Don’t worry, I’m not going to say that BPA (bisphenol A) is not as bad as we thought—it certainly is. But the good news is that plastic bottles that claim to be BPA-free were actually found to live up to their claims. Concerns that newer “BPA-free”-marketed bottles were not actually free of the harmful endocrine-disrupting chemical prompted this independent study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the UC Center for Environmental Genetics, performed by University of Cincinnati researchers and published in the journal Chemosphere.

The researchers found that stainless steel and/or co-polyester lined aluminum bottles did not release BPA, but aluminum bottles lined with epoxy-based resins did. “[BPA] is used extensively in the production of consumer goods, polycarbonate plastics, in epoxy resins that are used to coat metallic food and beverage cans and in other products. There is a great concern regarding the possible harmful effects from exposures that result from BPA leaching into foods and beverages from packaging or storage containers,” the study stated.

All bottles used in the study were obtained from retail stores and were made from polycarbonate, co-polyester, stainless steel, aluminum with co-polyester lining or aluminum with epoxy resin lining.

Detectible levels of BPA leaked from polycarbonate bottles, though the aluminum bottles lined with epoxy resins leached the most BPA. So if you switched your reusable water bottle to a metal one, be sure it’s not lined with epoxy resin. Aluminum bottles lined with EcoCare™ did not leach BPA. It’s good to know there are safer alternatives out there.

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A recent study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives and based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) investigated the exposure of pregnant women to 163 chemicals, revealing, “ubiquitous exposure to multiple chemicals during a sensitive period of development.” The study found that pregnant women were even exposed to chemicals banned decades ago, and some of the chemicals analyzed were found in 99 – 100 percent of the women.

Health effects were not assessed in this study, but many of the chemicals found are known to have detrimental consequences on health. In another case study of one women with particularly high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) during her 27^th week of pregnancy, the infant experienced neurobehavioral abnormalities at his one-month study visit. Researchers of this study were able to trace her abnormally high BPA exposure to the high consumption of canned foods, heating of plastic food containers, and use of plastic cups. The week of her highest recorded BPA level, she consumed canned ravioli each day. It is known that acidic foods can bring out more BPA from can lining, and canned tomato foods have been found to be higher in BPA.

BPA and phthalate exposure can be reduced by purchasing fresh unpackaged foods and avoiding plastic food packaging, storage containers and utensils. In one study, again published in Environmental Health Perspectives, consuming fresh foods prepared and consumed without the use of plastic was associated with a 66 percent reduction in the amount of BPA in urine.

We can’t eliminate all toxins, but there are small things we can do try to reduce them. Replace your plastic Tupperware with glass containers. Don’t use plastic wrap and try to prepare as much food as you can from fresh, unpackaged foods. And never heat food or drink in plastic. Do what you can and know that you are at least doing something. Spread the word—pass this information on.

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Renew You Challenge

Let’s start this week off right!

Weekly challenge (I mean, opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to your week. You could even add it to your calendar. Join us!

The Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment is an affiliation of organizations with a common goal of improving children’s environmental health in Canada. They have recently released recommendations to reduce common sources of toxic exposure associated with health risks to children. Here are their five tips for creating a healthy home environment for kids:

Bust that dust. Dust is one of the main sources of toxin exposure for children. Toxins collect in house dust after being released from carpet, furniture, electronics, upholstery and more. Because children play closer to the ground they are exposed to more dust than adults. Also, their smaller bodies cannot process toxins as well as those of adults.

Go green when you clean. Many cleaning products contain an array of toxic chemicals used for everything from window shining to wood polishing. Similar to house dust, children spend their time closer to these surfaces, placing their hands all over tables and windows (and then placing those fingers in their mouth). Using non-toxic cleaners can give you peace of mind next time little Suzie tries to fit her whole fist in her mouth after smearing mashed potatoes on the coffee table.

Renovate right. House renovations can introduce a host of toxins from building materials, and can put pregnant women and children at risk of toxin exposure. If you can avoid renovating during these times, that would be ideal. However, if renovation must be done, be sure that all dust is properly cleaned up each day, and that the renovation area is well sealed off from living areas.

Get drastic with plastic. The experts recommend against using plastic containers or plastic wrap in the microwave, to store food in ceramic or glass containers instead of plastic containers, to eat fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables in order to avoid BPA (bisphenol A) found in canned foods, and to avoid teething toys, bibs, bath toys, shower curtains and other items that contain PVC or vinyl.

Dish safer fish. They recommend choosing fish low in mercury, like Atlantic mackerel, herring, rainbow trout, wild or canned salmon, and tilapia. When tuna is preferred, choosing the light variety over albacore tuna is best due to a higher mercury content in albacore tuna.

