Since I started the research on plastics with the baby play mats, I decided to go a little further and dive into the topic of BPA. In Korea, I think generally the term 환경호르몬 refers to BPA but technically, it is actually a very general term that can refer to phthalates or any other harmful chemicals as well. BPA stands for Biphenol A and it is usually used for hardening plastics. So those unbreakable, shatterproof extra hard core mountaineering water bottles? Yep, those types of things. But since BPA-free has come into the spotlight in the recent years, there have been alternatives to BPA in hardening plastic. After all, all that negative media coverage on BPA and the inability to slap on a gigantic "BPA-free" image on product packaging will affect the bottom line.
BPA is also found in epoxy resins. Simply put: the plastic lining in canned foods. It can also be in your dental work, thermal paper (like your receipts), some plastic bags, and a host of other things you never knew about. Ahh! I swear, we just all need to go live in a plastic...no, a glass bubble.
So why is BPA bad?
BPA mimics certain hormones in the body, which can be disasterous for those who don't have hormones raging just yet: our babies. The FDA is okay with having a very low level of BPA in products, but still, low levels just isn't acceptable when it comes to our flesh and blood, now is it?
So how do you avoid BPA? You really can't avoid BPA entirely, but you can still try to cut a lot of it out of your lives. The first thing would be plastics. This website, 3 Simple Ways to Tell BPA free, sums it up pretty well. (1) Polycarbonate is not BPA-free (2) How to tell if something is made of polycarbonate (3) Don't count on the plastic classification numbers. Go visit the website.
The second thing would be to avoid buying canned items in order to avoid the plastic lining.
The third would be go with alternatives to plastics. Mayo Clinic
One thing that really ticks me off sometimes is when companies label their products BPA-free when that product would not normally contain BPA anyways but they slap it on their packaging so that it would sell better. It would be like saying a watermelon is BPA-free. Well, duh! Watermelon is not plastic. For example, if you walk into the zipper bag aisle in Korea, one of the Korean brands has "BPA-free" on their box. Which got me thinking, omg, have I been putting all of Luna's foods in BPA laced zipper bags all this time?!? While some plastic bags do contain BPA, Ziploc brand zipper bags do not have BPA and I don't think zipper bags generally use BPA so it's not something to worry too much about. I was really irritated by that stupid Korean company because that little box of bags probably caused another few gray hairs. ugh. unnecessary stress!
Anyways, these are the websites I found pretty helpful in learning about BPA, so check them out:
http://shine.yahoo.com/green/3-simple-ways-to-tell-if-plastic-drinkware-dishes-and-reusable-bottles-are-bpa-free-1561327.html
http://nutrition.about.com/od/ahealthykitchen/tp/bpa-free.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bpa/AN01955
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/221205.php
http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/718/1/
The last website talks about how BPA-free doesn't guarantee plastic safety. I think it is worth reading and getting to know more about the technical/scientific aspect of the health issue.
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