BPA

My mother bought a plastic Hello Kitty plate the other day for my daughter. (It warped in the dishwasher and will never get to be used, but that's irrelevant to this discussion.) It had a BPA-Free sticker on it, which seems to be popping up on lots of kids products. It makes me wonder if these products are changing the plastic they use to be BPA free, or if they've always been BPA free and are just now proclaiming the safety of their product.

I did a little research (Wikipedia did it for me) on BPA. It's a component of some kids of plastics (The recycling numbers 3 and 7 are likely to contain BPA.) This chemical can leach into the food/beverage that is being contained. BPA, which stands for Bisphenol A, is an endrocine disruptor which means it will affect your hormones---remember how I talked about soy being an estrogen mimic? Same kind of thing. Many countries have banned BPA from use in food-related items, but of course the US isn't one of them. The FDA states, "the evidence [is] that BPA is rapidly absorbed, detoxified, and eliminated from humans – therefore is not a health concern." It sounds to me like it IS toxic, but since it's out of your system fast it doesn't "count". Ummm, ok. Wikipedia also has facts from various studies that found:

• Obesity may be increased as a function of BPA exposure.
• Research found a connection between BPA and interference with brain cell connections vital to memory, learning and mood.
• BPA mimics estrogenic activity, resulting in hyperactivity, attention deficits, and a heightened sensitivity to drugs of abuse.
• BPA has an adverse affect on Thyroid function.
• A 2010 review at Tufts University Medical School concluded that Bisphenol A may increase cancer risk.
• Perinatal exposure to (...) low doses of (..) BPA, alters breast development and increases breast cancer risk.
• A 2007 study using pregnant mice showed that BPA changes the expression of key developmental genes that form the uterus which may impact female reproductive tract development and the future fertility of female fetuses the mother is carrying.

So basically, it's not good. Makes those glass milk jugs look better and better!

There you go, Mom! Your BPA post!