My absolute favourite area of medicine is Environmental Medicine and any little tidbit that I can throw in at each patient visit puts a huge smile on my face.
Canada led the way in 2012 by implementing a ban on BPA in baby bottles, but below you’ll soon recognize why this was just a tiny step in the right direction.
Background on BPA
- 1930s: Estrogen-like properties of BPA were discovered, but stronger chemicals were also discovered and BPA was set aside
- 1950s: realization that using BPA in plastics made them hard and sturdy began their major contamination of our health
Health Issues with BPA
- Endocrine Disrupting Chemical
- It’s messing with your hormones and has been linked to PCOS and fibroids in women and has shown to cause early-onset puberty in children
- Reproductive Toxicity
- It’s been linked to recurrent miscarriages
- Birth Defects
- ESPECIALLY in little boys…rates of hypospadias have increased (incorrect position of the urethra on the penis) with increased BPA exposure
- OBESOGEN!!
- BPA has been linked to weight gain, obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes
- It increases the SIZE AND THE NUMBER of the fat cells all over the body
- Others: Sexual Dysfunction, Heart Disease, Asthma, Thyroid Disorders
- Breast Cancer
- ADHD
- Hyperactivity
- Impaired learning
- Developmental delay in kids
ONE CANADIAN STUDY FOUND THAT 95% OF PARTICIPANTS HAD MEASURABLE BPA LEVELS IN THEIR URINE AND BLOOD!!!!!!
Toxic at even tiny doses
* 1 part per billion is equal to 1 tsp of BPA in an Olympic sized swimming pool
- 5 parts per billion increases breast cancer cells (2.5 teaspoons in an Olympic pool)
- 2 parts per billion decreases birth weight and has been linked to early onset puberty
- 025 parts per billion increases hypospadias and genital birth defects
Where is it found?
- Plastics, especially polycarbonate types like #3 and #7
- Disposable cups
- Pop Cans
- Canned Foods (lining the can)
- Receipts!
- Dental Sealants
For the reasons mentioned above, I recommend to my patients that they should be avoiding BPA, but another problem arises when I hear patients say…
“BUT DR SHANNON, I REPLACED ALL MY PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES WITH BPA-FREE ONES!!”
Make sure you catch my next blog article that’ll dispel the absolute MYTH of safety in BPA-free products AND what you can do to avoid BPA exposure from the above.
If you’re worried about your own exposure to BPA causing health issues for you, come and see me as a patient and we can go through all your options for avoidance and health improvement!
References
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EHP-Collection-Bisphenol-A.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279464/
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/packag-emball/bpa/index-eng.php