So here’s my in-case-you-missed it for the week. On Sunday, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote what I thought was an extremely compelling Op-ed about bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic estrogen that goes into countless products. The chemical’s been connected to everything from cancer, heart disease, and obesity to some pretty weird mood and hormone disorders. Over 92 percent of Americans, Kristof reported, have BPA in their urine. His driving point: For its December issue, Consumer Reports tested brand-name canned foods for BPA–and found relatively high levels in almost all of them. While the industry itself seemed relatively unconcerned, Kristof pointed to the fact that over 200 studies linking even low doses of BPA to adverse health effects, especially when the exposure occurs early in life.
The good news is that BPA may be on its way out: A year ago, Canada became the first country to officially conclude that BPA was harmful to consumers; its government has also banned the substance from being used in hard, clear plastic baby bottles (new moms, take note). And just this August Massachusetts issued a public health advisory against the chemical for pregnant women and young children. Currently, a number of BPA-eliminating bills are pending in congress. If my google searches are any indication, it looks like the issue is taking on some robust momentum.
Considering I’ve probably already been exposed to more than my share of BPA, I’m electing to keep my cool. The plan is to stay informed (Naoimi Starkman over at Civil Eats is a great reporter to follow on this issue)–and to make a few easy changes per these articles. Specifically, it looks like I’ll be: 1) Cutting back on canned foods. 2) Microwaving in glass dishes versus plastic ones. 3) Carrying my water in metal bottles versus plastic (The tranquil parent has a nice round up of BPA-free water containers).
That’s my starting point anyway. I’ll be monitoring this issue–and will absolutely post an update down the line. Goes without saying that I’d love to hear others’ thoughts and take on the issue. In this case, I’m feeling very much like knowledge is power.
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Camille
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Keeping your cool is important – when this news came out about three years ago when my twins were two , they had been drinking from bpa laced bottled for a long time. Bottles I microwaved to sterilize!! Since I could not go backwards, I tried not to freak out and I replaced all the bottles with bpa free bottles and rarely microwave plastic any more.