BPA's Real Threat May Be After It Has Metabolized: Chemical Found

[DonRedwood]

BPA's Real Threat May Be After It Has Metabolized: Chemical Found in Many Plastics Linked to Multiple Health Threats

Bisphenol A or BPA is a synthetic chemical widely used in the making of plastic products ranging from bottles and food can linings to toys and water supply lines. When these plastics degrade, BPA is released into the environment and routinely ingested.

New research, however, from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests it is the metabolic changes that take place once BPA is broken down inside the body that pose the greater health threat.
(snip)
Of particular concern is that BPA exposure is correlated with disruption of estrogen signaling. The chemical's molecular structure is similar to that of estradiol, one of the human body's three main estrogens, suggesting that BPA binds to estrogen receptors. The estrogen receptor is designed to grab and hold estradiol and related estrogens. Disparate chemicals, however, can share some structures found in estrogens, enabling them to bind to the estrogen receptor. When that happens, problems can occur.

In binding to the estrogen receptor, BPA can disrupt the body's endocrine or hormone system, with consequences especially worrisome for fetuses, infants and young children. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. Its use is more broadly banned elsewhere in the world.

The article goes on to say 90% of us are already exposed... now, wouldn't that be funny if it wasn't disease or natural disaster that disappeared the human race, but DuPont and the other chemical companies and their witches brew of poisons they sneak into the food chain.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121004200905.htm

[Mnemosyne]

1. K&R for more eyes. nt

[appal_jack]

2. Dangerous chemistry gone awry

Like so many persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons, the body's own metabolism cannot detoxify BPA. The next paragraph from the article begins to explain the consequences:

In new research published in the October 4 online issue of the journal PLOS ONE, two scientists at UC San Diego School of Medicine say three-dimensional modeling suggests a metabolite of BPA -- a molecule produced when BPA is metabolized or broken down by the body -- actually binds to the estrogen receptor much more strongly than BPA itself. The finding could point the way to development of a new class of drugs designed to specifically inhibit excessive estrogen activity linked to disease.

Scary stuff. And we (i.e.- society) line our food containers with this stuff, despite having known the gist of these facts since the mid-1990's at least. While the possibility of a new drug might be promising for those in need of its effects, the widespread and common use of BPA means that the whole planet is presently part of an uncontrolled drug experiment.

k&r,

-app

[tandot]

3. It is almost impossible to avoid

since it is used to line the inside of cans (vegetables, soups, soda cans) and other food and drink packaging. Although it is not used in baby bottles anymore, it is found in the lining of containers holding the powder or liquid infant formula.

[femrap]

5. European countries don't allow BPA....

The can/container must be 'sealed' so the BPA can not release into the soup, etc. Don't you think that would be easier than trying to come up with some sort of other 'chemical' to reduce the effects of BPA/MPA? Unless, one already is suffering from this.

Guess it's just best to drink from glass. I believe Campbell's now uses 'sealed' containers.

I wish I lived in Germany....or at least wish that my family had kept some contact w/ those who stayed there. Food and drink are highly protected there. And they grow a much better wheat that doesn't taste like Wonder Bread. Try an Aldi's pizza that is made in Germany and you will note the great taste of the crust.

The 99%/47% are hated here....we are treated as useless eaters....so Big Food feeds us poisons and Big Pharma and Big Health are very happy that it does.

I guess I'll start carrying around a baby bottle and/or sippy cup to drink from! Maybe they'll soon make Adult sippy cups.

[tandot]

14. I guess that is what they call "freedom"

the freedom to let big corporations poison them and they don't mind.

[femrap]

15. 'They'....

what 'they?' It's not like the MSM has put this on the frigging front page or on the evening news.

You sound like 'they' is the 99/47%. Is that what you mean?

[tandot]

16. with "they" I mean the people who want to get rid of the EPA, FDA, and

other government agencies who are here to protect us. I meant those teabaggers who scream about "small Government" without considering that without Government, we'd be at the mercy of big corporation and wealthy.

[femrap]

17. OK, I get you...

What has been so sad about the gov't agencies like FDA, EPA, etc. is that when W's 2nd term was coming to an end, all of his appointees 'burrowed' into agency jobs as civil servants with FDA, EPA, etc....and it's so difficult to get rid of civil service employees. So we still have the Corporate Moles in the agencies, but w/ a 2nd Obama term, maybe we can diminish them in large numbers.

When someone tells me they want 'small government' I tell them to move to Somalia....no gov't there! And btw, don't drive on public highways, use the library, and get off this sidewalk....NOW!

[DonRedwood]

11. yikes nt

[magical thyme]

4. yeah, but Guv 38% has assured us it's ok

if wymmin grow little mustaches.

[Yuugal]

6. K&R nt

[flamingdem]

7. Don't use recycled toilet paper or

Water Coolers and Bottles Tableware and Food Storage Containers Medical Devices Consumer Items Sunglasses CDs and DVDs Electronic equipment Automobile parts Sports equipment

Construction Glazing and “Bulletproof Glass” When dealing with breakdown products that can leach out of materials, your best bet is to try to stay clear of items that are worn and old, especially if they have scratches. Also, heating up plastics can increase the likelihood of BPA and other compounds coming out.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/4885#ixzz28dIsQnEa

[FirstLight]

8. I am wondering

how these 'estrogen mimics' affect the males of a population...aren't there studies that amphibians and fish are already showing signs of estrogen OD?

I don't have the gumption to look it up at the moment, but anecdotally i have wondered if the estrogens in our food & water are affecting men, especially in the sexual area....


Edit: A-HA! I found it! http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Widely_Used_Plastics_Chemical_BPA_Linked_to_Rise_in_Hormone_Levels_in_Men_a1455.html

"study of 715 Italian men reported in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives reveals that constant exposure to BPA from plastic water bottles, and plastic soda bottles, as well as the plastics used in microwavable meal containers, furnishings, paint, and automobiles seems to rev up the production of testosterone in a man's body. That would seem to be a good thing, except that BPA also changes the activity of other hormones so that men gain weight.

And when men gain weight, their fat cells convert the masculinizing hormone testosterone into the feminizing hormone estrogen. The result of the added testosterone converted to estrogen, ironically, can be growth of breast tissue, loss of sex drive, erectile dysfunction, memory problems, attention deficit, and even shrinkage of the penis.

The conditions are usually reversible when a man's estrogen levels go down, but...

The conditions are usually reversible when a man's estrogen levels go down. The problem lies in the fact that when men are overweight, estrogen levels can't go down if testosterone levels are going up. The combination of overweight and BPA-induced changes in hormones causes men to lose much of their masculine potency by midlife."

[ecstatic]

9. Maybe that's behind the surge in

autism, fibroids and other reproductive disorders, etc. Wow. I definitely will try to reduce my contact with BPA.

[flamingdem]

10. It's on a lot of receipts apparently

so now I'm leaving them in the bag or saying I don't need them thank you.

It's the kind with a shiney side I think

[DonRedwood]

13. I worry about that too

something is causing it!

[Quantess]

12. Scary.

K & R