mar 25 
Question by Rachel
Send this post to a friendFor the entire first year of my daughter's life I used polycarbonate bottles. For the first 3 months I boiled them every night and scrubbed the insides with a stiff nylon bottle brush. After the first 3 months I continued scrubbing the insides with the brush and put the bottles in the dishwasher every night. I also exclusively used canned ready-to-feed formula. I would boil a pot of water on the stove, take the pot off the stove and then sit the bottle of formula in the pot of very hot water to warm the formula. I did this until the day my daughter turned one. She is now 10 1/2 and I am extremely worried about the damage that may have been done to her breast tissue and reproductive system from this extremely high level of exposure to BPA during the first year of her life. As soon as I learned about BPA, a few months ago, I stopped buying canned foods and got rid of all our plastic. What else do you recommend I do to protect her health? What can I do to help prevent her from getting cancer in spite of the exposures she's had? I've read that the effects of BPA on a newborn are permanent, but is there anything at all I can do to lower her risk of disease in light of her past exposures?
Comments (1) |  |
1. 04/09/2008 05:06:41 PM
You’ve taken some great steps to reduce your daughter’s exposure to BPA by reducing the amount of canned food and soda your family eats and tossing all your polycarbonate plastic containers. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been associated with reproductive abnormalities in tests on animals, there isn’t much data yet on whether BPA could be causing the same problem in humans. You’re right to be concerned, but we simply don’t know enough about BPA’s effects on humans yet to predict whether a certain level of exposure will dramatically increase your daughter’s risk of developing cancer. Much more research must be done on BPA before we'll have good answers to your very valid questions.
We do know that over 90 percent of the general population carries residues of BPA in their bodies. We also know that a number of animal studies have found abnormalities at levels of exposure similar to what people have in their bodies today. Although we can’t say with certainty that BPA is causing the same problems in humans as it does in the laboratory animals, the weight of scientific evidence should prompt us to avoid BPA exposures where possible.
We are only beginning to understand how BPA exposure may affect human health. You can’t request a BPA test from your pediatrician like you can for lead. BPA is rapidly broken down and excreted by the body; it is not stored in fat or bone like some other contaminants. So even if you could get a BPA test, it would only measure the level of exposure from the last couple days.
Many of the risk factors for breast cancer cannot be controlled – like the age of puberty, family history, or race. But other risk factors can be controlled by lifestyle changes. Being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight are both protective against breast cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke also has been identified as a risk factor for breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. Smoking should not be allowed indoors and if there are no rules against public smoking in your city, avoid spending significant amounts of time in smoky environments. Finally, drinking alcohol has been associated with the development of breast cancer. Although your daughter is too young to drink alcoholic beverages, you can model healthy behaviors for her now and be involved in the development of habits that will not only reduce her risk of breast cancer but improve her overall health for the rest of her life.
We do know that over 90 percent of the general population carries residues of BPA in their bodies. We also know that a number of animal studies have found abnormalities at levels of exposure similar to what people have in their bodies today. Although we can’t say with certainty that BPA is causing the same problems in humans as it does in the laboratory animals, the weight of scientific evidence should prompt us to avoid BPA exposures where possible.
We are only beginning to understand how BPA exposure may affect human health. You can’t request a BPA test from your pediatrician like you can for lead. BPA is rapidly broken down and excreted by the body; it is not stored in fat or bone like some other contaminants. So even if you could get a BPA test, it would only measure the level of exposure from the last couple days.
Many of the risk factors for breast cancer cannot be controlled – like the age of puberty, family history, or race. But other risk factors can be controlled by lifestyle changes. Being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight are both protective against breast cancer. Exposure to secondhand smoke also has been identified as a risk factor for breast cancer in pre-menopausal women. Smoking should not be allowed indoors and if there are no rules against public smoking in your city, avoid spending significant amounts of time in smoky environments. Finally, drinking alcohol has been associated with the development of breast cancer. Although your daughter is too young to drink alcoholic beverages, you can model healthy behaviors for her now and be involved in the development of habits that will not only reduce her risk of breast cancer but improve her overall health for the rest of her life.
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