BPA Free Pacifiers

As a new parent I'm getting worried about the plastics used in baby bottles. I heard a report about bpa free bottles and I was wondering if these safer bottles are widely available? Can I order them online? And are they really expensive? Any info is appreciated. Thank you.

BPA Free Pacifiers

I am having a hard time finding out if just the tinted ones are BPA free or is the clear plastic ones are also. I would greatly appreciate the help.

BPA Free Baby Bottles

I thought I heard that Avent was going to start making their bottles BPA Free...does anyone know if this is true? If so, do you know when they will be released? I loved the Avent bottles with my first son but dont want to use them with baby #2 (23 wks pregnant) unless they come out with BPA free.

BPA Free Baby Bottles

In 2006, Jared Joyce, inventor of the bpa-free TITAN Water Bottle contacted Nalgene to discuss licensing opportunities for the revolutionary patent-pending TITAN cap. They passed on it. Jared, knowing that his invention could change the reusable water bottles industry forever,decided to make it himself.

BPA Free Pacifiers

Title pretty much says it all. Dishwasher safe, no leak drinking lid, BPA free, 32+ oz or more. Less expensive would be better. I have a ton of the nalgene bottles but all the lids leak now!! Grrr!

BPA Free Pacifiers

The new Playtex(R) VentAire(R) Advanced bottle is made out of BPA-free clarified polypropylene, a durable and translucent plastic.

Playtex Infant Care is committed to providing parents with BPA-free products that also provide superior feeding and comfort benefits for infants and toddlers. For more information or a complete list of BPA-free products or materials used in each product, please visit http://www.playtexbaby.com/bpafree/info.html

BPA Free Pacifiers

I have only found a few of their products that are in fact BPA free. Does anyone know if they are all BPA free? I have the Soothing Circle Teether and the Rattle & Shake Barbell rattle. I just want to be sure that they are safe before I give them to my baby.
Thanks.

bpafreepacifiers.com

The list of health problems associated with Bishenol A (a common plastic molecule to which virtually all Americans are exposed) continues to grow:

Bisphenol A has been known to be estrogenic since the mid-1930s. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic as well as dental sealants and a resin coating for food cans to separate food from metal. Exposure to BPA is widespread. It has been detected in 95% of Americans tested. Before you get into full blown panic you should know that the CDC data indicates that human exposure to bisphenol A is very low and strongly supports the conclusion that exposure to bisphenol A poses no known risk to human health. On the other hand, Canada has concluded bisphenol A, or BPA, is a dangerous substance. Close to two billion pounds of Bisphenol A are manufactured each year in the United States. In addition to its use in some plastics, Bisphenol A is used in dental sealants and prostheses. Bisphenol A compounds are utilized as flame–retardants in glues, paper and fabrics. Below is a list of diseases and conditions that Bisphenol A is associated with.

Prostate Cancer–Bisphenol A may interfere with the standard medical treatment for prostate cancer, according to new experiments with human prostate tumors implanted into mice. The doses of the plastic molecule, bisphenol A. Prostate tumor size and PSA levels were significantly greater in exposed animals just one month after treatment. Experiments with prostate tumor cells in cell culture that show bisphenol A speeds the rate at which the cells become androgen independent. Once the prostate cancer is androgen independent, it is resistant to the mainstay of treatment which is the use of hormone blocking drugs.

Bisphenol A (BPA) induces insulin resistance:--Insulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes. researchers found both rapid and long-term effects. In summary, they showed:

Rapid Effects (within 30 minutes) decreases, compared to controls, of blood sugar levels and sharp increases in blood insulin levels;

Long-term Effects (over 4 days) increases in pancreatic ß cells insulin production and secretion, increases in serum insulin levels; and development of insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin intolerance.

Insulin levels in serum were sharply elevated after a single application of only 10 micrograms per kilogram of estradiol (an estrogen hormone) or bisphenol A.

Breast Cancer: –Genes in non cancerous breast cells exposed to small amounts of bisphenol A started to act in a way that resembled the gene activity in highly aggressive breast tumors. The genetic change in the breast tissue cells increased likelihood that women would die of breast cancer.

