June 3, 2010 THE RADIO SHOW THIS WEEK: Open phones! This is always one of the favorite shows, especially when the expert is Fred Pescatore, MD. Call in your question during the show: 1-800-281-8255.
News and Views
THE NEWS: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an ingredient in polycarbonate plastics used for bottles and the lining in virtually all food and beverage cans. BPA routinely leaches into the food and then into 90% of Americans where it disrupts endocrine systems.1 The endocrine tissues secrete hormones that control most bodily functions like metabolism, mood, energy, brain processes, growth and reproduction. Because children are still under construction, they are the most at risk from BPA.2 You can probably guess that BPA is in many baby bottles, teethers and pacifiers. Of roughly 200 studies, 92% show that BPA is linked to early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, attention deficit, heart disease and liver problems.3,4 Recent reports indicate that those with higher levels of the chemical are at much higher risk of diabetes.5 Naturally, the plastics industry says the harm isn’t proven. But even the Food and Drug Administration is being forced to take notice and has warned that we should protect children from BPA.6
MY 2 CENTS: Because BPA disrupts important internal communications, it seems likely that even more disease links will be found. Surely a bit of the blame for the disease connections is attributable to the types of foods and beverages that are in those cans and plastic bottles—they aren’t fresh foods, but instead soda pop and items like nutrient-depleted soups with lots of additives. The bottle can’t be the only issue—e.g. drinking Coke® from a glass bottle doesn’t make it into a health food. The leaching of BPA worsens if the plastic becomes hot and/or old and if exposed to acidic foods. As examples, soda pop and canned tomatoes are quite acidic. Plastics with the recycle code #7 are the most suspect, but most plastics contain other harmful estrogen-mimics called phthalates. As Dr. Sherry Rogers7 has taught us, sweating in a low temperature far-infrared sauna can help us expel such toxins without putting a burden on our kidneys. (Use this link to get a $500 discount on the kind of sauna I enjoy using). We don’t have control over a lot of pollutants, but we certainly can reduce our intake of BPA—see the tip below.
WHINE OF THE WEEK
Although BPA happens to be in the news at the moment, there are some 80,000 chemicals in commercial products. These chemicals are typically new-to-the-planet and yet shockingly are presumed safe until proven otherwise. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required basic testing on a mere 200 of them and placed restrictions on just five—5! Too often business lobbying allows a substance to stay on the market even after multiple studies show it to be harmful or even a cause of cancer. With the mounting federal deficit, if there is spare money lying around, I say give some to the EPA to do the job it is already charged to do rather than dream up some brand new role for the government. Our legislators need to know how we feel about this kind of lethal nonsense.
MONEY SAVING TIP
One way to cut down on the use of plastic bottles and cans that are also a blight on the environment is to avoid soft drinks altogether. Drink your water out of reusable glass or stainless steel bottles. I fill mine using the water filter found at that same link. Another trick I use is to purchase a glass bottle of unsweetened tea and just keep refilling the bottle. The bottle and the lid can go in the dishwasher.
READER QUESTION
Q: Tammy asked: How wise is it to use boric acid to combat roaches? I’m thinking about moving into an apartment complex that uses the powder form to keep bugs away. They place it around the baseboards once every three months. Will this powder get into my lungs?
A: For answers in such matters I rely on Howard Garrett, The Dirt Doctor. He’s an expert on organic pest control as well as landscaping. Follow this link for info on his radio shows and to read an article about roaches on his website. (The roaches aren’t on his website…oh, you know what I mean!) He seems to approve of Boric Acid and Wikipedia says it is not considered much more toxic than table salt. Although anything can be a problem if you ingest enough of it, that apartment complex sounds more enlightened than most.
Don’t suddenly stop medications. Consult your health practitioner. This newsletter is educational and not a substitute for professional advice. Please stay well and help us spread the word that prevention is the best health care reform. You can help the show, as well as family and friends, by forwarding this email to them and encouraging them to subscribe to Health e-Notes. You might also alert your FaceBook friends.
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New Book: Aloe Vera—Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy
1Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2010 May 25. [Epub ahead of print] Environmental causes of cancer: endocrine disruptors as carcinogens. Soto AM, Sonnenschein C.
2Curr Opin Pediatr. 2010 May 19. [Epub ahead of print] Bisphenol A: invisible pollution. Groff T.
3Endocr Rev. 2009 Feb;30(1):75-95. Epub 2008 Dec 12. Bisphenol-A and the great divide: a review of controversies in the field of endocrine disruption. Vandenberg LN, Maffini MV, Sonnenschein C, Rubin BS, Soto AM.
4PLoS One. 2010 Jan 13;5(1):e8673. Association of urinary bisphenol a concentration with heart disease: evidence from NHANES 2003/06. Melzer D, Rice NE, Lewis C, Henley WE, Galloway TS.
5JAMA. 2008 Sep 17;300(11):1303-10. Association of urinary bisphenol A concentration with medical disorders and laboratory abnormalities in adults. Lang IA, Galloway TS, Scarlett A, Henley WE, Depledge M, Wallace RB, Melzer D. 6www.FDA.gov 7Author of many books, including The Cholesterol Hoax.
6www.FDA.gov
7Author of many books, including The Cholesterol Hoax.
Healthy By Nature Show