it’s in your food too

Every day more and more information comes out about the negative effects of Bisphenol-A. Yet, everyday, the FDA stands behind its decision in having approved it for use.

An article in The Missourian highlights specifics about Bisphenol-A that are very valuable to the American consumer.  It bears repeating that Bisphenol-A is a chemical used in the synthesis of hard plastic products, as well as, the liner of canned goods and soda.

Bisphenol-A, referred to as BPA, is an estrogen like compound.  Due to its chemical nature, it acts like a hormone mimicker, affecting the body in ways such as high level of cancers and sterility.  What was not known, at least to this publication, is its effects in causing obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Frederick vom Saal, from Missouri University, has been studying BPA since 1995 and may be the leading researcher on the topic.  The research indicates that we ingest a lot of BPA due to its leaching from the container.  So, the old adage of “you are what you eat” is obsolete and is replaced with “you are what you eat our of.”

Some facts about the affect of BPA:

 - 93 percent of the people tested for BPA exposure had various levels of the chemical in their urine. Those with the highest levels were children.

 - The National Toxicology Program under the National Institutes of Health also concluded that BPA posed some danger. In its September report, it cited “some concern for effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children at current human exposures to Bisphenol-A.”

surprise inspection: FDA

This publication has been very critical of the FDA in recent months. Under the Bush Administration, the organization has seemed to lean towards corporate well-being instead of patient well-being; allowing drugs, chemicals, and equipment to get approval without sound research. Bisphenol-A seems to be the leading example of such activity.

Well, we seem to not be the only ones. A group of scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team pleading with him to restructure the agency, saying managers have ordered, intimidated and coerced scientists to manipulate data in violation of the law, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Indicating that the organization is “fundamentally broken”, the scientists main concern centered around the review process for medical devices. The critics contend that it has been “corrupted and distorted by current FDA managers, thereby placing the American people at risk.”

The group also says that they have taken their concerns to the head of the FDA, Andrew von Eschenbach, as well as the Commissioner in Charge of Accountability and Integrity, Bill McConagha. The response has been less than positive as either nothing has been done or the problematic managers have been rewarded and promoted.

Much of this will have to be addressed to Tom Daschle, who is Obama’s appointment for the Department of Health and Human Services. It will be his responsibility to investigate the charges and make changes, appropriately.

We have reported in the past about the FDA’s failings with the approval of Bisphenol-A. The chemical was approved after only two multi-phase studies, which would be considered unacceptable, normally. There is even evidence that the chemical manufacturers, such as Dow, was allowed to write the safety and efficacy reports.

Since the approval, repeated studies have shown this to be a much more dangerous chemical than expected. Doing most of its harm because it acts as a hormone mimicker it seen as the cause of cancers, sterility and genital deformities. The chemical is used as a synthesizing agent during the process of plastics and other metals (such as soda cans). And, unfortunately, is found at high levels in products targeted towards children (bottles, toys, and drinks) making exposure to the the toxin abnormally high.

It will be very interesting to see how the Obama Administration follows up with FDA and the changes implemented.

took you long enough

Many WEEKS after its own advisory board accused the FDA of approving Bisphenol-A for use well before adequate testing was done, and without consideration of possible dangers, the agency has finally decided to reconsider the issue.

The FDA approved Bisphenol-A for use based on a TWO multigenerational studies by research groups that had received grant money from the American Plastics Council. Since the green light that BPA was supposedly safe for use in food packaging and water bottles, many independent studies have been issued in which the findings were not so positive.

In September, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that adults with high levels of BPA in their urine were more prone to heart and liver disease and diabetes.

More than 200 animal studies have linked ingesting minute amounts of the substance to a range of reproductive problems, brain damage, immune deficiencies, metabolic abnormalities, and behavioral oddities like hyperactivity, learning deficits and reduced maternal willingness to nurse offspring.

The FDA’s position was that this data lacked specifics as to how the study was overseen, and lacked raw data. However, it was noted by many that the FDA never requested to see extensive versions of the published articles.

Manufacturers of the plastics still contend, despite the data otherwise, that BPA is safe. Rather than pulling the BPA products from shelves, they have created BPA-free products to be marketed side by side. The manufacturers position is that they would like consumers to “make the best decisions for their families.” There is one issue with this: if consumers are unaware or being lied to about safety and efficacy, how can they make the best decisions?

And, so that you are unaware, BPA is not only found in plastic.

