Thursday, 24 March 2011

Ceramic Bird Bath - Your Winged Friends Could Use One

By Jeff Davis


It is very difficult these days to avoid polycarbonate products (plastic). Polycarbonate products are present nearly in every container we buy or use. We use them in our everyday living, for storing food or liquids and even for preparing food. Glass containers are very hard to find since almost everything is now in plastic. A lot of health problems have happened among the old and the young. When I was still a teenager, there was no news of a girl having her menstrual period at a very early age like 8. It doesn't shock us anymore if this happens nowadays because we all know it's due to the BPA in plastics that affects the estrogen in women. Scientific studies indicate that trace residues of BPA have been found in 90% of the population, a very shocking percentage.

In 1891, Bisphenol was created but its production was introduced in the market only in the 50's. The chemical Bisphenol or BPA was leaking from some containers that's why its release to the public was delayed. Bisphenol as defined is a chemical substance that is synthetically made and generally used in the production of polycarbonate plastics. It was discovered that BPA has a great risk factor in animal developments (even in small doses) by functioning like the estrogen hormone. To take that a step further, trace BPA has been linked in animal and test tube experiments involving hormone imbalances and BPA is known as "environmental hormones." Among these effects are cancer of the breast and prostate, early menstruation and modified brain structures. I find it very alarming to think that a lot of our baby bottles and feeders are made of plastic. Bisphenol A or BPA is indeed a very harmful substance. Canada itself was the first country to implement safety measures to restrict BPA exposure. Folks, the knowledge of the dangers of this chemical has been around for a long time. The first evidence of its estrogenicity came from experiments in the 1930's feeding BPA to ovariectomized rats (Dodds and Lawson, 1936, 1938). The result of the research in relation to the consequences of BPA on humans were even underrated.

BPA in plastic production is used for solidifying the plastic and creating a lightweight material that is clear and resists heat, electric conduction and being shattered. Polycarbonates are in just about anything you can think of, from eyeglass lenses, CD's, DVD's, computers, tools, car headlights, sports safety equipment, medical devices, incubators, and reusable drink and food containers - and even the linings of beverage and food cans.

SRI Consulting printed in its Chemical Economics Handbook, released in August of 2004 its findings on the overall consumption of BPA for the year 2003, an estimated 3 million metric tons.

There are some things you can do to minimize exposure to BPA's. If at all possible, buy your foods in glass jars such as tomato/spaghetti sauce, pickles, but especially tomato because the acid in the tomatoes causes more leakage of the BPA's. Try to consume fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables as these are BPA free. Juices and sodas in glass bottles is more preferred. And please, use glass baby bottles.

I use glass or ceramic whenever I can. Do not forget to feed your pets in BPA free containers. You can even find the most beautiful colored glass and ceramic birdbaths, too. It's an attraction in the yard for domestic and wildlife creatures to reduce its contact with BPA's and at same time, glass can be recycled. Glass is actually better than plastic, however you look at it!




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