December 06, 2009

Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer and Asthma?

As mammogram guidelines are debated in the media, I am glad to see someone thinking that perhaps rising breast cancer and asthma rates have to do with environmental pollution, probably endocrine distruptors.

I asked these doctors what they do in their own homes to reduce risks. They said that they avoid microwaving food in plastic or putting plastics in the dishwasher, because heat may cause chemicals to leach out. And the symposium handed out a reminder card listing “safer plastics” as those marked (usually at the bottom of a container) 1, 2, 4 or 5.

The popular Nalgene polycarbonate bottles with a 7 on the bottom are in the "throw out" category, writer Nicholas Kristoff suggests. The company's rather ambiguous position is stated here.

1 comment:

SeEtta Moss said...

There is high quality medical research showing a relationship between BPA (Bisphenol A that is in many hard plastic water bottles and other food containers) and several serious medical disorders as well as stomach fat. Last year the pretigious Am Medical Association published in it's journal a research study on humans (much prior research was on rats which has some issues) found an association between levels of BPA with heart disease, diabetes and liver enzymes in humans: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/300.11.1303v1

I now carefully check the chemical id# that is on the bottom of most plastic food containers and avoid any with #7 (most likely to contain BPA). I stopped buying almost all canned goods as many have a liner inside the can that contains BPA and few companies will identify which cans have this liner (I emailed several companies and they said they would not disclose this)-- http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola