Bisphenol A
and Weight Loss

"Bisphenol A is a toxic chemical that contributes
to obesity and diabetes. It is in almost every
canned product you can find. It is also released
from many plastics."

Hi Everyone,

To fully understand the implications of what this chemical does to prevent weight loss and harm general health, you will want to read:

• Estrogen
• Xenoestrogen
• Endocrine Disruptor

Bisphenol A is a chemical that has chemical properties very similar to estrogen. So when estrogen receptors in your body receive this chemical it reacts just like it receives estrogen. And this is a hidden source of weight gain.

Bisphenol A is a chemical used primarily to make plastics. Products containing bisphenol A-based plastics have been in commerce for more than 50 years. It is a xenoestrogen. It acts as the estrogen hormone in your body and, like estrogen, it will cause the creation of fat.

The first evidence of the estrogenicity of bisphenol A came from experiments on rats conducted in the 1930s,^1,2 but it was not until 1997 that adverse effects of low-dose exposure on laboratory animals were first reported.³

The amount of BPA used in the US is equivalent to six pounds per habitant per year.⁴

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found traces of BPA in nearly all of the urine samples it collected in 2004 as part of an effort to gauge the prevalence of various chemicals in the human body.⁵

The CDC data shows that 93 percent of 2,157 people tested between the ages of 6 and 85 had detectable levels of BPA's byproduct in their urine. "Children had higher levels than adolescents and adolescents had higher levels than adults," says endocrinologist Retha Newbold of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Sources of BPA

Bisphenol A has been known to leach from the plastic lining of canned foods⁶ and, to a lesser degree, polycarbonate plastics, especially those that are cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high-temperature liquids. A recent Health Canada study found that the majority of canned soft drinks it tested had low, but measurable levels of bisphenol A.⁷

This exposure through metal cans is due to the fact that BPA is an ingredient in the internal coating of food and beverage metal cans used to protect the food from direct contact with metal. While most human exposure is through diet, exposure can also occur through air and through skin absorption.⁸

BPA is also found in high concentration in thermal paper and carbonless copy paper.^9,10,11

Exposure to Babies

Studies by the CDC found bisphenol A in the urine of 95% of adults sampled in 1988–1994¹² and in 93% of children and adults tested in 2003–04.¹³Infants fed with liquid formula are among the most exposed, and those fed formula from polycarbonate bottles can consume up to 13 micrograms of bisphenol A per kg of body weight per day (μg/kg/day; see table below).¹⁴

The most sensitive animal studies show effects at much lower doses, while the EPA considers exposures up to 50 µg/kg/day to be safe.^15,16 In 2009, a study found that drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased urinary bisphenol A levels by two thirds, from 1.2 micrograms/gram to 2 micrograms/gram.¹⁷

How to Avoid It

Consumer groups recommend that people wishing to lower their exposure to bisphenol A avoid canned food and polycarbonate plastic containers (which shares resin identification code 7 with many other plastics) unless the packaging indicates the plastic is bisphenol A-free.¹⁸ The National Toxicology Panel recommends avoiding microwaving food in plastic containers, putting plastics in the dishwasher, or using harsh detergents, to avoid leaching.¹⁹

Studies

A 2009 small US study funded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has detected an average of 2.8 ng/mL BPA in the blood of 9 out of 10 umbilical cords tested.

Several studies have connected BPA’s to obesity^{20,21,22,23,24,25} and diabetes. ^26,27,28,29

Is it becoming less of a surprise why females are going into puberty sooner and sooner? or why child obesity is climbing? Not to mention all the other illnesses such as cancer, breast tumors, alzheimer’s, deformities, decreased cognitive development, acne, skin lesions, etc that result from exposure to these chemicals.

Obesity

A 2008 review has concluded that obesity may be increased as a function of BPA exposure, which "merits concern among scientists and public health officials".³⁰ A 2009 review of available studies has concluded that "perinatal BPA exposure acts to exert persistent effects on body weight and adiposity".³¹

Another 2009 review has concluded that "Eliminating exposures to (BPA) and improving nutrition during development offer the potential for reducing obesity and associated diseases".³² Other reviews have come with similar conclusions.^33,34 A later study on mice has shown that perinatal exposure to drinking water containing 1 mg/L of BPA increased adipogenesis (fat creation) in females at weaning.³⁵

Source of Subclinical Hypothyroidism

A 2007 review has concluded that bisphenol-A have been shown to bind to thyroid hormone receptor and perhaps have selective effects on its functions.³⁶

Another 2009 review about environmental chemicals and thyroid function, concluded that "available evidence suggests that governing agencies need to regulate the use of thyroid-disrupting chemicals, particularly as such uses relate exposures of pregnant women, neonates and small children to the agents".³⁷

Yet another 2009 review also showed that environmental toxins such as BPA have adverse effects on thyroid hormone action.³⁸ So it can also be a source of subclinical hypothyroidism.

