Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic compound used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic, epoxy linings for food cans and packaging, has been getting a significant amount of attention concerning its harmful effects on human health.
BPA is a well-documented xenoestrogen, a type of hormonal disruptor that acts like estrogen and interferes with the bodies’ level of this essential hormone. BPA can effect the bodies natural development stages including pre-natal and childhood development as well as pregnancy and menopause by either mimicking, enhancing or in some cases blocking the bodies use of estrogen. This can cause several negative long term health effects and has been linked to type II diabetes and breast cancer.
In 2008, the federal government declared BPA a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and implemented regulations to ban the sale and importation of polycarbonate baby bottles because this particular age group is considered to be at a higher risk than others.
However, BPA is still widely used in many products that are available to most Canadians. For example, in a report published in March 2009 (http://bit.ly/bmqz33), Health Canada found BPA in at least 84% of canned pop sold in Canada. But the levels of BPA were so low that it would take an adult (60 kg body weight or 132 pounds) to consume approximately 940 canned drinks in one day to reach harmful levels.
Yet, there is a body of scientific literature, based on animal experiments that simulate conditions that could occur in humans, that has found harmful effects due to BPA at concentrations much below Health Canada's safety limit especially in populations that may be more at risk (Markey CM et al., 2001; Durando M. et al., 2007).
To air on the side of caution, there are a number of simple things we can do to limit our exposure to BPA (Griffin, 2009).
First, avoid using polycarbonate bottles, beverage cups and food containers. They are usually hard, coloured plastic, with the number 7 in the recycling triangle and the letter PC or OTHER underneath. They may also carry the trade name Lexan. Since many newer bottles made from an alternative material are also labelled with the number 7, it’s a good idea to make sure they’re specifically identified as BPA-free before purchasing them.
Second, use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables wherever possible to avoid the BPA from can linings. When buying canned goods, choose those that are sold in bottles or jars instead of cans. One food processing company, Eden Organics, makes most of its products available in non-BPA cans. The exceptions are tomato-based products, which are too acidic for the alternative lining that is used with the other products.
Third, buy beverages in glass bottles rather than cans. BPA migration from beverage cans tends to be lower than from food cans but levels are highly variable depending on the contents and the manufacturer.
These are three simple things we can do to reduce the amount of BPA that our bodies absorb. If you would like more information concerning BPA or any other possible carcinogen as well as information concerning cancer prevention please feel free to leave a comment below.
References
Health Canada. (2009). Bureau of Chemical Safety Food Directorate Health Products and
Food Branch. Survey of Bisphenol A in Canned Drink Products. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/packag-emball/bpa/bpa_survey-enquete-can-eng.php. Accessed on June 15th, 2010.
Durando M, Kass L, Piva J, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM, Luque EH, Munoz de Toro M.
(2007). Prenatal bisphenol-A exposure induces preneoplastic lesions in the mammary gland in Wistar rats. Environmental Health Perspectives. January, 2007.
Griffen, Sean. (2009). Environmental exposure: The cancer smart guide to breast cancer prevention. Toxic Free Canada. Vancouver, Canada.
Markey CM, Luque EH, Munoz de Toro M, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM. (2001). In utero
exposure to bisphenol-A alters the development and tissue organization of the mouse mammary gland. Biology of Reproduction, No. 65.
Showing posts with label Posted by Jonathon Avery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Posted by Jonathon Avery. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Cancer Prevention Project – Prevent Cancer Now
This year alone, according to the Canadian Cancer society 2010 statistics, it is estimated that there will be 173,800 new cases of cancer in Canada. This represents an increase of 1.6 % of new cases from 2009. Although there has been a steady rise in cancer rates since the early 1980s, their remains a common belief that, outside of smoking, cancer is a disease that just “happens” and is a result of living longer lives.
But is it?
According to the 2008 statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer incidence vary significantly across the globe even amongst some of the wealthiest and most populous nations of the world. For instance, with the exception of lung cancer, which remains the most frequently occurring and the most uniformly distributed cancer in the world, the most common cancers occurring in Western industrialized nations are completely different from those affecting Asian countries.
Taking into consideration the variability in mortality rates, the differences in cancer incidences suggest that cancer may be more than a disease that simply occurs by chance and may have more to do with diet, industry and modern conveniences more so than simply living longer. More importantly, however, this also suggests that cancer may be a disease than can be prevented.
As a member of Prevent Cancer Now (http://preventcancernow.ca), a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated towards primary prevention of cancer through education, legislation and policy changes, and working in collaboration with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (http://www.ottawacancer.ca), we are developing a lecture series devoted towards educating young and old about the contributing factors to cancer and how it can be prevented.
This week, I will be providing you with some useful information and tips to reduce your risk, your families’ risk and your children risk, of getting cancer.
Stay tuned!
This year alone, according to the Canadian Cancer society 2010 statistics, it is estimated that there will be 173,800 new cases of cancer in Canada. This represents an increase of 1.6 % of new cases from 2009. Although there has been a steady rise in cancer rates since the early 1980s, their remains a common belief that, outside of smoking, cancer is a disease that just “happens” and is a result of living longer lives.
But is it?
According to the 2008 statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer incidence vary significantly across the globe even amongst some of the wealthiest and most populous nations of the world. For instance, with the exception of lung cancer, which remains the most frequently occurring and the most uniformly distributed cancer in the world, the most common cancers occurring in Western industrialized nations are completely different from those affecting Asian countries.
Taking into consideration the variability in mortality rates, the differences in cancer incidences suggest that cancer may be more than a disease that simply occurs by chance and may have more to do with diet, industry and modern conveniences more so than simply living longer. More importantly, however, this also suggests that cancer may be a disease than can be prevented.
As a member of Prevent Cancer Now (http://preventcancernow.ca), a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated towards primary prevention of cancer through education, legislation and policy changes, and working in collaboration with the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (http://www.ottawacancer.ca), we are developing a lecture series devoted towards educating young and old about the contributing factors to cancer and how it can be prevented.
This week, I will be providing you with some useful information and tips to reduce your risk, your families’ risk and your children risk, of getting cancer.
Stay tuned!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Cancer Inconclusive
Link Between Cell Phones and Brain Cancer Inconclusive: Reading Between the Headlines
Do cell phones cause brain cancer? According to a CTV news report on May 17th, 2010, (http://bit.ly/cvB6yj), a recently published study in the International Journal of Epidemiology, called Interphone, found that the connection between cell phones and brain cancer remains inconclusive.
Although I do not (yet) have access to the actual Interphone study, I did some follow up research to “read between the headlines”.
According to Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine, the findings from Interphone illustrate that there is still no clear association between cell phones and cancer (http://bit.ly/c6ia1B).
Although the study did find that, from the 10,000 people studied, there was a 40% increase in risk of getting a brain tumor among the top 10% of mobile phone users. Novella argues that these results were disregarded because of questionable methodology. Novella points out that many of the participants of this study reported improbable amounts of cell phone use – such as 12 hours per day. This data did not provide an accurate account of cell phone use and may have skewed the results.
However, when the data is looked at with number of calls made instead of time per day, the data made more sense and showed no correlation between cell phone use and brain tumours.
Surprisingly, the study also found that average cell phone users had a 20% lower risk of getting cancer. This data was also disregarded due to statistical anomalies that can often occur in this type of research.
Although this study has several other shortcomings, including only studying cell phone use over a ten to fifteen year period, and only studying adults rather than children who may be more at risk, it still remains inconclusive whether or not cell phone use causes cancer.
Do cell phones cause brain cancer? According to a CTV news report on May 17th, 2010, (http://bit.ly/cvB6yj), a recently published study in the International Journal of Epidemiology, called Interphone, found that the connection between cell phones and brain cancer remains inconclusive.
Although I do not (yet) have access to the actual Interphone study, I did some follow up research to “read between the headlines”.
According to Steven Novella, an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine, the findings from Interphone illustrate that there is still no clear association between cell phones and cancer (http://bit.ly/c6ia1B).
