Why You Should Ditch Plastic: The Hidden Toxins Lurking in Your Water Bottle and Everyday Items

If you know me or work with me, you know I am huge on avoiding plastic items at all costs. Plastic things are wasteful and unsafe for ourselves, children, and the environment.

Bisphenol-A is a chemical added to many products like food containers, hygiene products, baby bottles, water bottles, and receipts. It is also found on the inner lining of canned food containers to keep the metal from corroding. BPA was first discovered in the 1890s, but chemists in the 1950s realized it could be mixed with other compounds to produce solid and resilient plastics. It is one of the highest chemicals produced worldwide.

The science behind BPAs

Ester Bonds bind BPA molecules, and ester bonds are heat-resistant, making this chemical highly unstable. This means this chemical will leach and enter our food and drinks when heat is present. Have you ever been told not to drink the water bottles left in the car? Well, this is the reason. Also, if you prep meals (Go you!!!) in plastic containers, consider switching to glass.

BPA is a Hormone Disruptor

BPA has been tested as an artificial estrogen since the early 1930's. BPA disrupts endocrine pathways by binding to estrogen receptors and influencing bodily processes, such as growth, cell repair, fetal development, energy levels, and reproduction. They can turn on, shut off, and alter the hormones' signals throughout our bodies. BPA can lead to infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, precocious puberty, breast cancer, and prostate cancer and is responsible for reproductive diseases. BPA interacts with other hormone receptors, like your thyroid, thus altering its function. It is not debatable that BPA disrupts sperm production, sperm count, and motility. BPA has been banned or restricted in several countries: France, Belgium, China, and Malaysia.

BPA can cause Cancer

BPA exposure, especially during early life, can influence tissue development and increase the risk of cancer. As mentioned earlier, the mimicking of estrogen interacts with receptors that lead to changes in cell life, contributing to hormonally driven cancer progression. In many different rodent studies, BPA plays a role in hormone-dependent tumors such as breast and prostate cancer.

BPA's can cause Obesity

We are living in an obesity epidemic, with child obesity the highest it’s ever been. Over the past several decades, average mid-life body weights have risen among primates, rodents, domestic dogs, and cats. Multiple studies have associated BPA exposure with weight gain and obesity in lab animals and humans, concluding that BPA accelerates the production of fat cells.

Harm Development of Fetuses and Children

Prenatally, infants and children are more sensitive to the effects of BPA. BPA affects the brain, behavior, and prostate glands in fetuses, infants, and young children. It's also been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and liver failure.

Please do yourself a favor and follow the checklist below:

Reduce BPA Checklist:

• Minimize canned food and baby food usage

• Buying plastic bottles

• Storing & microwaving food in plastic

• Cooking food in plastic containers (roasting/steaming bags).

• Printing out of receipts

Instead, use items like:

• Glass

• Porcelain

• Enamel-covered metal

• Stainless Steel

• Cast Iron Pots

Note: BPA-free products have replaced BPA with BPS (Bisphenol-S)and BPF (bisphenol-F). STAY AWAY from plastic items labeled with the recycling numbers 3 and 7 or the letters "PC" likely contain BPA, BPS, or BPF.