Being health conscious, I usually don’t leave home without a water bottle. It’s important for me to stay hydrated and have access to water often and through out the day. Getting used to drinking water not only when you are thirsty was something that I had to force myself to do. Even when considering a new purse, it must be big enough to fit a water bottle!
I buy and drink from water bottles like some of you reading this and I’m not sure if I will completely stop buying water bottles; however, after doing some research on the effects of plastic bottles, I’ve started purchasing stainless steel bottles a few years ago to use as often as I can.
photo by Photoxpress.com
Plastic bottles have been known to pose health concerns and according to several health reports, plastic bottles can leach a chemical called BPA Bisphenol A) into the water that you are drinking. This chemical when given to rats in large doses causes several types of cancers and health risks ranging from imitating a woman’s hormone estrogen to infertility and others. You can read some of the links that I have provided to learn more.
The CDC performed a study and revealed that a little over 92% of Americans over the age of six has this BPA chemical in their bodies. This is quite alarming! The body becomes toxic when it is burden with chemicals. We are already exposed to several other toxins as I have shared in previous posts.
How can we avoid chemicals and toxins? The truth is that we really can not avoid it 100%; however, we can make simple changes that will reduce chemicals and toxins from entering into our bodies and home. Awareness is key to getting started and making the right changes for better health.
How do you know if your plastic bottles have this chemical? There is a little triangle under the bottle with numbers inside. The number 7 shows that BPA exists and therefore is likely to be leaching into the water that you are drinking. The number 3 and 6 may show that there are related chemicals and may be a health concern. The FDA has been asked by some members of the congress to prohibit the use of this plastic. I’ve even began to look for these numbers on the bottom of the water bottles before purchasing them.
As a consumer, we must be proactive and not reactive when it comes to our health. Why wait for the FDA to announce a health threat? We can take measures to live healthier taking charge of our own health.
There are several companies such who are providing families with safer options to using plastic bottles. I found Buy Green through Twitter and saw that one of the products they carry is the Klean Kanteen water bottles, which are stainless steel and will not leach chemicals or toxins into your water. I was sent a couple of their water bottles last year in which I gave one away on through my blog. It is a safe alternative to plastic and the lined metal container is high-quality, sturdy, lightweight, reusable and recyclable.
Updated: April 13, 2010
I love vacationing on the beach, enjoying breath-taking ocean views but there is nothing more unappealing than to come up on it and see garbage floating all over. I recently saw this You Tube video “Rise Above Plastics”, a campaign to bring attention to what our ocean is becoming. I’m not an environmental activist, but you don’t have to be in to see that how nature’s beauty is being affected. Another nutty piece I read yesterday: The Hawaii-sized Island Made of Recycled Plastic.
Will I stop buying water bottles? Quite honestly, probably not; but I have certainly minimized my use of plastic bottles by drinking from our filtered system when I’m at home, and like mentioned above, I’ll use the stainless steel bottles as often as I can.
Disclaimer: This post has been revised from it’s original content from January 31,2009. This information is for educational purposes and is not intended to diagnose or treat any illnesses.
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Okay, so this is another big headache for us.
I ALWAYS drink from the empty coke bottles filled with water. Is that a hazard too? I’ve been doing just this for over 5 years now. Haven’t drunk from anywhere else… I guess I should switch to steel now.
Btw, those old-time earthen pots are the BEST. They were believed to be healthy in ancient times, I’m guessing mankind was better back then.
Wow. I have heard that plastic bottles might be a risk to health but didn’t know all that. Thanks for that info about the markings on the bottle. That was completely new to me.
I guess it’s pretty much impossible to avoid some chemicals like you say, but I am going to work on doing what I can to make it as small as possible.