Ditch Plastic Now!

Okay, I will get on my soapbox one more time on this issue. You need to ditch plastic bottles. Health Canada is about to declare the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), found in hard plastics like baby bottles, water coolers, plastic toys, nalgene water bottles, pacifiers, plastic containers, tin cans and bottled water containers a danger to human health and the environment. This will be the first regulatory body in the world to do so, even though a 2006 report by U.S. scientiests found a link between BPA and breast cancer, early puberty, reproductive problems, diabetes and a host of other problems. 93% of Americans have BPA in their urine, so our exposure is quite high. Particularly vulnerable are children and people of reproductive age. Here's some things you can do now to minimize exposure:

- Get rid of plastic baby bottles and stick to glass

- Get rid of plastic toys, especially anything your child is chewing on. 

- Ditch the nalgene bottles and bottled water, use filtered water (Brita containers claim to have no BPA, cheap knock offs do contain BPA) and carry it in a reusable metal, ceramic or glass container

- Get rid of old cans of food, especially anything with a high acid content like tomatoes that encourages leaching. Buy fresh or frozen produce instead of canned, it's better for you anyway. And canned soups tend to have very high sodium content anyway, you are better off making your own and freezing it in individual glass containers.

The U.S. has been slow to move on BPA, with the chemical industry basically making the claim that because it has been used for the last 50 years, it must be okay. Be your own health advocate and get off the plastic now!