There are two answers to the question - Why is plastic so bad? The first answer is the number of toxic chemicals used to make plastic. The second answer is that plastic is not stable. The toxic chemicals in plastic easily leach and evaporate into your air, water and food.
A single plastic part may be made up of 5-30 different
chemicals. The exact chemicals used are considered trade secrets and are not
disclosed.
What
is known is that many of the chemicals used
to make plastics, the additives, preservatives and monomers,
aren’t chemically bound to it. That means they evaporate and leach easily from
plastic.
Take polystyrene for example. Polystyrene is used to
make food containers, plates and cups that are tough to avoid when
you order take out or attend a barbecue.
Studies have found
that at room temperature styrofoam containers release numerous VOCs
into the air, including the carcinogens styrene, benzaldehyde,
benzene and toulene.
Antimony: possible human carcinogen, developmental and
reproductive toxin.
BHT/BHA: BHA is anticipated to be a human carcinogen, while BHT has been linked to an increased risk
of cancer, and interferes with normal reproductive system development
and thyroid hormone levels.
BPA: endocrine disrupter linked to asthma, breast, liver
and prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease, infertility, and obesity.
Phthalates: endocrine disrupters linked to diabetes,
infertility, obesity, allergies and asthma, altered toddler behavior.
Styrene: probable human carcinogen, central nervous
system toxin.
Vinyl chloride – a human carcinogen linked with liver, brain and
lung cancers and lymphoma and leukemia.
Knowing how to avoid BPA is an excellent way to protect your health. Because BPA is linked to a variety of potential toxic effects on multiple organs and systems in your body.
The food you eat is an important part of healthy living. And eating lots of fruits and vegetables are healthy choices. But what about the pesticides in fruits and vegetables?
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