What can you do? If you do use infant formula, go for the powdered version or the plastic bottles. For other things, purchase glass bottles rather than cans when possible. Sure, the lids may have some BPA, but it’s a lot less surface area than a can. And the bonus? You can reuse the bottles for other things.

Did you know that 17% of the American diet comes out of cans? That’s an awful lot. In fact, the chili I’m making tonight uses canned beans and tomatoes. (At least the meat isn’t canned…) Reach for fresh or frozen foods, use some more creativity in cooking, and you might be surprised by what you can do in the kitchen.  Cook dinner instead of just heating it up. And yes, I’m aware that schedules can lend themselves more easily to a popped can than to made-from-scratch coq au vin, but start with baby steps and go from there.

Speaking of which, here’s my favorite quick, easy dinner recipe when I don’t have time to ‘cook.’

Boil a pot of water, adding spaghetti noodles when it boils, and cook according to package directions. While you’re waiting on the water to boil, chop up a yellow squash or two and an onion. Saute them with some pre-cut fresh baby bella mushrooms in your favorite olive oil, just until the onions are translucent. Add a large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and heat until warmed through, then crush a clove or two of garlic into it. By then your noodles should be ready, so toss them with the sauce and serve with a side salad.

I also found 60-second Earth podcasts from Scientific American (which you can also find here), with a recent episode on BPA (bisphenol-A).  They also have an episode on wine made from tiger bones, the goods and bads of chocolate, and the toxicity of my newly beloved iPod.

How about you? What do you do on your iPod?

‘Microwave Safe’ Plastics Leach Bisphenol A – thedailygreen.com

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Bisphenol-A.  Or BPA for short. We’ve said a few things about it over the years, and we’ve cautioned you against certain plastics. See, BPA is a plasticizer, which means it makes plastic, well, plasticy. The problem is, it also interferes with the way your body functions, and unfortunately it leeches out of plastics and into your body as you use products that have it.

It’s known to be an endocrine disruptor, which means that it interferes with your hormones. Disrupted hormones can cause things like reproductive disorders, infertility, early puberty, behavioral problems, and stunted growth.

British researchers recently conducted a study that found a direct correlation between elevated levels of BPA in the urine (meaning higher exposure to BPA) with cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, heart attack, and angina), diabetes, and liver enzyme abnormalities. In studies of animals BPA has been linked to diabetes, brain damage, developmental abnormalities, and precancerous changes causing concern that it may be a carcinogen.  A CDC study found that 93% of Americans tested had BPA in their urine, with children exhibiting the highest concentration, followed by adult females and then adult males.

BPA is used in polycarbonate plastics like infant bottles, childrens’ sippy cups, food packaging, plastic bottles, medical devices, and impact-related safety devices. Typically BPA is found in hard clear plastics (as opposed to cloudy plastics). You can avoid it by looking at the number in the triangle on the bottom of any plastics you use. Look for numbers 1,2,4, and 5. The rest tend to have harmful chemicals (including BPA). The exception is number 7, a catch-all ‘miscellaneous’ category for plastics. This includes healthy plastics but it also includes BPA-laden plastics. So until they can separate out the good from the bad in category 7, we say stay with what you know you can trust – 1, 2, 4, & 5.