[Gitti]

I don't know where else to post this, so I thought I'd drop it off here. Move it if there is a better place.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGIOC13FM1.DTL

Quote:

Bisphenol A has been used for decades in the manufacture of tough plastics known as polycarbonate plastics. The plastics make up a wide variety of products, primarily food and drink packaging and containers such as hard, clear and sometimes tinted Nalgene water bottles, and in toys, pacifiers, baby bottles and teethers.

http://www.mercola.com/2005/apr/27/plastics.htm

 

[TigerTail]

well, it kind of meshes with what i had to post, which i also had no idea of where to put :LOL

my cat has had an ulcer on her mouth that grows larger & larger. different antibiotics, weird meds, steroids, and it just grows. my vets have been at their wits end.

they went to a conference & talked to the premier researcher on this problem. he had a 'promising' new drug for this epidemic, and that fizzled out. so he's been working on it, & has found the common denominator...

PLASTIC FOOD DISHES. some cats are allergic to the plastic they use in cat food dishes. now, i'm talking about a sore that has gone from dime sized, to almost half my poor cats FACE. when they changed the cats to stainless steel dishes, they are all miraculously recovering.

good news! (and of course i was thinking, can you imagine many human physician researchers abandoning the 'promising new drug' that fast to prescribe 'get rid of your plastic dishes'?!)

that plastic has got to be toxic to everyone, if it does that to some highly sensitive kitties. and so gitti has come up with this link in her timely way.

i am not only throwing out my plastic cat food dish, but the baby dishes too. (and looking closer at the link to see what else needs to go.) oh, i liked my water bottle. bummer.

suse

 

[kcocat]

Reading about all the toxic stuff around us nowdays is depressing and so disappointing! Makes one wish they had been born and raised Amish or somewhere else that only uses natural products & nothing synthetic. The thing is, it's so hard to find anything that isn't plastic these days! (like sippy cups!) Ugh.....

 

[TigerTail]

sippies! arghhhhh

suse

 

[AngelBee]

:

 

[TigerTail]

i wish i had clearer info about *which* plastic. all plastic would be great to get rid of, of course, but some things just have no replacement, you know? the sippies (ok, i'll make the switch, but i just got the kids new hard *plastic* cups. is that plastic full of badness, too? (i just made them cry throwing out their blue's clues bowl, so if some things are not as bad, i'd really like to know!) the cats' litterbox. what am i supposed to use, my roasting pan? (good idea, but i require a lid :LOL.)

i am going to kmart & getting some of the martha stewart pyrex type storage containers; they're nice, i like them anyway & have a few already. alas, there are no large ones like the tupperware clones i use to store cereal, etc.

can anybody come on the thread & give ideas? (i am seriously freaked about the dental sealants. my teeth are awful, & my kids' are beautiful, & i wanted to keep them that way; having had the 'bfing is bad for teeth, wean them' crapola from the dental ass't already (ably refuted by smilemomma's excellent info), i'm sure they are waiting for me to start balking at the sealants due to fluoride (which i have no problem with, lol) but here i will be coming at them about the chemicals in PLASTIC.

it is hard to be cutting edge.

if anybody has advice/encouragement, i'd appreciate it. (i'm going to use the majority of my existing bowls to store non-food items; i doubt my husband's bolts will be tainted much, & i don't want to put things unnecessarily in a landfill to leach in someone else's groundwater.)

sigh. the sippies.

suse

 

[snugglebutter]

I could be wrong, but I had heard that it was the #5 plastic (avent bottles, naglene, etc... ) that was the worst offender.

 

[xenabyte]

I do believe that number 7 plastics, otherwise known as 'nalgene' and the 'clear, glasslike plastics' are the worst offenders, containing the BPA (Bisphenol A) that is so worrisome.

Number 5 is 'ok', but not great. That is what most sippies are made of.

Number 2 (HDPE) a High Density Polyethelene is the most 'non-reactive' and is what stuff like hydrogen peroxide and such are stored in. I believe Playtex has a number 2 sippy out now, so if you HAVE to use one, get a number 2.

Number 1 is a LDPE (Low density) and is intended for 'one time use'. It's the stuff that the little portable water bottles you buy at the store are made from. They scratch internally easily, and can gather bacteria. So I would not use one long term.

The other numbers refer to things like styrofoam (Don't quote me, but that's either a 3 or 4). Neither good for long term storage, plus the landfill issues...

I forget what a number 6 is, but not good....it might be 'plastic wrap' stuff....been awhile since I looked into it.

In a nutshell, if you can't find a number 2 in the 'triangle' shape, then DON'T use it. Avoid all 'glass like' plastic containers, if they are not marked.

Once your sippy caps (usually made from number 5, even if the bottle is a number 2) is scratched (ugh, what a horrible thought, teething marks on it, and tiny bits in their tummy), then toss it.

The sippy 'suction insert' is made from silicon, (at least Playtex's are) and is safe. Totally non-reactive. If you can find a silicon lined container, that would be safe too.

And yes, Advent (grumbles) is number 7, or the nalgene stuff!! (cursing follows). I use them for storing buttons and such for my sewing room now...

Here is a link about BPA http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2003/5993/5993.html

Oh, and HELLO SUSEYBLUE!! And the floride should be worrying you too.....

 

[Past_VNE]

just an Amish interjection. They're by no means natural. Except for the two I know of who are organic farmers (one for beliefs, one for $$$) the Amish, by and large, will use any nasty chemical available on the market. Sad, but true.

 

[chocomoto]

I just read this:
There were 115 animal studies reviewed by an Environmental Health Perspectives article, and 94 of them showed that even small amounts of BPA can cause fertility problems, hyperactivity, altered immune function, and early sexual maturation.
The author of the article (Frederick vom Saal, PhD) calls BPA "a poster chemical for ADHD".

He recommends avoiding:
food sterilized in the can
clear plastic baby bottles

Heating and repeated washing can cause leaching, and significant levels of the chemical have been measured in humans.

 

[PrettyBird]

I am going to breastfeed, but for storing my pumped EBM when I go back to school, I bought some glass Evenflo bottles online.
http://www.babysupermall.com/main/pr.../eve10103.html

ETA: I also found these at Babies R Us (the store not the website). It seems not many places carry them.

 

[lisabc311]

Hey PrettyBird....I store my EBM in those Evenflo glass bottles and they work great!

They are also wonderful for freezing and storing homemade baby food.

 

[PrettyBird]

Awesome!! Good to know I made a good purchase! Do you leave some head room in the bottle for freezing? Does it need more than a plastic bottle?

 

[lisabc311]

I always leave a little extra room at the top because things will expand in the freezer. It's not different than what it would do in plastic containers.