This week, if you aren’t following these tips, begin to implement them where you can. These recommendations are right on. I hope this information gets into the hands of many parents. Pass it on!

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Girls are hitting puberty at an increasingly younger age. A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that about 15 percent of girls studied had already begun breast development by age seven. The median age for breast development has dropped from age 10.9 years in 1991 to 9.9 years in 2006.

What makes young girls mature? Hormones. Yet, hormone disruptors are unfortunately all around them. Exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals like flame retardants found on furniture and electronics, phthalates and BPA found in plastics and vinyl, and the herbicide atrazine found on non-organic produce could all be contributing to this early maturation.

Hormone disruptors interfere with normal hormone function. Some of these chemicals have been confirmed in human studies to interfere with male sexual development, but the research in humans is only just beginning. In fact, a recent study has found for the first time that daily exposure to BPAS increased levels of testosterone in the blood of men. Another human study found that BPA may decrease the quality and concentration of sperm in male humans. Hopefully more research will expose the dangers of endocrine disruptors in females, too.

My book Detox Strategy will help you find everything you need to begin your personal detoxification journey and take the first steps toward cleaner, healthier living – at any age.

Live Clean!

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I talk about BPA a lot because not a week goes by that I don’t hear about it in the news. It seems that not enough can be said about the potential negative effects of this chemical. It’s in most plastics, most food cans, baby bottles, and now…it’s at your child’s next dental appointment.

A dental resin used for dental fillings and tooth sealant has been found to contain BPA that remains in saliva for up to three hours after dental work. BPA, or bisphenol A, is a hormone disruptor that may be especially harmful to children.

More products are becoming available that are BPA free, like plastic water bottles and even BPA free canned food. So how can you avoid BPA at the dentist? Well, authors of a study in the journal Pediatrics suggest rinsing with water for 30 seconds after the dental work is completed to reduce the amount of BPA. I guess that’s a start. But it’s still a scary thought that our children our ingesting this toxin while trying to preserve their dental health.

It just goes to show that chemicals are everywhere. As a matter of fact, another BPA study found that hormone disruptors, like BPA, phthalates and PCBs, are found indoors, outdoors, in homes of the poor and homes of the affluent. Yet another recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health found evidence that current levels of BPA exposure is dangerous to our health. With more than 8 billion pounds of BPA made per year, I’d say it’s a big problem.

I call it a toxic soup that we are swimming in. That’s why it’s so important to do what we can to avoid toxins and live clean.

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Well folks, it looks like BPA is back in the news, and the news is not good. In one of the first studies of its kind, scientists from the University of Michigan and the Harvard School of Public Health looked at how exposure to the chemical Bisphenol A affected the sperm count and quality in otherwise healthy male adults, and here’s what they found:

Of the nearly 200 men that participated in the study by providing urine and sperm samples, those with the highest levels of BPA had significantly lower sperm counts as well as a notable increase in damage to healthy sperm DNA, which scientists believe has to do with how BPA affects healthy hormone function in the body and can interfere with normal growth and development.

One of the reasons I think this is really interesting is because most of the studies about BPA so far have looked at how BPA affects babies in the womb, or how it affects developing children and adults—but few have looked at the effects of exposure at such an early stage. So for couples out there who are trying to get pregnant, this is definitely something to think about.

Folks, BPA is everywhere. It’s in hundreds of products like canned foods and beverages, along with plastic baby bottles and reusable water bottles. In fact, more than 2 billion pounds of it are produced annually according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who describes BPA as a “reproductive, developmental and systemic toxicant”. Even the latest report from the President’s Cancer Panel cautions against using products made with BPA. But with all that said, the FDA is still dragging its feet about BPA and only just this year decided to update the warning on its website about BPA—talk about a day late and a dollar short!

Even though further research is needed to determine the full effects of BPA exposure at the reproductive stage and throughout human life, I for one wasn’t surprised to see BPA once again in the hot seat. For some really good tips on how you and your family can reduce BPA exposure, check out Environmental Working Group’s Consumer Tips to Avoid BPA Exposure.

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Sure, those nifty plastic bottles are convenient, but when’s the last time you actually stopped to think about what’s in your bottled water? Not only is it usually as contaminated (or more) with harmful chemicals as tap water, and its damage to the environment is beyond repair, but now a recent study is giving us one more reason to avoid bottled water.

Researchers in Canada found that the bacteria levels in more than 70 percent of bottled water samples exceed the recommended safe levels for humans to drink, and in some samples they found over 100 times the recommended safe levels of bacteria…yikes!

