BPA Danger

     A recent article in the Daily Mail found that estrogenic pollutants were found in the bodies of 86% of teenagers. The study also reports that 93% of the U.S. population carries a burden of Bisphenol A, a potent estrogenic pollutant used in plastic bottles, cash register receipts, and the inner lining of canned goods. BPA has been associated with a variety of diseases including obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, hyperactivity and learning disabilities, and heart disease.

     Shockingly, when products are labelled BPA free they often contain other closely related estrogenic chemicals including bisphenol AF, bisphenol B, bisphenol C, bisphenol E, bisphenol F and bisphenol S. When test subjects were told to avoid BPA there was little change in blood levels of estrogenic chemicals suggesting that avoiding estrogenic pollution is not a simple tast.
   

Article on BPA

Leading Chemicals which Disrupt Hormones

BPA: 93% of Americans have BPA in their bodies. Avoid canned foods, receipts using thermal paper, plastics with recycling #7.

Dioxins: Powerful carcinogens, hormone disruptors, and immune suppressants. Difficult to avoid. Animal products are often contaminated.

 Atrazine: Turns male frogs into females with the ability to produce viable eggs. This is an herbicide widely used on corn crops and is a common water contaminant.

 Phthalates: Sends a death-inducing signal to testicular cells. Associated with obesity, diabetes, and thyroid problems. Avoid plastics with recycling label #3.

 Perchlorate: Powerful thyroid disruptor. Supplement with iodine and purify drinking water.

 Fire Retardants: Found in foam in furniture, carpet pads. Thyroid antagonist.

 Lead: Not only a powerful toxin, but also a hormone disruptor. Avoid old paint. Filter tap water.

Arsenic: disrupts carbohydrate metabolism. Filter it out of drinking water. Found in some rice products.

 Mercury: Binds to a hormone which regulates the menstrual cycle. Avoid consuming large fish.

 Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFC's): Used in non-stick cookware and stain resistant coatings on clothing, furniture, and carpets. Resistant to degradation. Alters sex hormones and thyroid function.

Organophosphate Pesticides: Alter thyroid and testosterone function. Among the most commonly used pesticides today. Eat organic.

Glycol Ethers: Common solvents in paints, cleaning products, brake fluids and cosmetics. Shrinks the testicles of rats. Increases the risk of allergies and asthma in children.

http://www.ewg.org/research/dirty-dozen-list-endocrine-disruptors

Degenerative Disease and BPA

     Higher urinary levels of BPA indicating increased exposure have been associated with increased incidence of heart disease and diabetes. BPA exposure was also linked to abnormality of two liver enzymes.
     Estrogenic pollutants like BPA are believed to be responsible for the 50% drop in sperm count which took place between 1930 and 1990.
References:
Lang, I.A., et al., Association of urinary bispenol A concentration with medical disorders and laboratory abnormalities in adults,
JAMA, 2008; 300(11):1303-10.
Cotton, Paul, Environmental estrogenic agents area of concern,
JAMA, February 9, 1994; 271(6):414-15.

Migraines and BPA

     BPA is an agent added to plastics to make them flexible. It is found in plastic cups, water bottles, the plastic lining in canned goods, office water coolers, and plastic microwave trays. A recent study showed that consuming fresh foods reduced levels of BPA in the urine by 66% in just 3 days.

     A study at the University of Kansas exposed rats to BPA in a manner designed to mimic human exposure. The animals were exposed to BPA every three days. Rats exposed to BPA became less active and avoided loud noise and strong light. They also showed signs of tenderness to the head. There were also signs of an influx of estrogen into the rats' brains. BPA has estrogenic properties and estrogenic fluctuations have been associated with migraine attacks.

Link to abstract of original article and popular press.

http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/10/31/toxsci.kft245.abstract 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2516645/Migraines-link-plastic-cups-bottles-Gender-bending-chemical-packaging-trigger-attacks.html 

BPA and the FDA

    March 30, 2012: The FDA refused to ban BPA (bisphenol-A). This is an industrial chemical used to harden plastics. It is found in most plastic bottles (including milk containers), cash register receipts, and the linings of canned food. It leaches into foods and acts as a synthetic estrogen in very tiny quantities and has been shown to feminize males. BPA has also been associated with induction of obesity and damage to the heart, brain and nervous system.
     The FDA position is that the dose makes the poison so they are trying to the total exposure down. The FDA also wants to see more human studies which is difficult because the chemical is so common that it is found in over 90% of the population. Animal studies have clearly shown the damaging effects of BPA.
     Some feel that the refusal to ban this toxic substance has more to do with the financial investment manufacturers have in products containing BPA.
    Plastic containers with the numbers 3, 7 and PC are likely to contain the estrogenic compounds BPA or polycarbonate. The FDA will most likely ban BPA eventually, but how many people will be damaged by this chemical because of a government policy based upon the concept that new chemicals are "innocent until proven guilty."
References:
Time Magazine Article
Newsmax Article