We got to talking about how it might have happened. What on earth could have caused it? We're all exposed to so many toxic substances. Today I'm going to talk about just one that might have had some role in this man's misfortune. There's no way to know for sure, but it's one of the most common, widespread carcinogens in America.
It's yet another poison you don't need and can easily avoid. Keep reading for the details...
It's the ultimate irony...
For several decades, the U.S. government has blessed the widespread sale and use of a known carcinogen—ignoring scores of studies proving it damages our health.
Scientists now believe the poster child for "safe" packaging chemicals may be making one of their best cancer treatments useless! I'm talking about bisphenol-A, called BPA for short. This polycarbonate is used to harden plastics and is found in everything from CDs and dental fillings to sunglasses. It's used as a protective lining in metals cans, such as soda cans. It's found in nearly all plastic drink containers.
Long-time readers might remember an earlier article (Issue #17) where I warned that BPA is found in the urine of 95% of Americans—including that of innocent babies! That article went into great detail on the abundant evidence against the use of BPA.
I also reported that many scientists are concerned about BPA. Levels in humans are well above those known to cause adverse effects in lab animals.
And yet as recently as March 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is still insisting "the scientific evidence at this time does not suggest that very low levels of human exposure to BPA through the diet are unsafe."1 Baloney!
Government organizations and the medical establishment have known since the 1890s that BPA acts as a synthetic form of the hormone estrogen. And there's a great deal of evidence that over-exposure to estrogens in our food and environment is a major source of health problems…
When a team of University of Cincinnati scientists exposed human breast cancer cells to low levels of BPA, they were shocked to find that BPA acts on cancer cells in much the same way that estrogen does.
But wait, this gets even worse. BPA encouraged the production of proteins that prevent cancer cells from being killed by chemotherapy drugs, according to cell biologist and lead study author Nira Ben-Jonathan, PhD.
So according to the study's results, not only does BPA contribute to cancer formation—it undermines and neutralizes mainstream medicine's favorite way of treating cancer!
The study's authors said "these data provide considerable support to the accumulating evidence that BPA is hazardous to human health."2 And despite the FDA's 'defend and deny' strategy—many folks are waking up to the warnings and taking decisive action...
Canada says "NO" to cancerous BPA!
While many federal government agencies in the U.S. continue to express only mild concern about the possibility that BPA is a dangerous carcinogen, folks in other countries are taking a far more hard-nosed approach.Canada has always been in the vanguard when it comes to cracking down on BPA use. After first taking steps in 2008 to control use of this toxic chemical, Canada became the first nation in the world to ban it altogether in 2010.
And Canada may be setting a trend for many other nations around the globe…
Despite significant industry pressure, the European Union banned BPA use in baby bottles as of June 2011. And the French National Assembly went a step further—declaring BPA to be banned from ALL food packaging by 2014.
Prompted by consumer concerns about BPA toxins in the food supply, Japanese industries took swift action to voluntarily reduce the use of BPA between 1998 and 2003.
So what did they do? Their two approaches included:
- Changing inner can linings from a paint containing BPA to a PET film laminate, and/or
- Using an EXR paint with much less BPA migration into food.
China and Malaysia have also jumped on the 'ban BPA' bandwagon—announcing plans in 2011 to bar its use in baby bottles and other food and drink packaging for children.
So who cares if the rest of the world wants to change their food packaging! In the U.S. of A.—we're gonna do it another way...
FDA favors a "watchful waiting" approach
According to the FDA, you needn't be overly concerned about getting excessive BPA through food. They insist that both children and adults are able to rapidly metabolize and eliminate the 'trace amounts' of chemical ingested.But because environmental groups, health care professionals and other pests… er, uh… concerned persons keep making this an issue—the agency said it plans to continue researching the chemical and review study results carefully.
Because of its pro-BPA stance, the agency only recently responded to the 2008 petition from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to ban BPA from products manufactured in the United States.
And the NRDC had to sue the administration to get a response!
Dr. Sarah Janssen, senior scientist in the public health program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the FDA has "failed to protect our health and safety" and is "out-of-step with scientific and medical research."
Meanwhile, 11 states have refused to wait another moment. In October 2011, California became the latest state to ban BPA from baby bottles and children's sippy cups.
What's more, some U.S. manufacturers have begun voluntarily removing BPA from can linings. But it is still legal to use BPA in all food packaging, so we're not out of the woods just yet...
As Japan has clearly shown, it IS possible to manufacture packaging without BPA. But it seems the FDA is being strong-armed by companies with a vested interest in keeping BPA on the market.
In the words of NRDC scientist Dr. Janssen, the FDA's lack of regulatory action "illustrates the need for a major overhaul of how the government protects us against dangerous chemicals." The FDA is quite aggressive about banning food supplements based on minimal or no evidence of hazard.
Meanwhile, it permits substances like BPA that are proven toxic by a mountain of evidence — apparently because these substances are manufactured by powerful industries. The agency's conduct is repulsive and disgusting. As I've said many times before, the regulatory state actually puts us all in greater danger because it creates the illusion that someone else is taking care of you. Don't believe it. You have to inform yourself and take action to protect yourself and those you love.
Our last issue suggested one easy and delicious way to do that — one of my favorite foods. If you missed the article, just scroll down and read it now.
Kindest regards,
Lee Euler PublisherFootnotes from 1st article:1Food and Drug Administration. 2012. FDA continues to study BPA. Retrieved online athttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm297954#22Ewbank, D. 2008, October 8. Bisphenol A linked to chemotherapy resistance. University of Cincinnati press release available online at http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/7560Additional resources: from 1st article:Astley, M. 2011. French ban will distort EU food packaging market, plastics Europe. FoodProductiondaily.com. Available online athttp://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/French-BPA-ban-will-distort-EU-food-packaging-market-Plastics-EuropeBardelline, J. 2011. China, Malaysia become latest nations to ban BPA. Greenbiz.com article available online athttp://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/03/14/china-malaysia-latest-nations-ban-bpaEgan, L. 2010. Canada declares BPA toxic, sets stage for more bans. Reuters article available online athttp://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/14/us-bpa-idUSTRE69D4MT20101014Environmental Working Group. 2007. Bisphenol A: Toxic plastics chemical in canned food: companies reduced BPA exposures in Japan. Retrieved online athttp://www.ewg.org/node/20938Struglinski, S. 2012, March 30. FDA rejects NRDC call to eliminate BPA from food packaging. National Resource Defense Counsel press statement available online athttp://www.nrdc.org/media/2012/120330.aspWest, L. 2008. Bisphenol A may make cancer treatment less effective. About.com article available online athttp://environment.about.com/od/healthenvironment/a/bpa_cancer.htm
