Plastic Drinking Cups

[RobinN]

I am reminded of how many times I have microwaved food and drinks in plastic containers.

When it comes to Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, it's not whether the container is new or old but the liquid's temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists.

Scott Belcher, PhD, and his team found when the same new and used polycarbonate drinking bottles were exposed to boiling hot water, BPA, an environmental estrogen, was released 55 times more rapidly than before exposure to hot water.

BPA is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body's natural hormones. Hormones are secreted through endocrine glands and serve different functions throughout the body.

BPA is just one of many estrogen-like chemicals people are exposed to, and scientists are still trying to figure out how these endocrine disruptors--including natural phyto-estrogens from soy which are often considered healthy--collectively impact human health," he says. "But a growing body of scientific evidence suggests it might be at the cost of your health."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130092108.htm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...don-t-put-your-coffee-in-plastic-bottles.aspx

 

[epileric]

I Just came across this:

Adults who ate canned soup daily showed a jump in levels of the plasticizer BPA in their urine, according to a small study.

The study of 75 people in Tuesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association is one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after eating canned foods compared with eating freshly prepared ingredients.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/11/22/bpa-soup-cans.html

I found it interesting because canned soup is usually at room temperature so it may not need to be very warm to transfer into the cans contents.

Also, Because the levels in urine jumped I couldn't help but wonder if it showed that BPA just goes through us. Considering they didn't measure how much was ingested we'll never know from this study. The study was done on people who eat canned soup daily so it is possible that they may have just reached the limit of what their body would absorb (if there is a limit). I think having the levels in blood & tissue analyzed would give a clearer picture of what is happening as well as having larger and better studies done.

 

[Janus]

I read, recently, that many companies of packaging are switching to BPS instead of BPA because of public awareness of BPA problems. Too bad the BPS is much more toxic. ?? I wish I had that link.. I will post when i re-find it.