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Plastic Dangers
Health | February 16, 2019
There’s always something new for us to learn, and because I’m always trying to improve my health and fitness, I’ll often come across information that I’ve never heard before. Recently, I’ve started to learn about the risks of using plastics, whether it be for storing food or cooking. If you’re a die-hard Tupperware fan, you may want to consider switching to an alternative source after the end of this post.
Xenoestrogens
Using plastic for storage or cooking releases several compounds onto your food, which then, of course, make their way to your body. One of these compounds includes Xenoestrogens, chemicals that mimic the hormone estrogen in our body. In doing so, they disrupt our body’s delicate hormone balance- hence the reason they are known as endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors like Xenoestrogens cause imbalances because they can either block or bind to hormone-related receptors within the body, and increase the total amount of estrogen within the body. And since Xenoestrogens cannot be broken down, they wind up getting stored in fat cells. The build-up and presence of Xenoestrogens heighten the risk of several conditions, including breast cancer, prostate, and testicular cancer, obesity, infertility, endometriosis, miscarriage, diabetes, and early-onset puberty in children.
And one of the top sources of these chemicals comes from plastic.
[1] [2] [3] [4]
Obesogens
Another type of endocrine disruptor is obesogens. And no, that name isn’t pulled from my imagination. Obesogens function as an endocrine disruptor due to their ability to interfere with hormone balance. They’ve also been shown to increase waist circumference and even obesity. In spite of obesogens’ effects on our waistlines, they’ve also been shown to lead to a variety of disorders, from insulin resistance to birth defects.
The different types of obesogens include BPA (Bisphenol-A), Phthalates, and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), all of which can be found in plastics, microwavable popcorn, canned goods, and non-stick cookware.
[5] [6] [7]
Gut Inflammation
Both the xenoestrogens and obesogens from plastics can impact in our gut health, and not in the best of ways. They act as environmental toxins, with animal studies demonstrating their ability to reduce beneficial bacteria in the gut. [8] Usually, our bacteria are more than up for the task, since one of their many functions is to metabolize a variety of substances (which don’t always have to be the nutrients or fiber from food!), including environmental toxins. [9]
But with our bacteria, the dose makes the poison. If we bombard them with toxins, they’ll start to become overwhelmed. The toxins from plastics may start to build up and create inflammation in the gut. This same inflammation also damages the gut in its protective lining. Once the lining becomes compromised, we run the risk of developing intestinal permeability or leaky gut. This is when the gut lining has opened up and both bacteria and toxins start to “leak” through it and enter the bloodstream, where they trigger our immune system and promote even more inflammation. When left untreated, leaky gut can create the perfect storm for developing a whole host of problems, from autoimmune disease to hormonal imbalances. Our digestion already takes a hit, with food allergies growing by the day and our bowels becoming irregular. And a great deal of this can be prevented if we stop overexposing ourselves to plastics. [10] [11]
Take Action
Plastics are almost unavoidable. At some point, you’re going to come into contact with them. As long as we do our best to eliminate them in our lives (and not go crazy in the process), that’s all that matters. Remember what I said before: it’s the overexposure to plastics that can create problems. Here are some ways you can reduce your exposure today, and invest in your health for the long-term:
• Make the Switch: You can replace everything from containers to straws with alternative sources such as glass, bamboo, or wood. If you cannot avoid the Tupperware, at least heat up the leftovers in a non-plastic bowl or plate.
• Bring-Your-Own-Water (BYOW): Instead of paying for a (plastic) bottle of water, why not bring your own instead? There are many thermoses to buy these days, and non-plastic ones at that. You’ll also be saving money in the long term.
• Use a REAL Bag: Use a shopping bag from home, or opt for a paper bag when grocery shopping.
• Be a Skeptic: A lot of brands like to boast that they contain a BPA-free product, disregarding the fact that their replacements- like BPS- are equally as toxic. When in doubt, stick to real foods when possible to avoid any guessing games. [12]
• Ditch the Non-Stick: While you may think you’re saving extra time with non-stick, you’re actually going to have to spend even more trying to restore your health once things take a turn for the worst. Make the switch to things like cast iron and ceramic. There are many eco-friendly products to choose from that work with most budgets, so look around online for some good deals!
