Once again BPA is in the news. Or should I say, in the soup?BPA, or bisphenol A, is an industrial chemical used to make plastics and resins that seems to have been linked to everything from developmental and reproductive effects to obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
And over the last few years, headlines have proclaimed BPA to be found in -and on- everything from plastic water bottles, to canned foods, to receipts and even money!
This latest follows a study published in last week's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a team of researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study of 75 participants that compared people who were given canned vegetable soup for lunch for 5 straight days with people who consumed prepared vegetable soup -made without any canned ingredients- for 5 straight days
And what did they find?
That within a few hours after eating, those participants who had eaten canned soup had levels of BPA in their urine that were approximately 12x greater than the participants who had been eating the prepared vegetable soup! Although it's important to note that even though the study utilized Progresso brand soup, this is an industry-wide practice, so these sorts of results would be expected from other companies with canned soup products.
Scary, right?
Well, maybe not...it's important to keep in mind that these levels were still in what our government considers a safe range. But there is still a lot of public concern about potential public health effects of bisphenol A, but not a lot of solid answers. This is why reports of exposures to potential health hazards should always include at least a reference to information on health effects, or potential health effects. And ideally, the same for a method to reduce exposure!
As this type of report leaves me wondering....we know we're exposed to BPA...but what are the realistic health effects?
Not very clear! But BPA is currently being investigated, by private and public institutions, including the US Food and Drug Administration and the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health, especially as regards possible effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and sexual development in infants and young children. Dr. Burcher, Associate Director of the National Toxicology Program, has explained that BPA is considered to be of some concern because "scientists that have looked at this information recognize that there is something really going on here, but it's not exactly clear". For more information about the NTP conclusions, see the NIEHS page on the topic.
So, while the jury--or in this case, the science---is out, what can/should you do?
Minimize your exposure to BPA by minimizing your exposure to the products we know are likely to be contaminated! That means in addition to ditching the BPA-containing plastic water bottles, you should think about trying to reduce overall consumption of canned goods. At the least, try to minimize consumption of canned food that is acidic, like canned tomatoes, or salty, because BPA is more likely to leach from the epoxy-resin linings of these cans right into these types of food!
Take the opportunity to try out a few recipes yourself....you never know, you might even enjoy cooking!
And on the bright side, we know that this approach can work...last March the journal Environmental Health Perspectives published the results of a small Silent Spring-sponsored study in which twenty participants from five families eliminated canned and packaged foods for only three days, but were able to reduce their levels of BPA exposure by approximately 60%!
Mary M. is doctoral student at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. If you need a little inspiration in the kitchen, she might just have a recipe for you!
