The dangers of BPA and how to avoid it.

Get rid of your plastic gurrrl.

I was painting someone’s shabby old house extension the other day in the most horrific shade of mucoid yellow and I decided that painting may just be the next best career choice after Naturopathy. Because for ten hours of cathartic wrist-flickery, I pumped scientific podcasts from my boombox and learned on the job.

There was a theme, as I teetered atop a clumsily erected metal scaffold inhaling dust particles and an alphabet of fumes. The theme was: toxins in our environment. Specifically, the unsettling link between low-exposure BPA and major health risks. Low-exposure. At levels deemed fine/dandy by the powers that be.

Why we should consider the broader implications of toxin exposure

The authorities assert that ‘BPA does not have demonstrable negative effects under exposures of 50 micrograms (one millionth of a gram) per kilogram of bodyweight per day’ (while the $375 billion plastics industry nod their heads as vigorously as rabid ponies).

And we all breathe a sigh of relief because, hell, we could exceed the ‘limit’ by ten and nothing bad would happen. Because they’ve tested it on rats. And rats are selfless little serfs who live to buttress the medical knowledge of their human oppressors.

But there’s a voice that squeaks – yeah, but? What about the sheer magnitude of it all? We don’t just come into contact with one isolated toxin once per day; we’re flapping about in a soup of hundreds, thousands of various compounds.

This is echoed in the podcast I listened to with Dr. Karl & guest Julian Cribb (author of ‘Poisoned Planet’). They remind us that the human body is being inundated by an unprecedented amount of weirdo non-natural influences. And what of the cumulative effect?

A prime offender – Bisphenol-A

So. Instead of embarking on a python-length list of toxins to avoid, today I’m focusing on one – perhaps the most pertinent given a new integrated review of its effects even in the low, ‘non-harmful’ range.

Let me introduce you to BPA (Bisphenol-A) – a compound used in the creation of hard plastics and linings.

Most commonly found in: canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned beans, canned anything, plastic water bottles, plastic baby bottles, cans of baby formula, cans of drink. It also crops up in all kinds of medical implements, DVDs & CDs, eye equipment and one I’m particularly spooked about: cash register receipts.

By now, I feel people are awake to the treachery of plastic. However, it pays to know the facts. If only to reinforce our commitment (I’m including all of you in this oath) to shun them forever and ever amen.

Back to the scientific review: it examined hundreds of publications on the low-level effects of BPA and synthesised the lot. Casting a huge net; drawing conclusions in the macro. Irrefutable stuff.

Here’s the gist of what they had to say: there ARE measurable, reproducible effects of BPA at levels 1-4 times LOWER than the industry recommendation, that can be considered adverse. (You can read the full text here).

In fact, check out this official nugget about BPA:

A recent study by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US National Toxicology Program (NTP) assigned BPA the third highest Toxicological Priority Index (ToxPi) score of the 309 chemicals examined based on its ability to interact with a number of signaling pathways. (Reference: here & here)

Yikes.

BPA is appearing more and more delinquent by the minute. But how exactly does it effect human health?

Health effects of BPA

• It mimics estrogen. This means that it can bind to receptor sites for sex hormones (also thought to do the same for thyroid hormone, androgens and proliferative receptors) and exert an effect – though, not always the same as a bodily hormone. Because it’s not.

• This action has been found to promote breast cancer cell growth (reference) and decrease sperm count in rats.

• From Chris Kresser:

– A 2008 review found an association between higher BPA exposure and cardiovascular disease, diabetes and elevated liver enzymes. (6) 

– A study published in 2012 found that maternal exposure to BPA decreases thyroid hormone levels in male (but not female) babies at birth. (7)

– A 2013 study demonstrated an association between postnatal urinary concentrations of BPA and asthma in children. (8)

– Another 2013 study found a relationship between urinary BPA concentrations and childhood behavioral and learning development. (9)

Kids and BPA

But I reckon the most worrying implication is for our children, and their children, and so on to infinity.

Because the hormone-like effects of BPA are most consequential in times of growth and development. We’re talking unborn babies, children & adolescents.

Pair that with the ubiquity of BPA in children’s toys & bottles. Then consider that tiny people have much higher circulating levels of toxins on account of their smallness (and lowered tolerance).

Urinary tests carried out by the CDC show that 93% of individuals included in the study tested positive to BPA (aged 6 to 85). Children had higher levels than adolescents, who in turn had higher levels than adults (reference).

And while wee people are developing is when things go awry. They’re receiving alien input; their hormone-dependent tissue is vulnerable, malleable. Could BPA be a factor in young girls beginning menses years and years earlier than their mothers & grandmothers? Or little boys with boobies? Or any number of hormonal disruptions that plague young people today?

Oh, did I mention that when BPA plastics are heated (formula being microwaved in bottles, anyone?) the rate of leaching increases exponentially?

A 2009 study showed that students drinking from plastic bottles for one week had 69% higher in their urine than that of the control. The researchers hypothesized that this number would increase considerably if heat was applied (formula being microwaved in baby bottles? Anyone? Yeah? Did I say that? Please don’t do it!).

Practical advice on plastics

Look, there are more reasons to avoid plastics than I can rant about in one blog post. Icebergs of debris choking our seas, landfill, the throats of innocent porpoises, is motivation enough to find kinder alternatives. The sheer energy required to create packaging, ship it, wrap it & dispose of it; it’s waste on a monstrous scale. And for your health, for that precious horcrux we possess and defend, try to apply the following:

• An obvious one: don’t buy groceries swaddled in plastic. At the supermarket, take your own reusable bags and containers and be that kooky person packing mixed lettuce leaves neatly into a BYO pyrex.

• Take a stainless steel or glass drink bottle with you wherever you go to avoid the dreaded plastic water bottle. Make it your MISSION to never purchase one again.

• Avoid canned foods. Create new traditions and cook batches of passata in summer when tomatoes breed like rabbits and store them in glass jars for the year. Buy lentils and pulses in bulk, dry, and prepare them as needed – by soaking & slow-cooking.

• Eat as much organic, local & pesticide-free food as possible. This will reduce your toxic burden and turn down the volume on overall exposure.

• Refuse receipts at the register, or handle them as little as possible.

• Swap your plastic tupperware and storage containers for glass – Pyrex is a favourite.

• Transition your household cleaning products from chemical to natural, lightening your toxic load.

• Avoid coated and non-stick pots & pans. Use ceramic instead.

• Get rid of plastic glad/saran wrap. Use glass jars, bottles, Pyrex or recycled parchment paper instead. A plate fitted over the top of a bowl works nicely in the fridge, too.

• Take your own mug or safe keepcup when grabbing coffee out. Often, takeaway cups can be lined with plastic.

• Breastfeed your baby – or buy natural powdered formula that isn’t sold in cans.

• Don’t use plastic toys or bottles for your children – try glass & stainless steel options that can be sheathed in a soft, protective ‘jacket’.

One final word: be wary of ‘BPA free’ claims. Recent studies have shown that BPS – a common substitute – has similar negative hormonal effects to BPA. Even with the promotional advantage, BPS remains a silent nasty. Stick with plastic avoidance, I’d say.

And over to you – what do you to limit your exposure?