Plastic baby bottles are thought by a lot of moms to be heaven-sent, and have become favorite gifts during baby showers, but in Canada, most are being banned and taken off shelves.
New studies, including those conducted by Health Canada, Canada's health ministry, are showing that a chemical ingredient in polycarbonate infant bottles is toxic. Bisphenol-a, or BPA, found in popular plastic baby bottles, is said to mimic the human hormone estrogen and had caused long-term changes in test animals exposed to it. Children up to the age of 18 months were the most at risk from BPA, according to Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement. The side effects? Behavioral and neural symptoms later in life, including early puberty in girls; reproductive issues; and maybe certain cancers. Adults have less to worry about, as exposure levels need to be extremely high before it proves to be unsafe.
The bad buzz was enough for a senator in the United States to introduce a bill banning the use of BPA-containing plastics in other children's products: toys and food containers, among other things. The ban extends only to polycarbonate plastics so you don't necessarily have to give up using all plastic baby bottles, although experts recommend switching back to good old glass ones. If you must use plastic, look under the bottle and check for the numbers 2 or 5, as these stand for the far less reactive polypropylene and polyethylene. Steer clear of the number 7-this is BPA-laden polycarbonate. And no matter what plastic you use, skip the microwave because high tempeatures break down the container's ingredients, which may leak into your food.
Source: The New York Times and MSN Health
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