More than 2 billion pounds of BPA are produced each year. According to the Can Manufacturers Institute, more than 22 billion cans to be used for food and more than 100 billion cans for beer and soft drinks were produced last year. John Rost, a chemist and chair of the North American Metal Packaging Alliance, says “the vast majority” of them are lined with a resin coating containing BPA.

A study by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has shown that BPA exists in 93% of urine in the sample population tested. Given that statistic, and the potential harm listed above, don’t you think it is time you stop using and buying products with potential BPA exposure?

If you are reading this, you have no excuse for not knowing about the harm done from this material.

The full report came from the NY Times, HERE.

man oh man

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a documentary called The Disappearing Male. Unfortunately, it is still unavailable in the United States. However, more and more data is supporting the same claim.

In new reports released, data is continuing to indicate that “a host of common chemicals is feminising the males of every class of vertebrate animals, including humans. For some time scientists have been concerned about the “gender-bending” effects of some artificial chemicals, especially phthalates, used to soften plastics. The latest research, however, suggests that the scale of the problem is greater than anyone had realised.”

We have worried for many years, now, about the harm to the environment and its effect on our longevity as members of this planet. I don’t think anyone considered that the affect would be on our ability to reproduce or the extinction of one sex over another. That does seem to be the direction we are going.

If you want more information on hormone altering chemicals, you can go to the category of Bisphenol-A (the side bar) and learn more about it. One promising thing is a panel of scientists meeting with President-elect Obama to discuss a ban on these chemicals. We just hope it isn’t too late.

The whole article can be found HERE

an editorial side note to discuss irony: I recently saw a documentary on homosexuality, and specifically the psychology to being homophobic against gay males. It is in large part due to the societal belief that feminine men are something to be feared. What happens when all the men are becoming feminine? Is this an ironic form of self fulfilling prophecy?

latest news on bpa

A coalition of health advocates, looking to seize the momentum of a new administration, will meet with members of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team next week in Washington, D.C., to push for a ban on bisphenol A.

The fact that Obama’s team is willing to meet now – with all the other pressures facing the incoming administration – sends a strong signal that the president-elect is open to making environmental health issues a higher priority than the Bush administration.

BPA has been linked to heart disease and diabetes in humans and has been found to interfere with chemotherapy for breast cancer patients. Animal studies have linked it to prostate and breast cancer, obesity, reproductive failures and behavioral problems, even at extremely low doses.

go HERE for more on this news.

do you smell that?

Let’s just say… you better hope not.

I don’t know about you but the overabundance of fragrance jammed into every item on the market (candles, laundry detergent, dish soap) are annoying, at best. But now, we all have something else to worry about, it seems thatthe odors are produced by a soup of chemicals, and some of these compounds may not be very good for you. Manufacturers of detergents, laundry sheets and air fresheners are not required to list all ingredients on their labels. The laws protecting people from indoor air pollution from consumer products are very limited.

In tests, these chemicals are shown at levels that can inflict damage to our health. One such ingredient that the NRDC found is phthalates. Consider this a cousin to BPA, which I write about all the time.

Exposure to phthalates can affect testosterone levels and lead to reproductive abnormalities, including abnormal genitalia and reduced sperm production. … California notes that five types of phthalates — including one that we found in air freshener products — are ‘known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.’ Young children and pregnant women should be especially careful to avoid contact with these chemicals.”

Because phthalates are hormone disrupters, doctors are most concerned about exposures to pregnant women between their eighth and 15th weeks of pregnancy. It is during that period that a delicate balance of hormones directs the development of sex organs in the fetus.

The sad thing is that manufacturers advertise the use of this products everywhere, including nurseries or other areas that children play and sleep.

The next time you smell your neighbors laundry wafting into your home… I give you permission to make a stink about it!

You can find the whole article HERE.

Bisphenol-A.. it just keeps getting worse

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal sure is becoming the lead periodical for Bispenol-A research, as found in their latest watchdog report: BPA leaches from ‘safe’ products

The newspaper published scientific findings today revealing that “microwave safe” is not that.

many products with toxic levels of Bisphenol-A

Lab tests of 10 items’ containers found that all of the advertised “microwave safe” containers allegedly released toxic doses of the chemical known as BPA, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Saturday.

The newspaper said according to the tests it commissioned, the detected levels of the chemical were allegedly identical to levels previously blamed by scientists for causing neurological and developmental damage in lab animals.

