Food Packaging and Bisphenol-A
In the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a new study reveals that eliminating canned foods and foods wrapped in plastic from your diet can significantly reduce bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates in your body. BPA and phthalates are two estrogenic chemicals derived from petroleum.
Both chemicals are found in the linings of canned foods and the soft, clear plastics that are ubiquitous in food packaging.
The study was conducted by scientists at the Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute.
According to the article: "Researchers tested the levels of BPA in the urine of five San Francisco Bay area families of four who had a high likelihood of regular exposure to food packaging containing BPA. After their initial examination, the families then ate a low-BPA diet for three days, and were reevaluated. Another sample was taken after the family returned to their normal eating habits. ...The results show a dramatic drops in BPA levels when study participants ate a diet that avoided contact with BPA-containing food packaging, such as canned food and polycarbonate plastic."
Such findings make it clear that buying in bulk using reusable glass or stainless steel containers and asking your fish seller or butcher to wrap the meat in parchment paper might go a long way in reducing any body's exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals.
If you buy bulk and use reusable containers, at the store, weight the container first to find out the tare weight (i.e. weight of the empty container), then let the cashier know how much the reusable container weights so that you pay only for the food item.
Neighborhood co-ops usually have a bulk food section that sells a wide selection of whole grains, dry pasta, dried fruit, fig newtons, energy bars, dried beans and legumes, nuts, flour, sugar, cooking oil, soy sauce, vinegar and much more. Some co-ops even sell in bulk soap, detergent, distilled vinegar for cleaning, and many other household items.
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