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I've said it before and I'll say it again...it is time to get off the plastics!
Buy a BPA-free water bottle and refill it with filtered water. Use BPA-free, phthalate-free storage containers and keep your household items in canvas or nylon bags. Get creative and be healthy! "Man-made chemicals present in homes, schools, offices, cars and food are probably contributing to the sharp rise in obesity and diabetes in western societies, according to a review of scientific literature published today. Until now lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise and poor diet were believed to be the primary causes of the increased incidence of both conditions, whose proliferation has strained global health budgets. While these remain undisputed factors, the review of 240 scientific papers by two leading experts, Professor Miquel Porta of Spain and Professor Duk-Hee Lee of South Korea, suggests chemicals in plastics and other surfaces play an important and avoidable role. Their study assessed the impact of chemicals including the now banned PCBs, the plastic-softeners phthalates, and the plastic-hardener Bisphenol A, or BPA, a common substance in food packaging and plastic bottles which The Independent has written widely about. All 240 studies they reviewed – whether in test-tubes, on animals or on humans – had been peer-reviewed and published in scientific journals. The paper, the Review of the Science Linking Chemical Exposures to the Human Risk of Obesity and Diabetes, found some of the chemicals appeared to have a causal effect on obesity, some on diabetes and some on both. Many are endocrine disruptors, which can change human hormones, including the stimulation of appetite and fat storage and regulation of sugar. Six out of 10 adults in England are overweight or obese and diabetes in the UK has more than doubled since 1996 to 2.9 million people, which is about one in 20 people. One of the study authors, Professor Miquel Porta, of the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Barcelona, said: "The epidemics in obesity and diabetes are extremely worrying. "The role of hormone disrupting chemicals in this must be addressed. The number of such chemicals that contaminate humans is considerable. "We must encourage new policies that help minimise human exposure to all relevant hormone disruptors, especially women planning pregnancy, as it appears to be the foetus developing in utero that is at greatest risk". Some of the chemicals studied – organo-chlorine pesticides, PCBs used to lubricate electrical equipment and to make plastics fireproof; and many Brominated Flame Retardants – have now been banned but others such as BPA and phthalates are still widely used in everyday products. BPA is commonly found in the plastic lining inside tinned foods, on thermal till receipts and in consumer electronics such as mobile phones and televisions, while phthalates are present in vinyl flooring, shower curtains and children's toys. CHEM Trust (Chemicals Health & Environment Monitoring Trust), the British pressure group which commissioned the research, urged the UK Government and the EU to press industry to find safer alternatives. Elizabeth Salter Green, director of CHEM Trust, said: "If exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals is programming us to be fat, it is high time that public health policy takes into account cutting edge science. Obesity and diabetes are examples of the adverse health trends linked with endocrine disruption which need to be urgently addressed. "We are talking about prevention, not cure here, and in this time of financial squeeze, anything that can help with prevention, reducing NHS spending, is a good idea."" Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/chemicals-in-plastic-linked-to-rise-in-obesity-and-diabetes-7578153.html
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Most of you are familiar with the plastic softener BPA (bisphenol A) being used in baby bottles and other products and try to avoid these products when choosing baby bottles, etc. But you may or may not realize that canned goods (including Campbell's famous canned soups) and other plastics have also been found to be lined with the potential carcinogen. And finally, this research is going mainstream in the medical literature!
Today, as I opened my email, I was bombarded with emails from my medical literature subscriptions citing the latest evidence that the BPA that lines the cans of Campbell's canned soups shows up in significantly greater amounts in people's urine after consuming canned soups. This article was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and for sure will raise some eyebrows. For those unfamiliar with the toxic effects of BPA, here's a quick summary from the wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A "As it has been known to be estrogenic since the mid 1930s, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products were regularly reported in the news media in 2008, after several governments issued reports questioning its safety, prompting some retailers to remove products containing it from their shelves. A 2010 report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raised further concerns regarding exposure of fetuses, infants and young children.[1] In September 2010, Canada became the first country to declare BPA a toxic substance.[2][3] In the European Union and Canada, BPA use is banned in baby bottles.[4]" - as well as from the scientifically-based (and very reliable) organization Environmental Working Group - http://ewg.org/featured/218 "On April 16, 2008, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) raised concerns that exposure to BPA during pregnancy and childhood could impact the developing breast and prostate, hasten puberty, and affect behavior in American children. Days later the Canadian government decided to label BPA as "toxic." These actions are a historic shift from previous regulatory decisions on BPA's safety, both in the U.S. and abroad. In particular, the decision reversed the findings of a previous NTP advisory panel, whose review process was driven by a private contractor with links to BPA producers." This is a major victory for those of us fighting against sneaky corporate use of toxins in our household products. Canned foods companies will definitely feel the pressure from consumers and medical practitioners alike to reformulate their canned goods which has largely been done throughout Europe and Canada. Kudos to these researchers! Have a wonderful |
AuthorDr. Maltz earned a Medical Degree and Master in Public Health from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, TX. She completed a combined Internal and Preventive Medicine Residency at UTMB in June, 2011. She then completed a 2-year Integrative Medicine Fellowship at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT, during which she simultaneously underwent an intensive 1000-hour curriculum created by The University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Program founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. Archives
October 2020
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