Some Videos

You Can Do Something About It

• The first step in changing the world we live in is to become aware of it.
  
  
• All of you reading this have the ability to change it for the better by the voting system. The modern capitalist system has a voting system that determines how our world is shaped. That voting system is what I call "Vote By Purchase." Each purchase you make is a vote for what manufacturers will produce.

Do you know this is how Gandhi brought the most powerful empire to its knees? He wanted independence from England. The fatal blow he delivered was when he convinced India to stop producing for England. India was the greatest source of raw materials for Great England. Without its supply of raw materials, all commerce for England stopped.

You may be dealing with one of me, but I work with many of you and I see so many of you changing your habits and actions as a result of what you read on my site and through my consultations. You can make a difference.

• Keep learning. Subscribing to my blog and getting my updates and simply asking questions is something you can do.
  
  
• The last thing is to share this information with others. I am sure you can see that my aim is health first and weight loss as a by product. Share this information with others.

References

1. E. C. Dodds and Wilfrid Lawson, "Synthetic Œstrogenic Agents without the Phenanthrene Nucleus", Nature, 137 (1936), 996.
2. E. C. Dodds and W. Lawson, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences, 125, #839 (27-IV-1938), pp. 222–232.
   
3. Erickson, Britt E. (June 2, 2008). "Bisphenol A under scrutiny". Chemical and Engineering News (American Chemical Society) 86 (22): 36–39. http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/86/i22/html/8622gov1.html.
   
4. Kristof, Nicholas (November 7, 2009). "Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies". http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
   
5. Biello D (2008-02-19). "Plastic (not) fantastic: Food containers leach a potentially harmful chemical". Scientific American 2. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=plastic-not-fantastic-with-bisphenol-a. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
   
6. "Environmental Working Group". http://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
   
7. Health Canada. "Survey of Bisphenol A in Canned Drink Products". http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/packag-emball/bpa/bpa_survey-enquete-can-eng.php. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
   
8. Lang IA Galloway TS, Scarlett A, Henley WE, Depledge M, Wallace, Robert B, Melzer, D (2008). "Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration With Medical Disorders and Laboratory Abnormalities in Adults". JAMA 300 (300): 1303. doi:10.1001/jama.300.11.1303
   
9. Fukazawa, H.; Hoshino, K.; Shiozawa, T.; Matsushita, H.; Terao, Y. (2001). "Identification and quantification of chlorinated bisphenol a in wastewater from wastepaper recycling plants". Chemosphere 44 (5): 973–979. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(00)00507-5
   
10. Raloff, Janet (2009-10-07). "Concerned About BPA: Check Your Receipts". Society for Science and the Public. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48084/title/Concerned_about_BPA_Check_your_receipts. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
    
11. Gehring, Martin; Tennhardt, L., Vogel, D., Weltin, D., Bilitewski, B. (2004) (PDF). Bisphenol A Contamination of Wastepaper, Cellulose and Recycled Paper Products. Waste Management and the Environment II. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, vol. 78. WIT Press. http://rcswww.urz.tu-dresden.de/~gehring/deutsch/dt/vortr/040929ge.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-15. Lay summary
    
12. Calafat AM, Kuklenyik Z, Reidy JA, Caudill SP, Ekong J, Needham LL (2005). "Urinary concentrations of bisphenol A and 4-nonylphenol in a human reference population". Environ. Health Perspect. 113 (4): 391–5.
    
13. Calafat AM, Ye X, Wong LY, Reidy JA, Needham LL (2008). "Exposure of the U.S. population to bisphenol A and 4-tertiary-octylphenol: 2003–2004". Environ. Health Perspect. 116 (1): 39–44. doi:10.1289/ehp.10753
    
14. "European Food Safety Authority Opinion" (Abstract). http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/science/afc/afc_opinions/bisphenol_a.html. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
    
15. Mittelstaedt, Martin (2007-04-07). "'Inherently toxic' chemical faces its future". Globe & Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070406.wbisphenolA0407/BNStory/National/. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
    
16. Bisphenol A - United States Environmental Protection Agency
    
17. Carwile JL, Luu HT, Bassett LS, Driscoll DA, Yuan C, Chang JY, Ye X, Calafat AM, Michels KB (2009). "Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations". Environ. Health Perspect.. doi:10.1289/ehp.0900604
    
