by Teodora Sklayne
Unfortunately, we live in a very toxic world. There are
toxins in our everyday life - in cosmetics, plastic containers and bottles,
cleaning products and detergents, even baby bottles. There are things, however,
that we can do to avoid some of those toxins , by replacing the bad stuff with
good.
Plastic
for example is everywhere. Most plastics nowadays contain Bisphenol-A also
called BPA (unless stated otherwise). There is an abundance of evidence that it
is toxic for humans and animals. BPA is an estrogenic, which basically means
that it mimics estrogen in the body and binds to estrogen hormone receptors.
Unnatural hormone as this cause numerous health problems – brain health,
cardiovascular health, and reproductive health are affected as well as it can
lead to cancer, weight gain and obesity.
BPA can be very difficult to completely avoid, because it is
used in making food containers and beverage bottles and cans, as well as it is
contained in metal tins and receipt paper.
The everyday access to plastic is unavoidable in the present
world; however we can do few things to reduce our exposure to this poison:
Buy glass containers for food instead
of plastic
You can avoid using any plastic containers at home by
replacing them with glass ones. Good brand is Pyrex. They have plenty of
variety of container shapes and sizes. They even have containers with lids that
you can put your lunch in.
Warm food and plastic
NEVER use plastic containers in microwave, or put warm food
in them. All chemicals including BPA are released at high temperature. Warming
up plastic or eating up warm food from plastic container is one guaranteed way
to poison you with BPA over time. Another reason to avoid take-away food, as it
usually comes warm in plastic containers...
Drink from BPA-free water bottles or
ideally glass bottle
You can find many brands that offer BPA-free plastic
bottles. For UK a useful one is Bobble BPA-free plastic bottle, which filters
the water as you drink. It will save you money on buying mineral water all the
time and simultaneously will help you avoid BPA. Another option is buying glass
bottles of water, but that can be inconvenient to carry around.
Avoid tinned food – especially
tomatoes
As mentioned above, food cans contain BPA in their lining.
Acidity in foods like tomatoes causes BPA to leach into your food. Instead you
can use fresh tomatoes or choose tomatoes in glass bottles and jars. In general
try to have as little tinned food as possible, fresh or frozen are much better
options, as the nutrients are much better preserved.
Below is a chart from chemical analyses of 97 canned foods
by Southern Testing and Research Division of Microbac Laboratories, Inc., North
Carolina.
BPA IS AT UNSAFE LEVELS IN ONE OF EVERY 10 SERVINGS OF
CANNED FOODS (11%) AND ONE OF EVERY 3 CANS OF INFANT FORMULA (33%)
These are very simple things that will neither cost too much, nor compromise convenience. Don’t procrastinate, protect yourself and your family and do it today!
