This is a really hot topic right now. There are harmful chemicals in our plastic bottles and containers that leach into our foods and beverages.  It’s not only the food and drink you ingest that you have to be careful about but it’s also the vessels in which they come in too. There are three chemicals to be concerned with: Bisphenol-A, Phthalates and Dioxins.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is found in Plastic water and baby bottles, food and beverage can linings and dental sealants and cosmetics are the most commonly encountered uses of this chemical. BPA has been found to leach from bottles into babies' milk or formula; it migrates from can liners into foods and soda and from epoxy resin-lined vats into wine; and it is found in the mouths of people who've recently had their teeth sealed. Ninety-five percent of Americans were found to have the chemical in their urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). BPA mimics estrogen in the body. It has been associated with changes in breast tissue leading to cancer cells, infertility and low sperm counts in males as well as decreased levels of testosterone, hyperactivity, insulin sensitivity, increased prostate size, permanent change to the genital tract and many more.

Phthalates (pronounce thal-ates) are used in plastics to make them malleable. Phthalates have been shown to damage the liver and the testes. Ouch… testes! Now that’s a low blow! But really this is no laughing matter, phthalates also promote insulin resistance which is the precursor to type II diabetes.

Dioxins is a chemical that leach from plastics with heating. Short-term exposure to dioxins is associated with skin lesions, such as chloracne, patchy darkening of the skin and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer.

The answer then is to drink from glass bottles or a safe non-leaching water bottles like SIGG or Klean Kanteen and store food in glass containers like those made by pyrex. Mums! Don’t microwave stuff for you baby and don’t put their milk, juice or water in plastic containers. My mum used glass, so should you. As for microwaving in general, stay posted I’ll be discussing that very soon.

Cheers to your health and to living to your fullest potential,

- Dr.M