Now, I know it’s impossible to remove 100% of the bacteria from water—it just can’t be done. Bacteria are everywhere, but at very low amounts they pose no threat to our health. It’s when the levels of bacteria are much higher that we need to worry, especially folks who are more vulnerable to bacterial infections, like infants, older adults, pregnant and nursing women, and people who are immunocompromised (that is, their immune systems are weakened because of illness or treatment). 

The general consensus is that a good home filtration system is best, and if you need water on the go, do yourself a favor and invest in a stainless steel or BPA- and phthalate-free water bottle that you can fill up at home and carry with you. Yes, convenience is usually a good thing, but I think I speak for the majority when I say that our health and the health of our environment are much more important.

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One of the best non-profit resource groups I’ve found, Environmental Working Group does a great job providing information to the public about the dangerous chemicals that we come into contact with every day. In fact, their website is loaded with helpful information about one of the most talked-about chemicals in use today—bisphenol A, or BPA.

BPA is found in hundreds of products, including hard plastics and the lining of canned foods, but many studies have linked it to negative health affects in humans, especially during fetal development. If you’re concerned that BPA might be in some of the products you use and want help making better choices, click here for more information.

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Last week I told you about a new report just released by the President’s Cancer Panel—a panel of experts created in 1971 to keep the president informed about the activities of the National Cancer Program. It’s a 200-page report that warns about the dangers of environmental pollution on the nation’s health and urges government to take a stronger position on the regulation of these chemicals in our environment.

In an effort to determine the effects of environmental toxins on our health, the PCP report reviews the dangers of exposure to industrial chemicals that persist in the environment (like PCBs), as well as insecticides, herbicides and fertilizers; heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic; air pollution; tobacco smoke; contaminated drinking water (including pharmaceutical drug contamination); electromagnetic waves (think cell phones); UV radiation; and even military chemical exposure. What’s more, it gives recommendations to help reduce our exposure to these harmful toxins. Here are some of the highlights:

• “Parents and child care providers should choose foods, house and garden products, play spaces, toys, medicines, and medical tests that will minimize children’s exposure to toxics. 
• Both mothers and fathers should avoid exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals [such as BPA] and known or suspected carcinogens prior to a child’s conception and throughout pregnancy and early life, when the risk of damage is greatest. 
• Family exposure to numerous occupational chemicals can be reduced by removing shoes before entering the home and washing work clothes separately from other family laundry.
• Filtering home tap or well water can decrease exposure to numerous known or suspected carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.  Unless the home water source is known to be contaminated, it is better to use filtered tap water instead of commercially bottled water. 
• Storing and carrying water in stainless steel, glass, or BPA-free and phthalate-free containers will reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting and other chemicals that may leach into water from plastics. Similarly, microwaving in ceramic or glass instead of plastic containers will reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that may leach into food when containers are heated. 
• Exposure to pesticides can be decreased by choosing food grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers and washing conventionally grown produce to remove residues.
• Exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones and toxic runoff from livestock feed lots can be minimized by eating free-range meat.
• Avoiding or minimizing consumption of processed, charred, and well-done meats will reduce exposure to carcinogens.
• Individuals can choose products made with non-toxic substances or environmentally safe chemicals.
• Reducing or ceasing landscaping pesticide and fertilizer use will keep these chemicals from contaminating drinking water supplies.” 

Though all of this information at once may seem a little alarming, I can’t stress enough how important it is that the danger of toxin exposure is finally receiving the attention it should. My hope now is that more people will take responsibility for their health—and the health of our planet—by taking steps to reduce toxins in their daily lives.

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It’s scary to think about how many toxins are out there in the world, believe me I know. If it isn’t one thing it’s another—pesticides in our food, pollutants in our air, chemicals in our tap water—but what if it wasn’t just you that you had to worry about?

If you or someone you know is expecting, you’ll want to check out this website: The Endocrine Disruption Exchange is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying the effects of low-dose exposure to harmful chemicals called “endocrine disruptors” on fetal development and human health. Endocrine disruptors are like imposters in your body, and they basically act like hormones and interfere with normal physiological function.

On their website is an amazing interactive chart that shows the effects of three common endocrine-disrupting chemicals—bisphenol A (BPA), dioxins, and phthalates—during each week of fetal development, and they plan to add more chemicals to the chart as they continue to analyze the available scientific evidence.

It may seem a little too technical at first, but the visual is really neat. When you click on a specific chemical, it shows you just how low of a dose of that chemical can affect the healthy development of a baby in the womb. They even provide a summary of each study so you can learn more. Be sure to check it out!

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