This gene effect “is highly supportive of the concept that overexposure to BPA and/or similar compounds could be an underlying factor in the aggressiveness, if not in the causality” of breast cancers, said Shanaz Dairkee, lead author of the study and senior scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco. Researchers found that estrogens and bisphenol A (BPA) affected many genes, and could cause some of them to turn on or off including genes associated with cancer. They also observed that progesterone would turn off dangerous cancer genes that had been activated by estrogen, only to have bisphenol A (BPA) turn the cancer genes on again.

“As soon as bisphenol A (BPA) was presented to the cells, they reversed back as if they had gotten another whopping dose of estrogen and completely reversed the progesterone calming effect on the cells,” Dr. Dairkee said.

Estrogen and bisphenol A (BPA) influenced 123 genes in common. But estrogen had the unique ability to affect 28 genes, while bisphenol A (BPA) was even more influential, being able to activate or deactivate another 52 genes.

Long Term Effects on the Female Reproductive Tract:–A study with mice shows a link to low level neonatal exposure to bisphenol A and uterine diseases that women may develop as they age, including uterine fibroids, adenomysois and cystic ovaries. The adverse conditions induced by bisphenol A (BPA) in mice have been previously described in daughters of women who received the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen which is structurally and functionally similar to bisphenol A. Research on DES has shown that animal studies can be useful in predicting effects in people.

Bisphenol A can affect male fertility–Exposure to bisphenol A during pregnancy and/or lactation can reduce survival, birth weight, and growth of offspring early in life, and delay the onset of puberty in males and females.

Learning could be damaged by Bisphenol A–Elevated levels of Bisphenol A have been reported in the blood of some pregnant women and BPA contamination may affect human hippocampal development (memory center), with long–term effects on children’s learning ability. In addition, when the ability to make estrogen is impaired, as in the elderly, exposure to Bisphenol A could damage hippocampal function and contribute to age–related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, in which hippocampal function is impaired.

For those of you who want to decrease BPA exposure, the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences suggests:

Do not microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Polycarbonate is a strong, durable plastic but over time it may break down from over use at high temperatures.

Polycarbonate containers that contain BPA usually have a #7 on the bottom.

Reduce your use of canned foods and canned sodas. They are lined with plastic that can contain BPA

When possible, opt for glass, porcelain or stainless steel containers, particularly for hot food or liquids.

Use baby bottles that are BPA free.

Citation: Draft NTP Brief on Bisphenol A [CAS No. 80-05-7]. Published April 14, 2008. Authored by the National Toxicology Program.

from: http://healthblaster.com/2008/04/plastic-poison-bisphenol-a/

BPA Free Baby Bottles

A recent study released by the Journal of the American Medical Association raises a concern about the chemical bisphenol-A, (BPA) in plastic bottles, metal cans and various food packaging, as well as in all those eco-friendly reusable water bottles we're all carrying around.

Based on a health survey, the study found that those who had higher amounts of BPA in their urine were more likely to report having heart disease and diabetes. Of course the research presents no information that says the BPA caused these conditions, and the study authors agree that you can't rule out the possibility that people who already have heart disease or diabetes are more vulnerable to having BPA show up in their samples.

True to form, NBC's Today Show aired a report earlier this year that glossed over the facts and highlighted a fearful danger - needlessly worrying millions of us who've fed our children from clear plastic baby bottles and sippy cups, who've tried not to add to the world's pollution by switching to re-useable water bottles.

The story had us turning over our plastic containers in search of numbers (resin ID codes #3, #6 and #7) that it turns out, don't have anything to do with a product being made from BPA, the chemical bad guy of the piece.

The "Consumer Alert" (inaccurately) said:

- There is no safe level of BPA, when in fact the chemical has been studied for many years and found to be safe, especially considering that the levels we ingest are thousands of times lower than the rats that have been studied.

- Plastics containing BPA aren't safe in the microwave, yet a Dutch study that focused on BPA migration after microwaving found no evidence of any such thing.

- Codes on the bottom of a container can tell you if it's safe. Wrong! These resin ID codes are intended to aid in recycling facilities, and have nothing to do with identifying bottles that have BPA. Any item intended to be used for food must pass tough FDA guidelines before its ever allowed on the market.

All this flies in the face of 40 years of science, according to a statement released by the American Chemistry Council a few days after the Today segment aired. Another thoughtful piece by Gilbert Ross, M.D. of the American Council On Science And Health (who also appeared, very briefly in the report) came out and called the Today report what it is - junk science.

