Get the Lowdown on the Toxic Plastic Issue with Dr. Mercola

Friday, October 17, 2008

Two of the most successful industries in the world are the pharmaceutical industry and the chemical industry. The global market for pharmaceuticals was worth more than $693 billion in 2007. But despite all of its massive earnings from global drug and vaccine sales, “Big Pharma” was easily dwarfed by the global chemical industry, which earns almost $3 trillion a year.

Aside from having big money, these two industry giants have something else in common – they both produce health hazards!

The global chemical industry produces about 6 billion pounds of bisphenol A (BPA), a vital component of a wide variety of plastic products, generating at least $6 billion in annual sales.

Studies done by the Environmental Working Group found that BPA is present in more than half of the canned foods and beverages sampled from supermarkets across the U.S. BPA is also present in hard, clear plastics for baby bottles and food storage containers.

Scientists Frederick Vom Saal and Wade Welshons were the first to report the first hard evidence of BPA’s adverse effects on health. The two discovered that miniscule amounts of BPA caused irreversible changes in the prostates of fetal mice.

How BPA harms your health

BPA can contaminate food when the chemical bonds that it forms in plastic are unraveled when heated, washed, or exposed to acidic foods. The chemical imitates the sex hormone estradiol and because your body is extremely sensitive to sex hormones, small amounts of BPA can induce profound changes.

Other researchers followed Vom Saal and Welsons’ lead and conducted their own investigation. Of the 115 published studies on the low-dose effects of BPA, 94 of them reported harmful effects on mice and rats, linking the chemical to serious human disorders, including:

• Prostate cancer
• Breast cancer
• Diabetes
• Early puberty
• Obesity,
• Abnormal sexual behavior and disrupted reproductive cycles
• Structural damage to the brain, and
• Learning and behavioral problems

Chemical Cover-up

Chemical companies funded 11 studies to investigate the BPA controversy, ALL of which cleared the chemical from any harmful side effects. An advisory panel from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) upheld the agency’s decision that BPA is safe and can remain in food packaging, including infant formula containers and baby bottles.

Once again, the FDA had the chance to truly safeguard your health and instead, chose to side with the big chemical companies, allowing BPA to roam free.

The Scientists & Engineers For America Action Fund blasted the FDA verdict, saying that the agency based the decision on two large multigenerational studies funded by the American Plastics Council and the Society of the Plastics Industry, and “reaffirmed the trade associations’ ability to control what is considered to be reliable, credible science.”

How to Make Your Home BPA-free

The good news is, despite the FDA verdict, some companies have yielded to consumer demand and pressure and are now offering products that don‘t contain BPA.

Dr. Joseph Mercola, founder and editor of Mercola.com, the world’s leading natural health website, has long criticized the chemical industry for allowing dangerous substances to find their way in your home, and the FDA for protecting the interests of business, rather than your health.

Dr. Mercola recommends the use of glass, instead of plastic to store your water and avoid BPA. For Dr. Mercola, glass is the safest and most inert way to store your water and is far better than any plastic.

Amazon.com now has a BPA-free section, including water bottles, baby bottles, and sippy cups. Rubbermaid is now offering BPA-free food storage containers and water bottles, and Brita is also selling BPA-free pitchers and water filtration products

The Children‘s Health Environmental Coalition offers tips on how to spot plastic household products with and without BPA. Consumer Reports describes its BPA test results and also provides advice on choosing safe plastics. The Z Recommends blog posted an updated guide in February that lists children‘s feeding products that don‘t contain BPA. Other BPA-free products have even appeared on eBay.

None of these websites or groups are affiliated with Mercola.com. Dr. Mercola just makes it a point that any piece of information vital to your good health would be made available to you!

You don’t have to wait for the FDA to get it right and issue a warning. You can stay informed and become aware of the things to avoid and the things to do in order to stay healthy through Dr. Mercola.

Visit Mercola.com now and learn more about how to safeguard your health!