We surround our world with plastic. Just spend a minute or two and look around you.
When it comes to our food and drink, we use plastic bags to hold the food and drink we buy until we get them home, plastic containers to organize and store our food and drink, plastic wraps to keep our food and drink covered, and more plastic bags to throw away the remains.
In our bathroom we shower with plastic curtains, get our shampoo out of plastic bottles, brush our teeth with plastic toothbrushes with toothpaste that comes from plastic tubes.
With Christmas just around the corner we will be purchasing our children plenty of plastic toys, and even shipping those plastic toys to underdeveloped countries for those children to enjoy.
Pharmaceuticals, too, are extremely high in plastics. As a result, plastic has become a permanent fixture in our everyday lives and inevitably gets into our bodies one way or another. The accumulation of these plastic chemicals in our bodies is causing catastrophic biological events at the cellular level to our health.
That being said, some types of plastic are relatively benign. However, others have properties that promote inflammation, disrupt your brain’s neurons and neurotransmitters, confuse the body’s hormones, and feed cancers, viruses, and bacteria. It’s almost impossible to distinguish between harmless and harmful plastic. This is why it is important to understand the Resin Identification Code. This is the number that is printed on the bottoms of most plastic containers. It describes which type of plastic resin the product is made of.
Generally speaking, codes #1, 2, 4 & 5 are generally safer. Codes labeled #3, 6 & 7 should be avoided.
Plastics that are not known to leach chemicals suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones include things like soft drink, water, ketchup, salad dressing bottles; peanut butter, pickle, and jelly jars, as well as milk and juice bottles, yogurt, cereal box liners, hot & cold beverage cups, grocery, trash, and retail bags.
Plastics that are hazardous during production however still not known to leach chemicals and cause cancer or disrupt hormones are bread and frozen food bags as well as squeezable bottles like ketchup, shampoo and mouthwash bottles.
Plastics that contain hormone disruptors and human carcinogens include items like cling wrap meats, cheeses and other foods wrapped in plastic wrap. Foam insulation, baby bottles, microwavable ovenware, eating utensils like plastic knives, forks, and spoons as well as the lining of metal cans.
Having said all of that, I do want you to be aware that there is one study that found that 95% all plastics products tested were positive for some level of estrogenic activity, meaning that they can potentially disrupt your hormones and alter the structure of human cells.
It’s therefore a good idea, for example, to use cloth bags to carry your food. Favor glass containers for your food over plastic ones. And when you can’t avoid plastic— for example, when buying most bottled water, or a food processor— make sure the manufacturer is using BPA-free and human-friendly plastic.
If you are concerned about plastic exposure or the accumulation of plastic toxic chemicals in your body, we can run a lab test here at Stanly Wellness Center that can identify your exposure to a wide array of potentially toxic chemicals and provide us with a specific treatment to rid your body of those toxins thus restoring your health back into better balance and function.