Not only that, the in-studio guest, Dr. Leo Trasande of Mount Sinai Medical Center was given ample time during the six minute long segment to convey his message, while Dr. Ross had only 6 seconds to tell viewers that, "The toxic effects found on rats were done at thousands of times higher than we are exposed to in the environment."

Not so "fair and balanced" now is it?

The media mis-information comes as the result of a report by the National Toxicology Program that was a follow up from an expert panel review completed in 2007. Both the expert panel and the NTP reports similarly concluded a low-rate risk, or negligible concern, for adults and some concern for infants and children.

"That is the third-lowest ranking on NTP's five-level scale. Yet the media has mischaracterized the conclusions as suggesting a new direction is being given by NTP about the use of BPA. This is inaccurate," says Sharon Kneiss, vice president of the products division of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

Until the science is sorted out, there is no way to tell if a bottle you're using is made with BPA. If you're especially concerned, you might want to avoid warming or microwaving food or beverages in plastic containers until more research on the leaking of the chemical can be completed.

In the meantime the FDA is having a second scientific panel give an opinion on the safety of BPA in plastic bottles and other packaging, though the agency has confidence in its own research, more carefully designed and thorough than the human studies that seem to be causing all the concern.

bpafreepacifiers.com

Using tap water to make baby formula is a bad idea…unless you have a home filtration device on your kitchen faucet.  In practically every store, you’ll see jugs and jugs of bottled water.  Some of them even bare the label “nursery water”.  In case you haven’t read the latest news, let me tell you a little bit about those jugs.

Phthalates

Phthalates (pronounced tha-lates) are plasticizers found in many consumer products.  For many years, scientists have known that these chemicals disrupt the endocrine system, which affects the natural production of hormones.

According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2008, “Young infants are more vulnerable to the potential adverse effects of phthalates given their increased dosage per unit body surface area, metabolic capabilities and developing endocrine and reproductive systems.”

In other words, we want to avoid exposing our babies to these chemicals.  They can cause developmental problems, changes in their reproductive organs and many other health problems.  They may even predispose their cells to cancer.

The chemical is found in infant powders, lotions and shampoos.  It is absorbed through the skin and enters the blood stream.  Water stored in plastic jugs absorbs components used to make them.

So, while using tap water to make baby formula is not a good idea, using bottled water is not the best option, either. A home purification system is the ideal choice.

BPA

BPA or Bisphenol-A is a plastic polymer used to make hard plastics.  It is another endocrine disruptor.  It is used to make infant bottles and training cups.  There are now many BPA-free products on the market and it’s worth your while to look for them.

Although BPA is not commonly used to make water jugs or bottles, it is used occasionally.  It is believed that the combination of chemicals that we are exposed to early on in life, contributes to major health problems, later.

Next, we look at the major problems with using tap water to make baby formula.

Cysts

Parasitic cysts, primarily cryptosporidium and giardia, may be in any public source and even in bottled brands of water, at any time, according to the US EPA.  These parasites can make an infant very ill.  A home filtration device with a submicron filter will remove more than 99% of all cysts and the systems are not that expensive.

If you are using tap water to make baby formula and you do not have a home water filter, you should, at the very least, boil the water first.  In some cases, cysts infections have been fatal.  Boiling removes cysts, but it doesn’t remove chemical contaminants that are commonly present in publicly treated water.  One is almost always present.

I strongly recommend a home water filter that addresses all dangerous contaminants found in tap water.

Chlorine

Although the levels of chlorine in publicly treated water are considered “safe” for an adult, they are not safe for an infant.  According to the US EPA, chlorine causes anemia in children.

You will need a water filter that incorporates activated granular carbon working synergistically with a multi media block to block the chemical contaminants, a sub micron filter for parasites and bacteria, and an ion exchange for heavy metals.  Ion exchange will also mineralize your water, and adjust pH levels.

A high quality tap water filter with all of these features will only cost you around $125.   See resource box for my personal recommendation.  A good home filtration device removes the threat and is the safest choice, when it comes to using tap water to make baby formula.  Buy a good device as outlined above.  Do it today.

bpafreepacifiers.com