So we think that canned food is safe to eat? The government
says it’s OK, right? So it must be safe. Well… maybe think again.
That
chicken noodle soup that we give our kids when they are sick? Look at the
ingredients – Chicken stock, enriched egg noodles (wheat flour, egg solids,
niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), cooked
chicken meat, water, contains less than 2% of the following ingredients: salt,
chicken fat, cooked mechanically separated chicken, monosodium glutamate, cornstarch, onion powder, modified food starch, yeast extract, spice
extract, soy protein isolate, sodium phosphates, beta carotene for color, chicken flavor (contains chicken stock,
chicken powder, chicken fat), flavoring,
dehydrated garlic.[i] I put
into italics the ingredients which would never appear in homemade soups.
Of course, the list of ingredients does not mention the BPA
which is also present in the soup. BPA linked to heart disease, cancer and
diabetes[ii] –
three of the most common chronic illnesses seen so far in the 21st
century.
A study recently published in JAMA reports BPA
concentrations in urine of people who ingested 5 different varieties (Progresso
brand) of vegetarian canned soups for 5 days, and then fresh soups (no canned
ingredients) for 5 days – same soups, same ingredients, no other dietary
restrictions.
BPA was present in the urine of 77% of those who ate fresh
soups and 100% of those who ate canned soups. And those who ate canned soups
had over 20 times the amount of BPA as those who ate fresh soups. The increase
in urinary BPA from the fresh soup week to the canned soup week was over 1200
percent.
The BPA is produced as a byproduct from the epoxy resin
linings of the cans, used to prevent corrosion.
So… what does this mean for us?
We can choose alternative packaging. A 2009 Consumer Reports
article[iii] found
that plastic containers and/or bags of the same foods tended to have less BPA
than epoxy-resin coated cans. Even foods advertised as BPA free contained
detectable levels of BPA.
We can insist that our government eliminate BPA from our
foods. In Japan, BPA was eliminated in 1997, and urinary levels had dropped by
50% within 5 years.
Even better, we can choose fresh foods over canned foods. We
can make that chicken noodle soup ourselves – using gluten-free noodles and
free range chicken[iv]. We can
be VERY careful what we feed our infants – fresh is better, organic is better.
We can avoid all canned goods, until the linings are changed to something that
does not produce BPA as a byproduct. We can let manufacturers know what we are
doing. We can vote with our pocketbooks.
We have a choice.
[ii] Lang
IA, Galloway TS, Scarlett A, et al. Association of urinary bisphenol A
concentration with medical disorders and laboratory abnormalities in adults. JAMA.
2008;300(11):1303-1310.
This is information we all need to be made aware of in order to reduce our drisks. I am seeing the whole picture here as I reflect on what you are saying combined with what Dr Samuel Goldman, a twins researcher with the Parkinson's Institute said recently in an audio interview on the radio program Living On Earth(www.loe.org, select archives/2011/November 25th)
ReplyDeleteWe have exposures to toxins and we are just scratching the surface of their relationship to risk increase for particular diseases. We are well advised to avoid or reduce our exposure to these toxins while that relationship is being studied. The key here is to know how to avoid them. Great suggestion to eat fresh and organic as much as possible
Thanks for posting this very helpful information.I think,people should aware,when they buy anything related to children health as well as their health.The government should encourage some people awareness programs through radio,T.V or like that.
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