Although the study did find that, from the 10,000 people studied, there was a 40% increase in risk of getting a brain tumor among the top 10% of mobile phone users. Novella argues that these results were disregarded because of questionable methodology. Novella points out that many of the participants of this study reported improbable amounts of cell phone use – such as 12 hours per day. This data did not provide an accurate account of cell phone use and may have skewed the results.
However, when the data is looked at with number of calls made instead of time per day, the data made more sense and showed no correlation between cell phone use and brain tumours.
Surprisingly, the study also found that average cell phone users had a 20% lower risk of getting cancer. This data was also disregarded due to statistical anomalies that can often occur in this type of research.
Although this study has several other shortcomings, including only studying cell phone use over a ten to fifteen year period, and only studying adults rather than children who may be more at risk, it still remains inconclusive whether or not cell phone use causes cancer.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Cancer: Is it Preventable?
Not a day goes by that there is not a news report suggesting that cancer is everywhere. It is in our foods, in our perfumes, in our water, in our cell phones and, according to a CTV news report from April 14th, 2010, it is even in our vitamins (http://bit.ly/aT0kkc).
Often, the way media portrays cancer can make it seem that no matter what we do or how we live our lives cancer is unavoidable – it is a disease of lifestyle and of aging – a consequence of our standard of living.
For instance, as Canadians are living longer, over all cancer rates have been increasing. According to Canadian Cancer Society statistics from 2009 (http://bit.ly/9sqjFC), 40% of Canadian women and 45% of Canadian men will develop cancer during their lifetime. The odds of being diagnosed with cancer increase significantly when Canadians reach the age of 55.
But is cancer really unavoidable?
Earlier this month, a comprehensive report was released by the President's Cancer Panel, which argues that there is a growing body of evidence linking cancer to the thousands of chemicals found in our daily environment. The report, called Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk (http://bit.ly/dknqlw) points out that there are nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of them have been understudied, not studied at all and are largely unregulated. From what is known, many of these chemicals have been linked to cancer.
Although this is an American report and presents American statistics, this report should matter to Canadians because it presents a growing body of evidence linking cancer, the environment and industry. What is more concerning though, from what I can tell, there was no Canadian media coverage of this report.
There seems to be very little Canadian dialogue and resources dedicated to informing Canadians regarding the potential links between our environment, industry and cancer. More resources tend to be devoted to cancer treatment, which is understandable. Cancer affects a large proportion of Canadians and has lead to an increase in survivorship. This must not go unnoticed.
Yet, it is becoming more evident that cancer may be linked to our environment and industry. Cancer may not simply be a consequence of our standard of living and may be more preventable than we think.
Often, the way media portrays cancer can make it seem that no matter what we do or how we live our lives cancer is unavoidable – it is a disease of lifestyle and of aging – a consequence of our standard of living.
For instance, as Canadians are living longer, over all cancer rates have been increasing. According to Canadian Cancer Society statistics from 2009 (http://bit.ly/9sqjFC), 40% of Canadian women and 45% of Canadian men will develop cancer during their lifetime. The odds of being diagnosed with cancer increase significantly when Canadians reach the age of 55.
But is cancer really unavoidable?
Earlier this month, a comprehensive report was released by the President's Cancer Panel, which argues that there is a growing body of evidence linking cancer to the thousands of chemicals found in our daily environment. The report, called Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk (http://bit.ly/dknqlw) points out that there are nearly 80,000 chemicals on the market in the United States, many of them have been understudied, not studied at all and are largely unregulated. From what is known, many of these chemicals have been linked to cancer.
Although this is an American report and presents American statistics, this report should matter to Canadians because it presents a growing body of evidence linking cancer, the environment and industry. What is more concerning though, from what I can tell, there was no Canadian media coverage of this report.
There seems to be very little Canadian dialogue and resources dedicated to informing Canadians regarding the potential links between our environment, industry and cancer. More resources tend to be devoted to cancer treatment, which is understandable. Cancer affects a large proportion of Canadians and has lead to an increase in survivorship. This must not go unnoticed.
Yet, it is becoming more evident that cancer may be linked to our environment and industry. Cancer may not simply be a consequence of our standard of living and may be more preventable than we think.
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