Last week I went to watch my son at his swim carnival. I had run out of my water and had to reluctantly buy some water. I really hate having to buy water. Not only because it usually is so overpriced, but more so because I don’t know what I am getting.
Once again, the quality of the water is a whole new post, but this one is about the plastic the water is contained in. The bottle could be made from BPA plastic – and we’ve all seen the advertising stickers on the kid’s plastic containers – BPA Free – but did you know that the alternatives are not much better either.
I tell all my ladies, no plastic. It must go.
Let’s get into this a wee bit deeper.
First of all, why not plastic?
Plastic is just one form of a huge number of endocrine disrupters. What does that mean, endocrine disrupter? Well, when this part of the plastic gets into your body it will create hormone havoc.
Anything from blocking your natural hormones, to making them go either faster or slower. And when I say hormones – I’m talking about all of your body’s hormones that run you. Not just the sex hormone, Oestrogen. And by the way, did you know that oestrogen hormones have a protective role on your brain?
So, this is an important right, because after menopause, when you think you’re ‘done with all that it’s important to keep your brain clear and vibrant, after all, it rules the rest of your body.
So, it seems that BPA, Bisphenol A can be found in plastics used for food and drink packaging, water bottles, infant bottles, CD’s, impact-resistant safety equipment and medical devices, and thermal receipt paper. Who handles their receipts or works in a shop?
BPA is also epoxy resin and it can be found in coatings in food cans, bottle tops, water supply pipes and some dental composites and sealants. Please ask your dentist next time what he is putting in your mouth, be prepared for what you will hear. I do recall actually having porcelain used on my teeth instead of composite for this very reason.
But, there has been a big push to change the use of BPA for a non-BPA alternative. You would have seen the stickers like on the kid’s school lunch boxes and drink bottles saying they are BPA free. This is BPS plastic. According to a pubmed article of 2018, this area is totally unregulated in replacing BPA, and it has been detected in water, sediment, sewage sludge and stool, urine and blood, of people, at concentrations that are generally lower than BPA, but still as abundant and widespread.
While it hasn’t been long enough for a lot of studies, there is some evidence that these are still an issue as an endocrine disrupter.
So what to do?
Remove as much plastic as possible, go for stainless steel, glass or bamboo.
Don’t cook or heat in plastics, and certainly don’t use plastic wraps on food when you microwave them.
If you’ve bought a water bottle like me, because you couldn’t last another minute without water, then dispose of it after the first use, do not wash and recycle, they are one use only. Heating can start to break down the plastic. Also, when buying that nice cold water, just think that possibly it was on a hot truck driving across the Nullabor and is already potentially heat damaged.
Store cooked items in glass or stainless steel. If you need to use plastic for storage, then make sure your food is completely cooled down first. I do recall reading how even freezing can impact your food that has been frozen in plastic.
The bottom line, get rid of it as much as possible.
f you’d like to know more, you are welcome to join my free membership on facebook. Thyroid, Metabolic, Hormone Harmony Hub.
I’d love to see you there
Inspiring Wellness
Beth
References:
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/sya-bpa/index.cfm
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