Is Your Baby's Bottle Safe?
It's a haunting image.
A beautiful infant gazes up at her mother with unblinking eyes, blissfully sucking on a bottle, absorbing both life-sustaining nutrition and her mother's love. Then, as in a bad horror movie, this idyllic scene takes a nasty turn and the bottle is unexpectedly shown to be evil, with poison seeping into the trusting baby's mouth.
By now you have read about the controversy about bisphenol-A (BPA), which is used to make plastic durable and shiny. BPA has been shown to be in the bodies of 90% of Americans and there is little doubt how it got there: trace amounts leach out of the polycarbonate plastic and into our milk and canned foods. But is BPA harmful?
I've done my due diligence in researching this important question and can confidently report to you: the definitive returns are not yet in and it's just not clear and no one really knows.
On one side, in 2007 the FDA wrote it has "confidence that no safety concern exists for BPA in regulated food contact materials. Furthermore, the FDA has determined that the use of polycarbonate-based baby bottles and BPA-based epoxy coated cans used to hold infant formula is safe."
Others beg to differ, albeit with weak evidence and mostly on theoretical grounds. While everyone agrees that BPA has negative effects on laboratory animals, what isn't known is whether humans - especially very young humans - might be more (or less) susceptible to those effects. For that reason, the National Toxicology Program (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) recently disagreed with the FDA: "The possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed."
And so - as often is the case - we are left to decide what to do with incomplete and conflicting evidence. Perhaps the small amounts of these compounds in our bodies will turn out to be harmless. Or perhaps not. Or perhaps we are focusing on the wrong chemicals, and it's really some new, as yet unrecognized, environmental exposure that will prove to be the real bad guy.
Now that I've made you both paranoid and confused (my specialty), where do we go from here? The easy answer, of course, is to say: if the risks are unknown, why not just eliminate them altogether and protect our kids from even the remote possibility of harm?
I have to admit, I often subscribe to this view. But I also worry that hysteria about something that may prove to be non-toxic could lead to problems of its own (the all important "Law of Unintended Consequences"). Like what? Perhaps a spate of glass bottle injuries. Or the introduction of a new kind of super-duper material for baby bottles that, in 20 years, will be shown to be bad news.
Still, on this one it seems prudent to play it safe. After all, aside from the cost, what is the downside of going green? So here's my advice:
Will this extra caution prove to be helpful?. Really, I have no idea. But, at this stage of the game, it seems a reasonable bet to make.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: bisphenol A, BPA, polycarbonate, plastic bottles, baby bottles
A beautiful infant gazes up at her mother with unblinking eyes, blissfully sucking on a bottle, absorbing both life-sustaining nutrition and her mother's love. Then, as in a bad horror movie, this idyllic scene takes a nasty turn and the bottle is unexpectedly shown to be evil, with poison seeping into the trusting baby's mouth.
By now you have read about the controversy about bisphenol-A (BPA), which is used to make plastic durable and shiny. BPA has been shown to be in the bodies of 90% of Americans and there is little doubt how it got there: trace amounts leach out of the polycarbonate plastic and into our milk and canned foods. But is BPA harmful?
**********
I've done my due diligence in researching this important question and can confidently report to you: the definitive returns are not yet in and it's just not clear and no one really knows.
On one side, in 2007 the FDA wrote it has "confidence that no safety concern exists for BPA in regulated food contact materials. Furthermore, the FDA has determined that the use of polycarbonate-based baby bottles and BPA-based epoxy coated cans used to hold infant formula is safe."
Others beg to differ, albeit with weak evidence and mostly on theoretical grounds. While everyone agrees that BPA has negative effects on laboratory animals, what isn't known is whether humans - especially very young humans - might be more (or less) susceptible to those effects. For that reason, the National Toxicology Program (part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) recently disagreed with the FDA: "The possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed."
And so - as often is the case - we are left to decide what to do with incomplete and conflicting evidence. Perhaps the small amounts of these compounds in our bodies will turn out to be harmless. Or perhaps not. Or perhaps we are focusing on the wrong chemicals, and it's really some new, as yet unrecognized, environmental exposure that will prove to be the real bad guy.
**********
Now that I've made you both paranoid and confused (my specialty), where do we go from here? The easy answer, of course, is to say: if the risks are unknown, why not just eliminate them altogether and protect our kids from even the remote possibility of harm?
I have to admit, I often subscribe to this view. But I also worry that hysteria about something that may prove to be non-toxic could lead to problems of its own (the all important "Law of Unintended Consequences"). Like what? Perhaps a spate of glass bottle injuries. Or the introduction of a new kind of super-duper material for baby bottles that, in 20 years, will be shown to be bad news.
Still, on this one it seems prudent to play it safe. After all, aside from the cost, what is the downside of going green? So here's my advice:
- Avoid polycarbonate bottles containing PBA and phthalates by using glass bottles.
- When picking bottle liners or plastic containers, use polypropylene/polyethylene (#5 plastic which is opaque), not hard, shiny or tinted (#7) polycarbonate plastic.