Sources:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/xenoestrogen
[2] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b560/524fc1ea9f3d4cd6e5ee62b193ad1177e77c.pdf
[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305642328_Increased_risk_of_endometriosis_by_long_term_exposure_to_xenoestrogens_A_case_control_study_in_Iranian_women
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/xenoestrogens
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1469337/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28426647
[7] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/5-chemicals-that-are-making-you-fat
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27301250
[9] http://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780190490911.001.0001/med-9780190490911-chapter-6
[10] https://drruscio.com/leaky-gut/
[11] https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/leaky-gut-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you-2017092212451
[12] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028214023516
Private Member |
hailey, id
not to mention all the waste it causes…
I do a lot of recycling, but I still wonder how I can improve in my plastic-free choices.
thank you for all the suggestions and research, Z
I’d love to hear a story about your own waste-recycling process
Private Member |
brno, czech republic
If you are interested, I definitely recommend blogs “Trash is for Tossers” and “Going Zero Waste”. They have so many great tips how to avoid plastics! 🙂 Sometimes you may be even surprised what you can get without any plastic.
Private Member |
hailey, id
thanks so much for that Paja (pretty name!) I’ll look, for sure.
I just got these etee wraps and love them! if anyone gets them, be sure to get at least 3x the number you’d think you’d use!
Private Member |
new bedford, ma
I’ve been recently making the switch to glass too, great info/post!
Private Member |
st. peter, minnesota, usa
I also want to get better at avoiding plastics. My biggest area where I cannot think of an alternative is with my dogs. I raw feed them and what I have been doing is measuring out their meals and keeping them in plastic baggies (I prep a week at a time & they eat two meals per day, so that’s a lot of zip lock bags).
Private Member |
you can look for silicone bags on amazon, they work for both keeping things fresh in the fridge and for freezer. and you can wash them and just reuse them 🙂
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
Oh wow!! What a great idea!! As a bonus, that would actually save money in the long run, being reusable! We use a lot of zip lock bags, too — I’m going to have to look at grabbing some of those!
Private Member |
Yup, i received a few as a gift and they are really cool. Just be careful to read the reviews and pick the ones that don’t have problems.
Private Member |
We’ve been using our glass containers for our raw dog food, and it’s been taking up *a lot* of space. This is a great idea – thanks!
Private Member |
st. peter, minnesota, usa
Thank you! I bought some and have been using them for a while now. They are great! They don’t leak (the plastic ziplock bags often leaked), and they are dishwasher safe. I do have to hang them to dry afterwards because my dishwasher dry cycle only works for ceramic and metal stuff. They have little loops that happen to fit over my cabinet knobs, so it is easy for me to do.
Private Member |
I’ve been following the story about plastic in fish for the past decade. The more plastic we use, the more makes it’s way to our oceans, without much success to clean it up :https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/16/fish-confusing-plastic-debris-in-ocean-for-food-study-finds
I switched to glass containers (foil cover), have metal reusable water bottles, and never warm anything up in the microwave in plastic (which is easy when you don’t own a microwave – haha). I have the reusable shopping bags from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Costco (insulated) and Ikea. Some places even charge you if you do not bring your own bag, which is a good motivator to just buy one for ~$1 and keep it in the car.
The cheap, IKEA bag is huge, strong, and lasts forever. It has been used for toting everything from boxes to/from the post office, to groceries, to camping gear, to home improvement equipment. I’ve had that thing for *years*!
Private Member |
brno, czech republic
That is so great that you talk about the issue of plastics! I personally try to avoid plastics as much as I can. Not only for the health reasons but because I think it is quite a huge issue mainly for the environment. I do my grocery shopping in package free shops (where I bring my own containers), I try to avoid packed food (because most of that is unhealthy anyway) and I even shop vegetables and fruits in my own cotton bags.
It is so good that you also focus on the health issues of plastics. 🙂 I wish more people cared about this.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
I am surprised you didn’t know/heard about it, it’s been around for decades…maybe not with precise words (like BPA, and xenoestrogens) and prooves (people always seem to need a clinical trial or evidence something is not good). I feel I am feeding my trash as well, and going green is dang hard, especially if I am the only one to paddle.