BPHeyyyy

Since this blog is primarily dedicated to health and, ergo, focuses on water as an important substance of intake, I wanted to feature an article published by the Washington Post on a BPA alternative. This alternative, often found in water bottles, has been shown to have ill effects on the body, no pun intended. BPA's replacement chemical is known as bisphenol-S and is often used in baby-bottles and plastic cups. A few months ago, when discussing the importance of water and featuring different bottles which one could carry for water-round-the-clock, I spoke highly of the Tervis mug for its large size and ability to carry both hot and cool liquids. I researched the matter and found that Tervis mugs contain Eastman Tritan, a substance which claims to be BPA free. While BPA chemicals have been associated with such maladies as cancers and heart-disease, researchers found BPA's alternative, bisphenol-S, can affect neural development, specifically when tested on zebra fish embryos. From this change in neural development due to bisphenol-S exposure, scientists have suggested linkages to Autism and hyperactivity. (WaPo article can be accessed here).

In general, I now use a glass water bottle made by the company bkr, not so much because of scares with industrial plastics but because I noticed my tea mug from Teavana seemed to rust. At that point, I took no chances. The bkr mug is expensive ($30 from Neiman Marcus) but while I'm sure it's not perfect, I feel safer using it (to buy your own bkr mug, click here). Additionally, the mug (or water bottle) I bought gave a percentage of the proceeds to charity. To keep harping on the importance of "natural foods" is of utmost importance in my mind. BPA, the chemical to which the alternative has found to be unsafe, is often used in food cans. To this extent, while canned food is often cheaper, leaning towards fresh foods, even if they are not organic, is a step in the right direction. This year, I have made a real effort to attend my local farmer's market twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This way I have enough veggies throughout the week. I also feel good about supporting local farmers (I'm currently reading The Meat Racket which deals, in part, with the loss of the "family farm"). Eating lose fruits and veggies also gives me solace due to the fact that, when bought at the farmer's market, it carries less of a carbon footprint. Less packaging and less miles transported makes for a happy eater... and less BPA.