Chemical Used In Food Containers Disrupts Brain Development

[Celebration]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051203123328.htm

A University of Cincinnati (UC) research team, headed by Scott Belcher, PhD, reports in two articles in the December 2005 edition of the journal Endocrinology that BPA shows negative effects in brain tissue "at surprisingly low doses."

............snip

"These new studies are also the first to show that estrogen's rapid signaling mechanisms are active in the developing and maturing brain in regions not thought to be involved with sexual differences or reproductive functions," Dr. Belcher said.

................snip

Long known to act as an artificial estrogen, the primary hormone involved in female sexual development, BPA has already been shown to increase breast cancer cell growth, and in the January 2005 edition of the journal Cancer Research, another UC research team reported that it increased the growth of some prostate cancer cells as well. Warnings about other possible long-term health risks associated with fetal exposures to BPA have also been discussed in recent scientific literature.

"BPA molecules are linked into polymers used to create polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are widely used in many products," said Dr. Belcher, an associate professor in the pharmacology and cell biophysics department at UC College of Medicine. "While plastics are typically thought of as being stable, scientists have known for many years that the chemical linkage between BPA molecules was unstable, and that BPA leaches into food or beverages in contact with the plastics."

[JuniperLea]

1. What about those new plastic cookware items

I'm betting they are 100x worse than merely storing food. I'm betting they literally infuse our food with that crap.

[Fridays Child]

6. I won't microwave food in plastic...

...and, although I haven't seen plastic cookware for conventional ovens, I doubt if I'd use that, either.

But after reading this, I wrote to Horizon Dairy to ask if they use BPA packaging for their milk.

[atommom]

2. The industry and federal regulators are resisting banning these

plastics, even though safer plastics are available. Where have we heard this song-and-dance before?

[Double T]

3. Better get rid of the non-stick cookware, plastic cooking utensils and....

eliminate the purchase of items in plastic containers.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. oh...so that's what's wrong...

better save glass jars for leftovers.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. I got got the Pyrex set of glass containers with lids (7) last week

to avoid the toxic byproduct problem as mentioned in the article.