Bisphenol-A, or BPA,  is an estrogen-mimicking chemical, invented nearly 120 years ago, that is used to make hard plastics and epoxy resins. It can be found in many products that most people use on a daily basis, including baby bottles, canned foods, water bottles, and microwaveable plastic dishes and containers.
Industry uses more than 6 billion pounds of BPA a year. As a result, scientists have found that 95%of people tested have dangerous levels of BPA in their bodies.

In the last ten years, over 700 studies (mainly done on animals) have been published about BPA, most of which suggest that it can have a serious effect on health as, amongst other things, it mimics the female hormone estrogen. There is evidence (among mice and rats) that even low doses can cause hyperactivity , early puberty, increased fat formation, abnormal sexual behavior, disrupted reproductive cycles and structural damage to the brain.

There are concerns that in humans it may have effects on development in early puberty, prostate and breast cancer, and behaviour.   (see NIH publication No. 08-5994)

Nearly all of the exposure is through food which is stored in BPA-contaminated food and drink containers  which is how food becomes contaminated.

For more information on BPA contamination and how to avoid it, check the Dr Mercola site,
for more on how the aluminium bottles which had been touted as being BPA free actually have higher levels than plastic bottles check the Mother Nature Network site and for information on BPA in so-called BPA-free canned foods, leached from the cans see the article in The Scientific American.

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First Published in November 2009