Plastic or not what’s the deal anyway? As you all have heard over the last year, plastic bottles are not good because they causeCancer and disrupt hormones. These facts are true based on the particular chemicals that are leached from the bottles We drink our water out of. This has been a very confusing issue and hard to find infoon until I went searching for it. I thought you guys might want the info that I found. I would like to make a note first that I found several articles that say all plastic bottles leachchemicals. The difference and the safety comes with knowing which leach less and which leach more. There is a rating on almost all drinking bottles we drink water or liquids out of. There are number ratings from 1 – 7 and they are usually located on the bottom of the bottle,Here are the ratings in a nut shell:2,4 & 5 Leach less chemicals and are not as harmful to you1,3,6 & 7 Leach more chemicals and there for are harmful to you.Myth: If there is no plastic taste, as in the case of the hard plastic colored water bottles everyone is using these days, then it is safe to use that bottle. This is not true. These bottles also leach chemicalsas well.http://www.ehponline.org/members/2003/5993/5993.html The chemicals leached from the bottles are released in several ways that are out of our control. The chemicalss released from heating the bottle, freezing the bottle and there is an article above that tells of the chemicals in plastic leaching in room temperature. Bisphenol A is the chemical that is leached from our plastic drinking bottles. It is known that this chemicalcauses the following and aids to cause the following:- Permanent changes to genital tract- Increase prostate weight- Decline in testosterone- Breast cells predisposed to cancer- Prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer– Hyperactivity.
http://www.environmentaldefence.ca/toxicnation/action/bisphenolfaq.htm
Plastic is defiantly a big part of our life being in almost everything we use. From wrapping our food in it to medical supplies.
plastic is here to stay. I guess the question is what are we as individuals going to do to combat our use of plastic. I am not
telling you to avoid plastic at all cost because I really don’t think we could literally go without it. BUT there are a lot of things
that we can do to avoid direct contact with plastic and it’s leaching chemicals.
1) If you buy bottled water never reuse the bottle.
2) Using Aluminum bottles, stainless steel bottles or glass are much better alternatives to plastic for drinking fluids in.
3) Try not to microwave your plastic containers.
4) Plastic wrap for your food should not be in direct contact with the food.
5) Storing food in Aluminum foil, ceramic containers or glass are much better than plastic containers
6) Check the recycling number of the product as listed above and stay away from the leaching numbers
7) Processed food containers such as ketchup, salad dressings, and anything purchased for consumption usually have choices
of plastic or glass containers. Use glass when possible.
The key to dealing with this issue is to avoid plastic when possible. You can’t get rid of everything plastic but we can sure control what we use plastic for. Bottom line the less plastic chemicals in your system the better.