I have written extensively about BPA, which is a chemical commonly found in plastic and canned goods. BPA is a chemical that acts on the endocrine system, which is instrumental in regulating metabolism, growth, development and puberty, tissue function, and also plays a part in determining mood. As a result, it does not act like another toxin might, in that more exposure leads to more harm. Instead, BPA mimics estrogen, which in abundance can cause cancers, birth defects (seen mostly in male genitals), and learning disabilities. Studies have also shown that while BPA can cause cancer, it can also prevent chemotherapy from being efficacious. It is a double edged sword.

The FDA allowed for the approval of this chemical in products, under pressure from the Bush Administration and its love of the chemical corporations; i.e. Dow, DuPont, etc. It has also been revealed that the FDA even allowed for those chemical companies to write the safety and efficacy reports, after extremely limited testing occurred. An independent panel of scientists has concluded that the FDA acted unethically and all approvals should be reversed and BPA taken off the market immediately.

The sad fact of all of this is that the products with the highest level of BPA are the same products targeted to infants and children. We have no idea what kind of impact this is going to have on our youth.

The point to all of this is that you really should move away from plastic, as much as possible. This means water bottles, storage containers, pre-packaged foods, and the like.

Here are some helpful links to updating your kitchen:

My favorite glass containers come from The Container Store
I highly recommend getting either a SIGG bottle or a Klean Kanteen for your water.
I also have been told that Brita is the only filtration system that is specially coated to prevent leaching into the water.

oops, it did it again

I have written a LOT about Bisphenol-A (BPA) and the negative effects it has on our bodies. However, I never saw this coming. I just read something and I am unclear about the ramifications, but at first glance it doesn’t seem good.

Scientists are discovering that BPA has had a negative impact in lab experiements. The BPA is being released in their test tubes and altering biologic reactions, therefore giving bogus data.

But they JUST found this out.

Furthermore, plastic pipette tips – a one-use product that delivers small amounts of liquid for experiments – also leached chemicals that block biological reactions. And chemicals from plastic plates used in protein experiments actually made the MAO-B enzyme more active.

(For those who don’t know, pipette tips can be thought of as your measuring spoons in the kitchen. They are used in almost every application of science because they are the measuring device for small amounts of material… we’re talking microliters.)

These effects could distort experiments enough to make a big difference in research. “I think it’s inevitable that a lot of data that’s in the public domain will be skewed in some way,” Holt says, though he hasn’t yet identified papers with erroneous data or conclusions.

Obviously, right now, we have no idea how far this extends; how much data is inaccurate.

Really…. this is NOT good. From working in a lab, I can tell you that in order to address this issue would require a massive overhaul of the science industry. One that they are not in a position to do, currently.

This is something that will need to be watched for a while to see how deep this goes.

HERE is the article

Happy Halloween

I got a late afternoon treat that put a big smile on my face.

The FDA’s science board, a group of outside experts, voted unanimously to endorse a report that found major flaws in the agency’s decision to declare BPA safe.

The science board agreed with the finding that that the FDA was wrong to base its August decision that BPA is safe only on studies funded by the chemical industry. Excluded studies suggest that BPA, which acts like the hormone estrogen, could pose harm to children at levels at least 10 times lower than what the agency allows.

It is not good when an organization like the FDA lets itself get manipulated into approving a chemical by ignoring that it is harmful and instead focusing on the corporate interest and revenue.

I am so happy that the public outcry created the need for an independent review!

HERE is an article about the decision. Although, I will warn you, it is depressing to see how little the FDA did to ensure our safety. For example:

When measuring the amount of BPA to which babies are exposed from liquid infant formula, for example, the FDA used data from more than a decade ago and sampled only 14 liquid formula cans, all from the Washington, D.C. area. It also based its exposure estimate on the average BPA level. That could allow children fed from cans with above-average BPA levels to receive far more of the chemical.

I am sure you will be hearing more about this as the week goes on.

Good news, bad news

The good news is that an independent panel of 36 scientists released a report today admonishing the FDA for their approval of the use of Bisphenol-A as safe.

The bad news… the damage may have been done.

Bisphenol A, used in baby bottles and other hard plastic, has been detected in the urine of 93% of Americans tested. Hundreds of studies have found it to cause health problems in laboratory animals, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hyperactivity, autism and reproductive failure.

I think that this entire debacle with BPA is a shame and will not be erased from my mind. The FDA is supposed to be in place as a protector of the U.S. citizenry. But, I think it was said best in the article:

“An agency that once epitomized independent, impartial expertise in the service of public health has degenerated to a disgraced stenographer for the chemical and plastics industry,” said Ken Cook, president of the organization.

You may find the entire article HERE.

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