumers in the U.S., Canada and around the world have expressed concerns about BPA exposure, especially in children,” said Dr. Bruce Lanphear, professor of children’s environmental health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and the study’s senior author. “Canada has banned BPA in baby bottles and other baby products, but that might not be sufficient to protect children. Although this is the first study of its kind, it suggests that we may also need to reduce exposures during pregnancy.”

Take the precautionary principal on this one, whether you are pregnant or not,  and try to steer clear of BPA's.  That means staying away from plastic water bottles too.  According to a Harvard study, drinking from a plastic water bottle raises your BPA levels 70%.  Using a stainless steel re-usable water bottle may be much safer for you and certainly much better for our environment in terms of waste and petroleum use in manufacturing.

But watch out...SIGG, a trusted manufacturer of BPA-free water bottles for adults and older kids, is facing a class-action lawsuit because they continued to call their products BPA-free despite having a liner that contained BPA. Consumers are angry that SIGG's CEO announced that the aluminum bottles were free of chemicals that scientists have deemed harmful when the bottles did contain small amounts of BPA.

Keep an eye out for products marked BPA free and never, ever heat plastics.  When preparing your ready made meals that come in plastic, just take them out and place them in glass or ceramic dishes before microwaving.  It's easy.

Remember, this is not about guilt...it's about the power you gain  from information you obtain...it's about the power of knowledge.