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Health

What is BPA (Bisphenol A)?

BPA is widely used to make polycarbonate plastics such as those in baby bottles, water bottles and compact disc cases and is an ingredient in the resins used to line food cans. The chemical has been shown to leach into food or water.

The following is a direct quote from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). As you will see they acknowledge that BPA and other chemicals do leach into food and liquid. However, they also say that it’s not proven to be harmful and doesn’t cause cancer.

In some circumstances, chemicals in food packaging can migrate into the food product and vice versa, depending on the nature of the packaging and the food contained within.
Food Standards Australia / New Zealand

Here are some quotes about the adverse effects of plastic…

Taylor suggests that when pregnant women are exposed to the oestrogen mimicking properties found in BPA, it can impact the reproductive tract development and the future fertility of female foetuses. In essence this research shows that BPA may prevent the embryo from attaching to the uterus for further development.
In men the oestrogen mimicking effects of BPA have been known to block some of the more important effects that testosterone has on sexual functioning. Those who were exposed to BPA were four times more likely than those who were not exposed to report some sort of sexual dysfunction.
Associate Professor of Department of Reproductive Sciences – Yale

But even though PETE (used in many plastic bottles) doesn’t contain BPA (as seen on 60 Minutes 9/6/2010), it does contain other chemicals called phthalates – which are also believed to be endocrine disruptors.
Mindfood.com

Like BPA, these chemicals leach into the water more quickly when the plastic is heated, so don’t leave these water bottles in a hot car or out in the sun. A potentially deadly toxin is being absorbed into bottled mineral water from their plastic containers. And the longer the water is stored, the levels of poison increase, research reveals.
Jo Knowsley

Our findings suggest that exposure to low-dose BPA may have widespread effects on brain structure and function.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to
classify BPA as safe, basing its ruling only on the findings of two industry-funded studies.
There are over 200 independent scientists, not in conflict financially with this chemical (BPA), saying we find it relating to obesity, prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, brain disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, liver disease, ovarian disease, disease of the uterus, low sperm count for men and the list goes on.
David Gutierrez Natural News

After years of insisting Bisphenol-A (BPA) posed no threat to the health of babies, six larger manufacturers of baby bottles have announced they will stop shipping new baby bottles made with the chemical.
Mike Adams, Natural News

BPA is commonplace – found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda and other frequently eaten canned goods. It migrates from the can or plastic into the contents, which are then ingested.
Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith

BPA is at unsafe levels in one of every ten servings of canned foods (11 percent) and one of every three cans of infant formula (33 percent).
Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith

There are enough warning signs to show the need to act sooner rather than later. There are growing concerns about bottled water in particular in plastic bottles.
The safest option is stainless steel.
Breastchek.co.nz

New polycarbonate bottles leach small amounts of BPA, which in animal tests has been shown to cause abnormalities in the mammary and prostate glands and the female eggs of laboratory animals as well as accelerating puberty and adding to weight gain.
Deirdre Imus

Canada became the first country to ban a widely found chemical from use in baby bottles, spurring a leading Democrat in the U.S. Senate to call for legislation that would prohibit use of Bisphenol A, or BPA, in a number of everyday consumer products.
Lindsay Layton & Chris Lee

It’s pretty clear that the highest risk is for newborns and young infants. Wal-Mart Canada began pulling all baby products containing BPA from its shelves this week and the chain said it plans to stop selling products containing BPA in U.S. stores.
Lindsay Layton & Chris Lee

The National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health concluded that there is “some concern” that BPA may cause problems in foetuses, babies and children, including breast or prostate cancer early onset of female puberty, attention deficit disorder and other problems of the reproductive and neurological systems.
David Gutierrez

In spite of the report’s cautious wording, BPA expert Frederick vom Saal said that it is “very, very much in line” with a statement signed by 38 scientists in 2007, warning that BPA could be harming infant development. “This is going to ripple around the world” vom Saal said “Women showed higher body burdens than men”.
Frederick vom Saal

The following are countries which have taken action against BPA – Canada, Denmark, Belgium and France – so far.

Bisphenol A is such a dangerous chemical that I have no doubt it will one day be banned from all food and beverage products.
Frederick vom Saal

BPA shows up in the bloodstream of 95 percent of Americans. BPA is a common compound found in plastic. There may be some in your water bottle or jug. It is also in the plastic lining of cans of soft drinks and beer.
Mike Adams, Natural News

A 2007 review of 700 studies involving BPA, published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, found that infants and foetuses were the most vulnerable to adverse effects from this toxic substance.
C W Randolph, MD

This finding may also implicate BPA as a cause of endometriosis and other reproductive tract disorders that occur in women later in life, decades after being exposed as foetuses and/or infants.
C W Randolph, MD

Consensus statement by several dozen scientists warned that BPA, even at very low exposure levels, is probably responsible for many human reproductive disorders.
D.Lindsey Berkson

The researchers indicated that such damage is a possible
predictor of reproductive diseases in women, including
fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers. Earlier
studies linked low dose BPA to female reproductive-tract
disorders, as well as early-stage prostate and breast cancer
and decreased sperm counts in animals.
Andreas Moritz

Environmental Health Perspectives found that detectable levels of BPA leached into liquids at room temperature. This means just having your plastic water bottle sitting on your desk can be potentially harmful. The best thing to do is to avoid plastic altogether.
C W Randolph, MD

In 2004, one researcher counted up all of the studies done to date on just BPA. Of 104 studies done by independent researchers, 94 found adverse effects.
Donna Jackson Nakazawa

The latest study showed that women with a history of miscarriages were found to have higher levels of BPA in their bodies. The women who had miscarriages were found to have BPA levels on average about three times higher than women who had successfully given birth.
David Steinman

Those with the most BPA in their urine had nearly three times the risk of heart disease more than twice the risk of diabetes, as well as signs of liver damage. Unfortunately, the levels of BPA that were associated with disease are within the EPA’s industry-friendly levels of safety.
Byron Richards

The polyethylene terephthalate ethylene (PETE) in these bottles doesn’t contain BPA, but when scratched or heated, other chemicals could be released into your water.
Christie Aschwande

The following research is by world expert Dr William Shotyk – who has vowed never to drink bottled water again – “I don’t want to shock people but here’s what I know: Antimony is being continuously released into bottled drinking water. The water in PET bottles is contaminated”.
Antimony finds its way into water by ‘leaching’ from the plastic in the same way that water absorbs flavour from a tea bag.
Jo Knowsley

Leaving bottled water out in the car changes the chemical
equilibrium so that the materials from the plastic go into the water faster, says Smith.
Janet Majeski Jemmott

High concentrations of antimony can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Evidenced by the recent study which was also highlighted here at Natural News where 90% of cord blood from babies was found to contain BPA.2.
If you have a baby that you are formula feeding, you are likely to be exposing your child to BPA through the formula itself, which is almost assuredly packaged in a BPA-lined can.
Aaron Turpen

In most countries, BPA is legal in food storage – including baby bottles, containers and so forth. Very few companies are using BPA-free containers for anything.
Aaron Turpen

Children in particular have trouble filtering the toxin out of their bodies. High levels of BPA in the body have been shown to interfere with the effectiveness of medical procedures such as chemotherapy and liver tests.
David Gutierrez