Is That Plastic Bottle Making You Fat?

Find out why you might want to avoid BPA and similar chemicals even more than you do now

SupermarketGuru has been discussing the possible ill health effects resulting from exposure to BPA for years. As a reminder BPA is used in plastics, tins and cans used for food and has also been found in receipts! The NIH determined that BPA may pose risks to human development, raising concerns for early puberty, prostate effects, breast cancer, and behavioral impacts from early-life exposures. Now there is more. BPA and similar chemicals may be making it even more difficult for us to loose weight. 

Scientists at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York claim that phthalates (another chemical similar to BPA), chemical ingredients present in 70 percent of cosmetics as well as some household cleaning products, are responsible for disrupting the body’s metabolism, and the delicate balance of hormones. Researchers linked exposure to phthalates from beauty products, to childhood obesity and weight problems in adults.

The Mount Sinai team analyzed data from 330 girls living in East Harlem, New York, and found through urine analysis that, the heaviest girls had the highest levels of phthalates in their urine.

Where are phthalates used? They have long been used as gelling agents in cosmetics, cleaning products, and to make plastic bottles. The evidence for their possible health hazards are only recent.

Researchers also pointed to BPA as playing a role in obesity, by disrupting hormones that regulate growth and development.

Other research has found that phthalates and other similar chemicals have an anti-testosterone capacity that has been linked to obesity and insulin resistance in men, and in women, they mess up the basic genetic hormone balance resulting in disruptions similar to those that might occur during menopause or puberty.

The good thing is that we can practice preventative exposure. Read labels not only for food but also for you lotion, shampoo and other beauty products – make sure they say BPA and phthalate free.

Click here for more information on BPA and how to avoid it.