Hip Moms Who Work

So, when news about BPA broke, my worry and disappointment about our safety and the safety of our children was re-ignited. BPA (Bisphelanol-A) is found in many plastic baby bottles, water bottles, sports equipment, medical devices and as a coating in food and beverage cans. The concern is that BPA is leaching from the plastics and resins into our food and drink. Independent studies on animals show that exposure to BPA can lead to some serious problems like those below:

• lower quality semen in males
• early onset of puberty in females 
• negative effects on brain function 
• mood disorders
• effects on breast and prostate tissue which could be linked to cancer

So, how exposed are we? Very exposed. A study published in May of this year by the Centers for Disease Control found the following:

• BPA was detected in the urine of 93% of the 2,517 study participants (ages 6 and up) 
• Females had significantly higher levels of BPA in their urine than males. Children had the highest levels followed by teens and adults
• Non-hispanic Blacks and Non-Hispanic Whites had higher levels of BPA than Mexican Americans
• People with the lowest household incomes had higher levels of BPA than people in the highest brackets

However, the FDA says BPA is safe and claims that an “adequate margin of safety exists for BPA at current levels of exposure from food contact uses”. Oh yeah, that makes me feel better. Let’s also take into account that the FDA relies on industry studies (can you say, “fox guarding the henhouse”?) and not third-party studies. Numerous independent studies conclude BPA is NOT SAFE. Canada is banning BPA from baby bottles altogether.  In the US, Wal-Mart plans on removing products containing BPA from its stores by the end of next year.

Even if BPA is fine like the FDA says (which I don’t believe it is), why should we take the chance when we can avoid it? So, I decided to move away from as many plastic food containers and canned foods as possible. It’s much easier than I thought and more environmentally-friendly as well. In case you’re interested in headin’ on over from the plastic side, I’ll share with you the changes I’ve made:

• switched to stainless steel water bottles and sippy cups (we’re a KleanKanteen family)
• significantly reduced our consumption of bottled water and now opt for filtered water from the tap
• replaced the kids melamine plates with Corelle, which is lightweight, made of glass and virtually indestructible. You can find them at Wal-Mart (melamine is the chemical recently found in infant formula that poisoned and killed babies in China. This isn’t BPA-related, but the leaching plastics thing has made me nervous) 
• limiting the amount of canned foods purchased
• replacing plastic “tupperware” style food storage containers with glass.  Costco oftens carries sets of Pyrex storage containers with lids that I found out are BPA-free.  Plus, it’s a great excuse to get rid of all of that mismatched tupperware and lids that don’t stack neatly and drive you crazy
• obsessively turning over all plastic containers and looking for the number “7″, usually found inside the recycling icon.  The number 7 means the plastic is polycarbonate and contains BPA. I just realized this week that the pre-packaged cups of applesauce I buy are usually in number 7 plastic. 

The topic of BPA – its effects, products that contain it, products that are BPA-free - is complex. The best source of consolidated info I’ve found is www.safemama.com.  She stays on top of all of this and other topics concerning our health and that of our children.

I hope you found this post helpful and learned something you didn’t know before. 

Now, I have a question for you:  Do you know of any support groups for women addicted to the use of Ziploc bags? That’s one plastic habit I just can’t seem to break.  

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