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Plastic has infiltrated just about every aspect of our children's lives. They wear it, eat it and drink it teethe and sleep on it. During the first years, even their bad are wrapped in and wiped with it.
The indestructible material is practical, but it also has a bad reputation – and for good reason. It is known to leach, which means that if it is heated or scratched, the chemical products can end up in the food, or directly in stuffy if he sucks hard enough on it. Some of these chemicals are badociated with a host of scary risks. They could increase the risk of cancer and infertility and affect brain development, among other problems. But we do not really know how much this constant exposure to plastic will affect children in the long run.
Yet, even if we wish, it is almost impossible to completely eliminate the plastic of their lives. I know, because I tried. I have two sons – one is 3 years old and the other is 10 months old. Good luck trying to find your children prefer snacks that are not wrapped in clear, fragile things. (I'm looking at you, basically all brands of crackers!)
But Parents are not totally powerless. We can do certain things to limit our children's exposure to potentially harmful ingredients in plastics, according to Dr. Aparna Bole, a pediatrician and member of the Executive Committee of the Council on Environmental Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"It's tempting to just give up," said Bole, acknowledging the overwhelming amount of confusing information about the plastics and lack of clarity of the product's ingredients.
We asked him to describe a simple action that parents can take to rid their homes of the most disturbing types of plastics. What she told us was surprising.
Bole recommends taking the habit of looking at the bottom of plastic products to see which recycling category they are ranking in. Looking for a triangle just there with a number in the center of that. The numbers you want to avoid are 3, 6 and 7. (You may want to even make it a habit to recite the three numbers in your mind to memorize them.)
These three products are composed of chemicals considered to be the most worrying in terms of toxicity. (Some products labeled "Greenware" or "biobased" are probably free of certain chemicals but are not necessarily completely safe.) For plastic products that are not labeled with a number, it is simply impossible to know what they contain or not.
You will usually find number 3 on teething rings, toys, plastic curtains, take-away packs and personal care products. These items are made from polyvinyl chloride (commonly referred to as PVC) and the release of phthalates, a binder that makes plastic malleable and is an innumerable amount of consumer products, not just plastics, is a problem. The most common fear is that some phthalates act as endocrine disruptors affecting reproductive hormones, according to studies done on rodents. There are many types of phthalates, some of which are outcast for toys and baby-care products, such as teething rings, as they might affect male bad development.
Researchers are studying the possibility that phthalates increase childhood obesity (results are inconclusive) and contribute to cardiovascular disease. Early exposure to phthalates, which is limited in Europe, may also be related to neurodevelopmental and behavior problems in young children.
Items # 6 are Styrofoam and include disposable plates and cups (such as red Solo party cups!), Meat trays, egg cartons and take-away bins.. When they are heated, they can release toxic substances such as styrene, which can be absorbed in the digestive tract. Styrene has been bound at a headache, fatigue, dizziness, confusion and other problems among factory workers who inhale enormous amounts on a regular basis. No scientific studies have shown adverse effects on the health of adults and children exposed to low oral concentrations. (Styrene is also found in cigarette smoke and released by photocopiers.)
Number 7, "miscellaneous" category, is usually a mixture of plastics. This number is found on baby bottles and in 3 gallon and 5 gallon water bottles. Some of these articles contain bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical that can disrupt the body's hormonal system.
While children are more vulnerable to these risks because their bodies are still developing, Bole said it was a good rule for everyone to avoid eating materials belonging to these three categories.
(I've been doing a long search in my home, flipping through products and peeking out to figure out what category each item was in. I found a number of different items. items in my kitchen wearing the dreaded labels 3, 6 and 7, including items I did not expect, like a measuring cup that I've been using for five years.)
In addition to avoiding these three types of plastic, Bole also recommends that you do not use plastic in the microwave, even if it is marked "microwave compatible". The more fragile the plastic, the harder it is to place it in a microwave oven. Ideally, we should not even put plastic in the dishwasher. (For more credit, Bole also suggested not putting hot or warm liquid in a plastic cup or bottle, which is often the case when preparing formula and formula, which she recommend to do if possible in a glbad bottle.)
Heating the plastic is a problem because it can cause decomposition and leaching of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates, which are considered "endocrine disruptors". The migration of these chemicals will probably be more important with fatty foods, including meats and cheeses, than with other foods.
Whenever possible, exchanging plastic for other materials is also a good choice. Using plates and cups made of stainless steel, for example. Or store food in glbad containers instead of plastic ones.
Bole lamented that consumers are forced to conduct this type of investigation, noting that these chemicals of concern should not be included in products in the first place. It may sound daunting, she says, and you may not be able to fully protect yourself from these ubiquitous ingredients. But learning about all the information available is a place where everyone can start.
"You can be paralyzed," said Bole, who tried to try to decode all the information related to the risks badociated with plastics. "But there are some very simple ways for everyone to make healthier choices."
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