- Look for "PBA-free" and "Phthalate-free" on cans and bottles. You'll be seeing this more now that consumers are demanding it.
- Avoid plastic/vinyl teethers for your infant to chew on.
- Avoid heating foods in plastic containers (which may increase the leaching of the PBA). Instead, use glass or ceramic containers.
- Wash all plastic containers with a sponge, by hand, with a mild dishwashing soap (not in the dishwasher and not with an abrasive sponge which scratches the plastic off).
- Learn how to read the "ingredients" of plastics. No-nos include abbreviations such DBP and DEP (phthalates sometimes found in shampoos and baby powders!), DEHP, DMP. DEHP. Look for #5 (polyethylene) and avoid #7 (polycarbonate) when you can
- Avoid using any plastic bottles with cracks or cloudiness.
- Choose foods packaged in cardboard "brick" cartons. When you can, eat fresh, locally-grown foods in season and save the canned foods for convenience or emergencies
- Can your own fruits and vegetables in safe glass jars.
Will this extra caution prove to be helpful?. Really, I have no idea. But, at this stage of the game, it seems a reasonable bet to make.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: bisphenol A, BPA, polycarbonate, plastic bottles, baby bottles
14 Comments:
I don't disagree with being cautious, but when will the list of potential dangers ever end? I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the possible safety issues.
I think you are contributing to the culture of fear. Kids are healthier than ever, yet parents believe that there are more health risks and that disaster is just around the corner. Lighten up!
Thanks, Dr. P, for your clear-headed advice on this. I don't think you're unnecessarily scaring us at all. Like reading the ingredients of my kids' foods, now I'll also read the ingredients of their containers.
Ughh. I just looked at the plastic baby food jars. They have the dreaded #7 on them. Should I throw them out??
Better safe than sorry. Right? To say that kids are healthier now is not necessarily so. What about autism being at an all-time high? Cancer? There are more kids with cancer than there ever used to be.
I would rather KNOW I'm using a safe product (glass) than one that is being questioned (like plastic).
If only there existed a safe, non-petroleum based container that could be used to conveniently feed our infants...
AFAIK, there aren't phthalates or BPA leeching from the mother's breast. So here's another reason why it's wise to nurse your child.
Children are not healthier than ever. The rapidly rising rate of autism is dreadful as is the obesity problem.
And Nonplus, your sarcasism is noted. What if you can't nurse? There are people out there that can't nurse do to medication or medical reasons.
Hmmm! Another scare that needs more research to validate. Of course if you are like everyone else you will not be using BPA plastic baby bottles anymore. I guess we should throw away all cans foods also. BPA plastic lines the inside of the cans as well. Oh, I almost forgot all you joggers out there should trash your plastic water bottles as well.
I am so sick of the BPA scare. All the research and evidence is conflicting and if the big name stores are going to remove the baby bottles that contain BPA why are they not removing the containers of food (that adults consume) from the shelves as well, and hey on top of that, what about removing all the plastic storage containers that we use to heat our own left overs in. Give me a break and lighten up. I will not stop using plastic bottles for my baby just because 2 panels of experts cannot decide if it is safe to do so.
That is your right to not change your childs bottles because 2 panels of experts disagree on whether they are safe or not, but when something happens and the doctors can't explain why they are having seizures all day long - you may wonder - was it the bottle that I used to feed them! Was it the organic food that I feed them that was in the #7 plastic Gerber container?
I was wondering to the last comment, Do you know that BPA causes seizures? Or was that just an example? My son has been having seizures with out any known cause, he has been through many many tests and we can not pin point a cause to his problem. I am actually on here tonight researching about BPA to see if once in the blood stream that seizures could occur. Please let me know if that was just an example or if you have read information reguarding BPA causing seizures.
Okay. This is getting ridiculous. All of these poor, malinformed parents are gonna all freak out and buy glass baby bottles now. Wish I had bought stock in that company before this "news" came out. Almost everything you ingest has some sort of extra chemical in it, whether it be pesticides, metal canning, blah, blah, list goes on. What if your child is hospitalized and they have to use an IV with a plastic tube? I can think of about a hundred more examples of things humans and newborn humans come into contact with every single darned day. Are we prepared to live in bubbles from now on? As long as the bubble isn't made of plastic, eh?
Did you know that even spending the money on a "BPA-Free" or "Phthalate-Free" plastic baby bottle does not make it safe?
As a scientist, I have been studying this issue for the last 7 years and here are the facts:
1. There are over 100 chemicals in plastics that exhibit Estrogenic Activity or EA for Short
2. EA is what causes adverse health effects in infants, children and the fetus.
3. BPA and Phthalates exhibit EA.
4. BPA and Phthalates are just two chemicals out of the hundred that exhibit EA.
5. A BPA-Free or phthalate-free plastic bottle does not mean that it is free of estrogenic activity and sometimes these bottles have more total EA than the original bottle.
Consumers need to know that the science is quickly catching up as we have found a way to manufacture almost all plastic products on the market today without Estrogenic Activity. Go to www.plastipure.com or go to www.saferplastics.com
We don't need to switch to glass - we have an alternative. EA-Free Plastics.
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