Unknowingly, everything around us contains plastic - containers which we use to store food, the buckets we bathe from, the tooth brush bristle on our brushes, the list can go on. The American Academy of Pediatrics wants parent to stop heating food in plastic containers in the microwave as also cut down on processed food because they are all sold in plastic covers. Studies have shown a link between cancer and exposure to the chemicals in plastics.
Bisphenol A's (BPA) is the dreaded chemical found in plastic.This BPA is known to leach out of plastic and contaminate food stored in it. It is also known to be an endocrine disrupting chemical , which in lay terms means that it messes with your child's hormonal functioning. BPA is used to harden plastic and mimics the hormone "estrogen" which affects the child's immune system , increases body fat also causes decrease in fertility.
Apart from that plastic containers which say they are microwave safe actually aren't because they get scratched while washing and the BPA leaches out of the plastic and enters the food. Pediatricians recommend that we use steel and glass instead of plastic.
Below are some ways to replace plastic wherever necessary for your children and you:
a) Don't use plastic straws replace them with paper straws or steel straws - they are easily available on amazon.
b) Don't use plastic plates , cutlery - use stainless steel, wooden spoons.
c) Use glass bowls in the microwave rather than plastic bowls.
d) Use glass bottles for water at home and stainless steel bottles if the child has to carry water to school or a class.
e) For storage of food as well , use glass or steel containers.
f) Use wooden tooth brushes ( Panda bamboo toothbrushes are available on amazon)
g) Replace the plastic bucket and mug with steel buckets (stainless steel buckets are available on amazon)
h) Use glass milk bottles for your babies , even though a lot of plastic bottles do say they are BPA free and microwaveable ,but glass bottles are still better.
c) Use glass bowls in the microwave rather than plastic bowls.
d) Use glass bottles for water at home and stainless steel bottles if the child has to carry water to school or a class.
e) For storage of food as well , use glass or steel containers.
f) Use wooden tooth brushes ( Panda bamboo toothbrushes are available on amazon)
g) Replace the plastic bucket and mug with steel buckets (stainless steel buckets are available on amazon)
h) Use glass milk bottles for your babies , even though a lot of plastic bottles do say they are BPA free and microwaveable ,but glass bottles are still better.
The C word sends me jitters every time I hear it. My grand mom recently got diagnosed with breast cancer and it tore our world apart, because at her age, it is difficult to get chemo. The doctors recommended a mastectomy, even though its been three years since the C word came into our lives, you can never really tell who could be its next victim? Could it come back and get her again? I discovered a lump in my breast by accident as well a year ago, it turned out to be a fibroadenoma (a benign tumor) thankfully.
Everyday in the paper I read how so many lives known and unknown are affected by this misery? Some are able to fight it and some succumb to it. But all we can do is keep to ourselves informed, protect our children from the chemicals around us, give them a healthy life and lifestyle. I have also come to realize that stress is a horrible thing. Stress brings down our guard , our immunity to fight. The people who have been able fight this disease are those who have been positive and optimistic in life. So even though we make the right lifestyle choices to be healthy we need to get rid off the stress in our lives, the stress which feeds the C word and makes it stronger.
Be a part of the solution and not the pollution - anon
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