18. War of the Sciences Air Date: Week of September 19, 2008 - Ashley Ahearn, Living on Earth
    
19. Allison Aubrey. FDA Weighs Safety Of Bisphenol A. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94680753.
    
20. Elobeid, M.; Allison, D. (Oct 2008). "Putative environmental-endocrine disruptors and obesity: a review". Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity 15 (5): 403–408. doi:10.1097/MED.0b013e32830ce95c
    
21. Rubin, B.; Soto, A. (May 2009). "Bisphenol A: Perinatal exposure and body weight". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 55–62. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.023
    
22. Heindel, J.; Vom Saal, F. (May 2009). "Role of nutrition and environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals during the perinatal period on the aetiology of obesity". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 90–96. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.025
    
23. Newbold, R.; Padilla-Banks, E.; Jefferson, W. (May 2009). "Environmental estrogens and obesity". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 84–89. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.024. ISSN 0303-7207
    
24. Grün, F.; Blumberg, B. (May 2009). "Endocrine disrupters as obesogens". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 19–29. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.018
    
25. Somm, E. (2009). "Perinatal Exposure to Bisphenol a Alters Early Adipogenesis in the Rat (PDF)". Environmental Health Perspectives. doi:10.1289/ehp.11342
    
26. Alonso-Magdalena P, Morimoto S, Ripoll C, Fuentes E, Nadal A. The estrogenic effect of bisphenol A disrupts pancreatic beta-cell function in vivo and induces insulin resistance. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Jan;114(1):106-12.
    
27. Markey CM, Rubin BS, Soto AM, Sonnenschein C. Endocrine disruptors: from Wingspread to environmental developmental biology. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2002 Dec;83(1-5):235-44.
    
28. Cynthia Washam. Exploring the Roots of Diabetes: Bisphenol A May Promote Insulin Resistance. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 January; 114(1): A48–A49.
    
29. Marla Cone. Bisphenol A linked to diabetes, heart disease in humans
    First major study in humans supports evidence of harm from animal tests, researchers say. Environmental Health News. published 16 September 2008
    
30. Elobeid, M.; Allison, D. (Oct 2008). "Putative environmental-endocrine disruptors and obesity: a review". Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity 15 (5): 403–408. doi:10.1097/MED.0b013e32830ce95c
    
31. Rubin, B.; Soto, A. (May 2009). "Bisphenol A: Perinatal exposure and body weight". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 55–62. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.023
    
32. Heindel, J.; Vom Saal, F. (May 2009). "Role of nutrition and environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals during the perinatal period on the aetiology of obesity". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 90–96. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.025
    
33. Newbold, R.; Padilla-Banks, E.; Jefferson, W. (May 2009). "Environmental estrogens and obesity". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 84–89. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.024
    
34. Grün, F.; Blumberg, B. (May 2009). "Endocrine disrupters as obesogens". Molecular and cellular endocrinology 304 (1-2): 19–29. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.018
    
35. Somm, E. (2009). "Perinatal Exposure to Bisphenol a Alters Early Adipogenesis in the Rat (PDF)". Environmental Health Perspectives. doi:10.1289/ehp.11342
    
36. Zoeller, R. (2007). "Environmental chemicals impacting the thyroid: targets and consequences". Thyroid : official journal of the American Thyroid Association 17 (9): 811–817. doi:10.1089/thy.2007.0107
    
37. Boas, M.; Main, K.; Feldt-Rasmussen, U. (Oct 2009). "Environmental chemicals and thyroid function: an update". Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity 16 (5): 385–391. doi:10.1097/MED.0b013e3283305af7
    
38. Kashiwagi, K.; Furuno; Kitamura; Ohta; Sugihara; Utsumi; Hanada; Taniguchi et al. (2009). "Disruption of Thyroid Hormone Function by Environmental Pollutants". Journal of Health Science 55: 147.36-237

Coaching

If you are interested in coaching for fitness, or weight loss you can contact me HERE ...

Metabolism Makeover

Any exercise for natural weight loss should be used as part of a comprehensive weight loss program that focuses of restoring health first to lose weight. Know how to use it will save you time, money and hassle because you don't have anymore guess work. I lay it out for you. It is all in this book. If you are interested check out Metabolism Makeover.

Question or Comment?
Ask Me Here!

Return to "Lose Weight With Detox"

Return from "Bisphenol A" to "Natural Weight Loss" Home Page

Are You a Member of Facebook?

Share this with someone you care about! Click in the link below and you can chose who on Facebook you want to share it with.

Share

You can also become a Metabolism Makeover fan!

Pay It Forward!

There a lot of people that have become disillusioned by poor weight loss and health information. I can understand this feeling. But it does not mean that good information is NOT out there. It is.

Please help a friend or loved one by sharing this information with them. Email this link to them or submit this page to your Tweet account, or Facebook or your favorite social bookmarking or networking site. Use the links below to pay it forward.