This week Today did a story on the dangers of plastic bottles. A government report soon to be released is raising concerns over Bisphenal A, a common chemical found in plastics. This chemical has been shown to affect hormones in animal studies, affecting fertility in both males and females.
This chemical is not just found in water bottles, but in baby bottles and children’s sippy cups. It also thought that heating liquid in these containers cause the chemicals to leach out faster. The bottom of the bottle should have number on it. A 1 or 2 are OK, but numbers 3, 6, and 7 should be avoided. Actually 7 poses the most danger, including cancer risks since high levels of hormones can stimulate certain cancers (prostrate and breast cancers).
Normally, I hear this stuff and shake it off. But The Today Show’s health adviser Dr. Nancy Snyderman is a pretty level headed woman. So when she says “If I were to err on the side of caution, don’t use those, use others”, I’m going to take that advice. Of course, the water bottle I keep at work (one of my favorites) is a 7. I’m replacing it this weekend.
I read about some of this a few weeks ago and thought, “Well, even if it’s a load of hooey, it’s easy enough to use glass.” So we bought glass baby bottles instead, and have been careful not to re-use plastic water bottles (because I read that reusing had something to do with the leaching, but that could have been inaccurate).
The water bottle I am currently drinking out of has an “A” and “X 519″ on the bottom. They’re clearly hiding something, aren’t they?
Sometimes the labels are hard to find. I switched to Sigg bottles. There metal and come from Switzerland.