BPA: Watchout, its Everywhere

The other day I posted about endocrine disruptors. Today I would like to introduce you to the most famous of the common endocrine disruptors, BPA.

As you have probably seen, BPA has gotten a lot of bad press recently and it is well deserved. Two years ago, the "BPA scare" came about. After years of research suggesting that this chemical is an estrogen mimic, the first major consumer product was taken off the shelves. Nalgene, under pressure from consumer groups, decided to pull their famous bottles from production (the same bottles that everyone who considered themselves green had). It was now in the public eye that BPA, contained in most plastic products, has effects on many hormone systems.

BPA leeches out of plastics over time and increases rapidly if exposed to heat, direct sunlight, or powerful detergents(soap). It dissolves readily into liquids and foods undetected. Alternatives are viable and economically feasible, but still clear plastic, single use beverage bottles have it, magazines and receipts are covered with it, and cans are lined with it. Even if you try to switch to glass containers, it is in the caps that keep them sealed. Just about everywhere you go, you will run into something that has BPA in or around it.

Studies have shown that the dangers of BPA are widespread. The most dangerous hormone changes were found in fetal development. As of only a few decades ago, the placenta barrier was thought to protect the fetus from most chemicals. But research has found that false. Endocrine disruptors affect hormones that control fetal development and are very sensitive to BPA. In fetal development, even a change of a few parts per TRILLION of a hormone could cause significant developmental changes. Research has shown that even minimal levels of BPA were found to interact with hormone receptors (especially those of estrogen and insulin) and lead to higher rates of adult onset diabetes, aggression, and growth problems in offspring. In addition, BPA alters the DNA composition of offspring and increases asthma rates. Below is an article that helps you see just how little BPA is needed to create problems in cells and organisms.

BPA Levels and Effects

Outside of the womb it is thought that BPA exposure can increase the risk of breast cancer and maybe a factor in the decrease of the average age of puberty among girls. BPA slows the rate that synapses are created in the brain leading to a decrease in brain power. In males, it is thought to lead to fertility problems dealing with sperm development. The effects of BPA go on and on, but often correlate with trends in the general population of the US. Below is another article showing the correlation between increases in disease in lab animals treated with BPA and general trends in the human population.

BPA and the Rise in Animal and Human Disease

BPA is a scary chemical that is unlike many conventional chemicals. It has the ability to create significant changes at very low levels of exposure across the whole body and surrounds our everyday lives making it nearly impossible to completely avoid. The good news is that BPA clears out of your system quickly, within a few hours. The bad new is that in most people, the level remains relatively constant because it is in plastic bottles that store our drinks and the cans that store our food. BPA is a chemical of concern that needs to be regulated and reduced to allow our endocrine systems to regulate themselves naturally.