| Plastic impacts our health and development
Chemicals from plastic are present in every environment
on earth, including the womb. From the day a baby is born, these chemicals
are present in their blood
Endocrine disrupters
Endocrine disrupters are chemicals which disrupt the natural flow of our
bodies by acting like hormones.
Transgenerational: The difficulty in assessing the risk
of endocrine disrupters is that the influence from these hormone disrupters
is delayed. The impacts can take place years later, or they can be transgenerational,
which means the impacts can be passed down to our children even though
parents do not suffer from disruption.
Known disrupters: BPA
& Phthalates. However, current tests being performed on BPA &
Phthalate free plastics are demonstrating that there are unknown hormone
disrupters still present in these plastics
Chemicals present in plastics have growing
links to some of our biggest health concerns today:
ADHD
Asthma
Autism
Obesity
Diabetes
Thyroid dysfunction
Early onset of puberty
Infertility
Learning disorders
Our ability to form bonds & cultivate love
Heart disease
Breast & prostate cancer
Solutions
We can play it safe and avoid plastic as much as possible on a day to
day basis.
It is important to maintain awareness of the context in
which we consume things. The impacts of our choices reach further than
our immediate sphere. Consideration of the long term impacts on our own
bodies or how they are inherited by our children can be a powerful motivation
to change our approach to plastic consumption.
Alternative Choices |
Food to Avoid |
Fresh Food |
Convenience foods |
Cooking in cast iron or stainless
steel pans |
Cooking in Teflon or aluminum pans |
Ceramic dishes |
Plastic dishes |
Wooden or metal Kitchenware |
Hard plastic stirring spoons, pancake
flippers, blenders, plastic cutting boards, measuring cups, and colanders
Cookware often comes into contact with heat which releases toxins
from plastics |
Metal/wooden utensils |
Plastic utensils |
Tap water |
Bottled water |
Glass or baby bottles & Stainless
steel sippy cups |
Plastic baby bottles & sippy
cups |
Milk & dairy with glass containers
Often you pay a deposit for the substantial containers, then
exchange or return them at the store. |
Milk & dairy in plastic containers |
Eggs in cardboard containers.
|
Eggs packaged in styrofoam |
BPA Free canned foods
Some companies who use BPA free cans:
Eden Foods
Vital Choice
Oregon's Choice
Trident Seafoods |
BPA appears in the plastic lining
of most canned food and aluminum beverage containers |
Glass or stainless steel food
storage containers
For further protection, wash any plastic lids by hand and not
in the dishwasher |
Reusable plastic containers |
Cloth or stainless steel reusable
lunch bags or boxes |
Plastic sandwich bags & reusable
plastic containers |
Bring your own containers to restaurants
for leftovers or takeout |
Plastic & styrofoam containers
for take out |
Use your own stainless steel travel
mug
Make sure that it is not lined in plastic |
Polystyrene"to go" cup |
Learn more about plastic's impact on our health:
Breast
Cancer Fund
Chemical
Body Burden
The Endocrine
Disruption Exchange
Environmental Working Group
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