What is BPA? According to WebMD:
BPA is a chemical that has been used to harden plastics for more than 40 years. It's everywhere. It's in medical devices, compact discs, dental sealants, water bottles, the lining of canned foods and drinks, and many other products.More than 90% of us have BPA in our bodies right now. We get most of it by eating foods that have been in containers made with BPA. It's also possible to pick up BPA through air, dust, and water.BPA was common in baby bottles, sippy cups, baby formula cans, and other products for babies and young children. Controversy changed that. Now, the six major companies that make baby bottles and cups for infants have stopped using BPA in the products they sell in the U.S. Many manufacturers of infant formula have stopped using BPA in their cans as well.
Some people may think that the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) doesn’t have any harmful effects to their body after being exposed to the chemical, but Bisphenol A is very harmful to the hormones, brain, behavior and heart, and can also cause cancer.
According to Cleanandhealthyme.org:
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Studies have found that BPA can have adverse health effects at levels thousands of times lower than what the EPA considers safe. According to the low dose hypothesis, small and repeated exposures to bisphenol A can have an amplified effect on the human body by mimicking human sex hormones, or promoting cell proliferation. Bisphenol A has been found to cause estrogenic changes in animal cells at the same concentrations that are found in pregnant women and their
The Ornish diet, a meal plan that emphasizes the consumption of carbohydrates over fats, is an unsafe plan despite its claims to being a safe and effective way to prevent heart disease1 – a claim only a balanced diet can make. Because the Ornish diet cuts out a large number of foods from a person’s meal, many beneficial nutrients are missing that would normally be in a balanced diet. In addition, recent studies have found that diets containing a larger than recommended amount of carbohydrates may actually increase a person’s chances of developing intestinal and breast cancers2. These findings show that despite any benefits the Ornish diet may provide to the heart, the complications of maintaining a high carbohydrate diet make it not nearly as safe as a balanced diet.
Although pure BPA is not utilized in dental resins, it has been demonstrated that bis-DMA has the ability to be hydrolyzed into BPA by salivary esterases.1 This is a potential cause for concern due to the many adverse health effects associated with BPA. These effects are presumably due to the ability of BPA to bind to nuclear estrogen receptors and interfere with endocrine signaling.1 Thus, it is of interest to determine the estrogenic potential of dental resins over time.
The premise of Theo Colborns’ research was to find the connection between the rising incidences of cancer and environmental contamination in the Great Lakes region. However, during field and laboratory studies, Colborn discovered that there was no direct link between the contamination and cancer. However, Colborn did find reoccurring patterns of abnormal behavior and deformed offspring amongst the wildlife populations in the Great Lakes region. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenls (PCBs), pesticides dieldrin, DDT, lindane and chlordane were found during tissue analysis of the wildlife in the Great Lakes region (Colborn et. Al 1996). These elevated levels were found in offspring of the wildlife who appeared to be healthy. This supported Colborns’ hypothesis that these contaminations disrupt hormones produced by the endocrine system during growth and development, which will then cause physical and behavioral abnormalities in the fetus.
Childbirth is nothing short of a miracle. The placenta—the organ connecting a developing fetus to the uterine wall and allowing for waste elimination, nutrient uptake and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply—filters most harmful substances that threaten an embryo, though some may still pass on to the fetus. These harmful substances, called “teratogens,” range from environmental chemicals to the passing of maternal diseases, and can negatively impact the normal developmental cycle of a fetus. The title “teratogen,” however, effectually refers to any substance or chemical exposure with the potential to cause birth defects in prenatal development. Exposure to teratogens can result in a broad spectrum of physiological and psychological issues in later life, including malformations of the body. (Malformations resulting from exposure to one of the most common teratogens—alcohol—can be observed notoriously in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or FAS, where patterns of mental and physical defects develop in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.) Though the toxicity of these teratogens is particularly damaging during the fourth through tenth weeks of gestation, teratogens can harm throughout the span of development in the womb.
Humans are among the many terrestrial mammals affected by the endocrine-disrupting capabilities of bisphenol A. The majority of human exposure comes from consumption of BPA from food products packaged in polycarbonate plastics (Crain et al., 2007). Laboratory studies done on mice indicate that exposure to high concentrations of BPA can cause pregnancy complications, reproductive organ defects, obesity, early puberty, and cancer (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012).
Neustaedter, Randall (7/18/2004). Plastic Water Bottles. Retrieved July 31, 2008, from Holistic Pediatric Association Web site: http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/108/1/Plastic-Water-Bottles
...ls and many more that chemically produce. Reducing or control the amount of the usage should be the best way to reduce the cancer risk. Nowadays, the usage of stainless steel, glass or BPA-free containers become more popular because it will reduce exposure the chemical in plastic to leach into water thus reduce the risk of cancer. These are some of the precaution and prevention recommended to society to apply in our daily life in order to reduce the risk of cancer.
During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and abnormalities in newborns.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
Young, S. (2011, December). Report: Certain environmental exposures can increase breast cancer risk. CNNHealth.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from www.thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/07/iom-certain-environmental-exposures-can-increase-breast-cancer-risk/.
Researchers have stated that plastic bottles containing water can contain many deadly chemicals. After close examination of the plastic, researchers concluded that some plastics contain chemicals, like phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), endocrine disrupters, and cancer, may percolate into the water, especially after being stagnant for long periods of time. Likewise, bottled water is not exposed to the rigorous testing tap water endures. Thus, bottled water is more inclined to be contaminated or a source of infection. Tap water is subjected to daily safety testing, bottled water, however, is only tested monthly at the source; twenty-two percent of the water tested contained contaminant levels that exceeded strict health limits. Safety of the people could be secured through banning water bottles.
An example of an additive is di-butyl phthalate and biphenyl A (BPA), these substances are incorporated while the plastics are being manufactured to provide tensile flexibility and tensile strength. The microplastics tend to accumulate and adsorb toxic materials from the seawater around them, such as organic pollutants and heavy metals. The chemicals are not bound to the microplastic surface, and as a result, when ingested they tend to leach into the animal tissues (Do Sul, J. A. I, 2014). The impacts from such chemical leaches include hepatic stress in fish, mortality, and endocrine
Most individuals are exposed through diet via BPA leaching from food containers, food packaging or plastic bottles, while there is still risk from air, dust, and water (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2013). There are many reason why there needs to be stricter guidance and regulations on the release of BPA in household items such as baby bottles, plastic food containers, and canned goods to name a few. Some reasons why these countries are banning BPA are due to its ill effect on people. BPA is considered to be an endocrine-disruptive chemical, which have been linked through laboratory testing to developmental issues, diabetes, cancer and other ailments (Bardelline, 2011). Canada, most of the European Union, China, South Africa and Malaysia have all collectively banned BPA usage in different forms.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to create polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are found in a wide range of products, but food and drink containers are the most concerning. Most people fear that BPA will have negative effect...
Although toxic chemicals can affect any person of any age, it is certain that children of young ages are much more vulnerable than adults to the chemical pollutants that are harmful. This is due to the rapid development and growing as well as their behavior that includes much hand to mouth activity as well as the tendency to crawl and play in areas that may be contaminated. Young children’s lack of awareness and education about the proper sanitary habits as well as safety, are one of the few reasons they are put at a higher risk than other age groups. It is important to correct or improve toxic chemical issues in today’s world because it is very possible for a child to have serious health damage later on in life when exposed to these pollutants. Many toxic chemicals can be found in homes, schools, places of work and residential areas. Our build environments and many things in it have many sites of hazardous chemical contamination.