How the benefits of healthy food can be wasted if you are using plastic containers. A must-read if you care about eating healthy.

It started out with Tupperware. That was my foray into plastic food storage. With a grandma who had enough Tupperware for a family of thirty and a mom who sold Tupperware, I grew up with plenty of plastic containers.

We had plastic everywhere.

When my son was born, plastic containers became the go-to for many of our snacks. We spent a lot of time outdoors and I always had plenty of plastic containers packed with healthy snacks.

I learned to look for plastic containers and bottles that were BPA-Free and believed that was all that was needed to ensure the healthy food was safe.

And that’s what I did. For years.

I put a lot of emphasis on healthy eating and snacks as part of a nutritious and healthy lifestyle so I was shocked to learn that the plastic containers I thought were safe, were not so safe after all.

That’s when I started down the rabbit hole of BPA, BPF, BPS and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

So what is BPA?

BPA or bisphenol A is a chemical that is added to many commercial products, including food containers. Most people are exposed to BPA through diet. (1)

How are humans exposed to BPA?

When containers with BPA are made, not all the BPA gets sealed into the container. Some of the BPA can break free and mix with the contents of the container. When we eat this food we also consume BPA. (2)

What happens when humans ingest BPA?

BPA mimics a hormone called estrogen and can influence bodily processes like reproduction, cell repair, energy levels, and thyroid function. Our bodies are extremely sensitive to changes in hormone levels and this is why BPA can negatively affect your health.

What are the potential consequences of imbalanced estrogen levels?

For women:

• Menstruation changes such as becoming less frequent or stopping OR light or heavy bleeding during menstruation
• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Infertility
• Non-cancerous lumps in the breast and uterus
• Sleeping problems
• Weight gain
• Fatigue and low sexual desire
• Mood swings/depressions / anxiety
• Dry skin

For men:

• Infertility
• Prostate cancer
• Development of larger breasts
• Erectile dysfunction. (3)

Since I only had BPA-free plastic containers, all was good… or was it?

I soon learned it was not.

It turns out BPA-free produced has simply been replaced with BPS (bisphenol-S) and BPF (bisphenol-F). However, scientists have discovered that small amounts of BPS and BPF may similar side effects to BPA.

Based on current studies, BPS and BPF are as hormonally active as BPA, and they have endocrine-disrupting effects. (4).

Below is an interesting TEDx talk on chemicals disrupting our bodies by Theo Colborn, the Founder and President of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange.

Here are 5 things you can do to reduce your risk of exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals often found in plastic containers.

1. Replace plastic food containers with glass containers and/or stainless steel containers.
2. Avoid the use of plastic bags (ziploc or otherwise) and plastic wrap. Opt for beeswax wrap or silicone reusable silicone ziploc bags and silicone stretch lids and covers.
3. Don’t store any food in plastic. This means plastic containers, plastic bags or plastic wrap. Mecobags are a great alternative.
4. Don’t put any plastics in the dishwasher or microwave. The high heat can damage them and cause them to leach more BPA, BPS or BPF.
5. Throw away plastic when it looks old or scratched.

This article was cross-posted on Medium here.