Bisphenol A (BPA): Tainting Our Food?

Posted by dxavier on August 14, 2009 · 1 Comment 

bpaby Shereen Jegtvig

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to harden plastic that some experts fear may be hazardous.  You’ll find BPA in some hard plastic baby bottles, water bottles, hard plastic microwavable cookware, plastic storage containers and lining aluminum cans.   In large amounts, BPA is toxic and exposing those plastic items to heat increases the amount of BPA released.  The BPA can be absorbed into  the food and the liquids stored in the containers. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration decided that the amount of BPA that we are normally exposed to every day is not enough to cause any harm.

Some experts have been concerned about the potential danger of this chemical because lab animals exposed to BPA develop health problems.  The evidence supporting the notion that BPA is dangerous is mounting, but not all research in conclusive.  A human study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a correlation between the amount of BPA found in the urine and the likelihood of also having heart disease and diabetes.  The University of Cincinnati published an article entitled BPA May Cause Heart Disease in Women, Research Shows. But I think the title is a bit misleading, since the actual research had nothing to do with human females – the researchers exposed cells extracted from the hearts of female rats directly to BPA. Read more

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