Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Easy way to remove toxic BPA from your family

For over thirty years my family and I have avoided plastic packaging whenever possible because I knew the plastic leached into our foods and I knew that couldn't be good. How did I know it leached? I could smell the plastic. If the plastic molecules could reach my nose, then they were getting into our food. So we stored food in glass and ceramic containers in the fridge.

Now, finally, with attention on the dangers of BPA in so many of the water bottles sold, a new study shows how prevalent the BPA is and also how changing to non-plastic containers can directly and immediately reduce your family's BPA load.

Here is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"Forgoing packaged foods such as canned soups and vegetables could dramatically lower levels of a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to myriad health problems, including birth defects, autism and reproductive issues, according to a study released today.

"In the study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, five Bay Area families were asked to eliminate packaged foods from their diets and store food only in glass or stainless steel containers. After only three days, levels of the chemical bisphenol A in the subjects' urine dropped by more than 60 percent, researchers found.

"Researchers were surprised by the dramatic drop in levels of the chemical after such a short change in diet, even though it was known that bisphenol A, also known as BPA, does not stay in the body for long.

""We're hoping these very remarkable results will help us in our outreach and education to people to show them how easily changes can be made in their personal habits that may diminish significant exposure to BPA," said Janet Gray, an author of the report and science adviser to the Breast Cancer Fund, a San Francisco advocacy group and partner in the study."

Read more at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/30/MNSL1IIVQM.DTL&tsp=1

Tip for the day: Buy glass containers and avoid products that come in cans and plastics. Go to Randy Rolfe's book The Seven Secrets of Successful Parents to learn more about how to take care of the basic needs of your kids and family!