This is an excellent, truthful, summary of  how plastic gets into our bodies. Plus, practical advice that is accurate, easy to follow and will  make a big difference to your families health.

Nutrition Diva : Plastic in Foods :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™.

Why are chemicals, that get into our food and water, allowed:

Veterinary and animal scientists have been warning since the 1980’s that the molecules from plastics were accumulating in animals and causing bone, hormone and health problems. However, neither the FDA nor the EPA  had the power to ban or even warn the public, because the findings were “only in animals”, not people.  Washington law makers have been unwilling to limit any industry because of economic concerns, so there have never been  requirements for safety prior to use or sale of chemicals in the USA.  Any chemical ingredients or products can be used freely in our environment, air, water, food, household goods, until proven harmful to people. Laboratory studies alone that may indicate harm are not sufficient to meet this standard of proven harmful in everyday use. The EPA can only act once sufficient numbers of people are harmed from a chemical that is proven to be the definitive cause of such harm. This is very hard to prove because we live in a chemical filled world, exposed to numerous chemicals every day of our lives.

Remember, we don’t need a government agency to protect us from everything. We can take action based on the large amount of knowledge from  “reliable scientific analysis” . What is clear so far: The harm from chemicals is not from a high dose of a single chemical,   rather the total  sum of many chemicals because they accumulate in our bodies.  The dose of  several chemicals that each interfere with  hormone function is well documented as a cause of many health problems in humans and animals. Beginning in 2008, with Bisphenol-A the EPA &FDA have  started to enforce more restrictions on known chemicals.

The list of problems known so far:

1. Silent inflammation -This occurs without major symptoms but continues deep within  in our bodies and leads to premature aging, obesity, heart disease, auto-immune diseases and cancers. The single most important known cause of  life limiting diseases of modern times.

2. Hormone problems  are rising in numbers like a slow epidemic. These are: low or high thyroid function, abnormal immune function, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, low fertility in men and women, plus cancer of lymph nodes, pancreas, adrenals, brain, breast, ovary, testes and prostate.

4. Children – starting the womb, chemicals are taken up by rapidly growing cells of the fetus. Later chemicals can be  transferred to children in breast milk. Children are regularly getting higher doses than adults. The rising number of children with health problems of the brain, immune system, hormone organs, skin, bone and bone marrow are linked to their higher exposure. One widely used group of  chemicals work by disrupting hormone function in pests or weeds, or are useful in plastics and coatings. One example, Bis-phenol A, has been in the news. Health problems linked to these chemicals in children include: brain tumors, ADHA, autism, childhood cancers, leukemia, allergies and other autoimmune diseases. abnormal bone formation and early onset of puberty and obesity  in girls and boys.

What can we do: 

Anti-oxidants in our diet can help to reduce the harm by counteracting silent inflammation. This alone is not enough, we can  reduce  how much we take  in through minor changes to daily life choices. See link at top of article.

Stay informed and Vote with your wallet. When we consumers buy healthier choices, companies quickly change their products to keep us loyal to their company. This action on our part also produces new products that in the end stimulate new business and the economy. Important skill to practice is reading labels carefully looking for hard to identify words (tip off to a chemical)  Be informed and check into products who use advertizing slang to blur the real ingredients. Large words on the front are meaningless it is the back in the ingredient list that matters and is regulated by truth in labeling laws. Slang to look for Green, Healthy, Low fat, Low carb. or no carb., Naturally made, Naturally   fill in the blank___ .

I provide a link to the FDA website from this blog where you can look up foods or ingredients to see what is real.

I will continue be tuned to this subject and pass along meaningful information so  my readers can actively protect their families, pet and human.  I am extremely interested in this subject because my background as a Veterinarian includes 10 years of teaching & research at 2 Universities specializing in reproduction, hormones and nutrition.