BPA’s and PMS, Is there A Connection?

Does Japan know something we don't, about BPA's in paper receipts and in aluminum cans?  Why did Japan phase out BPA use over 10 years ago?

 

BPA's are dangerous chemicals that mimic estrogen in our bodies. A study just published in the journal of Environmental Science and Technology says people handling receipt paper often, like store clerks, are at a high risk for BPA exposure.  (If you are a cashier, consider using gloves.)

 

BPA's, also known as Bisphenol A, are chemicals that act like estrogen and can cause hormonal imbalances, PMS, irregular menstrual cycles and they have been linked to problems with reproduction and sexual development. Even behavioral and developmental problems in young children and some kinds of cancer have been linked to BPA exposure. 

Should you care about cash register receipts?  YES!  This is another easy way to avoid excess exposure to BPA's.  If you don't need the receipt don't touch it.  Also always wash your hands before eating just in case you've been exposed to BPA's which can be found in many paper products, including toilet paper, tickets, food wrappers, newspapers and napkins. 

If you are a woman constantly having mood swings, PMS, menstrual cramps and menstrual irregularities consider the paper you touch everyday and if you don't need it, don't touch it.   Sometimes it is the small things in life that can make a big difference in our health. Be Well.

 

Sources:  Kannan, K. Environmental Science and Technology, Sept. 23, 2011.

Concern about Canned Food and Breast Cancer Risks

Prevent Breast cancer with Chinese herbsWe are telling canned food manufacturers to stop using BPA's.  We want this toxic chemical Bisphenol A, out of food.

More than 15,000 people so far have asked Campbell Soup Co., Del Monte Foods and General Mills (maker of Progresso, Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen) a simple question: What are they doing to get BPA out of their food packaging and out of our bodies?

Here's what the companies that wrote us back to you had to say:

"Muir Glen continues to believe BPA is safe. However, we know that some of our consumers have wanted us to pursue alternatives" –General Mills

"Scientific and governmental bodies worldwide have examined the science many times and have concluded that the weight of evidence supports the safety of BPA" –Progresso Soup

This sounds more like corporate talking points instead of concern for the health and well being of consumers.

More than 200 scientific studies have shown that there is reason for concern about BPA, which is plenty to convince these "consumers" that it doesn't belong in food. But are these companies really taking our concerns seriously? It sure doesn't sound like it.  BPA's are endocrine disrupting chemicals.  What this means is they effect your hormone levels.  When hormone levels are disrupted over long periods of time, i.e. estrogen dominance can result in excessive PMS, extreme menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea and high estrogen levels can feed cancer cells. 

We're keeping up the pressure on these companies to move quickly and safely to replace BPA in their products.

Canada has already banned the product and other countries are about to follow.

With your help we can make a difference. 

Tell the food manufacturers you have stopped buying canned food and ask your friends and family to take action.  Start today!

As Margaret Mead so appropriately said:   "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has".

For more information on the studies associated with BPA's and breast cancer please check  the Breast Cancer Fund website.

Breastcancerfund.org

BreastCancerFund.org

Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk By Reducing Your BPA levels in 3 days

This is a great article about BPA's and how to limit your exposure of BPA's  from the Breast Cancer Fund.   The Breast Cancer Fund is a non-profit organization working on education us on risk factors contributing to breast cancer.  Please tell your friends to join the awareness movement and stop buying canned foods until our government,follows what many others have done and puts a complete ban on BPA's in our foods.  How can we fight cancer when our government allows cancer causing chemicals in the lining of our food cans.  Am I the only one who thinks this is complete insanity?  Read and pass on. 

March 29, 2011 Breast Cancer Fund Blog

We know BPA is all around us, and the CDC tells us the chemical is in almost 95 percent of us. And we know that laboratory studies have linked BPA to breast cancer, along with a whole host of other serious health problems. But what is the leading source of the BPA that contaminates our bodies? If we removed that source, how much would our BPA levels drop?

The Breast Cancer Fund and Silent Spring Institute conducted a study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, to find out. We enlisted five families for a week-long investigation. First, the families ate their normal diets. Then, we provided them with three days’ worth of freshly prepared organic meals that avoided contact with BPA-containing food packaging, such as canned food and polycarbonate plastic. Finally, the families returned to their normal diets. We measured their BPA levels at each stage.

While the families were eating the fresh-food diet, their BPA levels dropped on average by 60 percent. Those with the highest exposure levels saw even greater reductions: 75 percent.

These groundbreaking results tell us that removing BPA from food packaging will eliminate our number one source of BPA exposure.

Here’s a summary of the kinds of changes we made to the family’s diets and how you can replicate them in your own kitchen:

– Switch to stainless steel and glass food storage and beverage containers.
– Move foods to ceramic or glass food containers for microwaving.
– Consider a French press for coffee – home coffee makers may have polycarbonate-based water tanks and phthalate-based tubing.
– Eat out less, especially at restaurants that do not use fresh ingredients.
– Limit canned food consumption.  Download our 10 canned foods to Avoid Wallet card  for your next shopping trip. And share it with people you care about.
– Choose fresh fruits and vegetables when possible, and frozen if not.
– Soak dried beans for cooking (you can make extra and freeze them).

While we can take steps to reduce our BPA exposure, we need big-picture solutions to ensure that everyone is protected from this chemical. That's why we're telling industry and government that we want safe, non-toxic food packaging now. We’re urging our elected officials to pass laws that will eliminate harmful chemicals from food packaging. We’re demanding reform of the broken system that allows these chemicals to be in our food packaging in the first place. Thanks for lending your voice to this critical work.

Are You Rethinking Menopause, Revisiting Hormones & HRT?

chinese herbs for hot flashes and night sweatsIf your taking them you might be rethinking your decision.   If your not taking them you’re wondering if they could help.  If your dealing with menopause symptoms, you are most likely also dealing with the dilemma of artificial hormones.

The recent news regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is making all women of 45 and older, rethink their options as they consider what to do about hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia and a host of other typical menopause symptoms that can plague women daily.  

Yet the standard of care that we call herd medicine, or medicine for the masses,  can no longer BE the standard of care. Today we must start  with a new emphasis on the importance of treating every woman individually, with decisions about hormone use made strictly on a case-by-case basis. 

 

If your looking for answers and don’t know what to believe with all the recent studies, check out The Breast Cancer Fund.  This national non-profit organization has the most recently published studies posted in one convenient location. They connect the dots between breast cancer and exposures to chemicals and radiation in our everyday environments. They also offer a host of practical breast cancer prevention strategies.   From limiting BPA’s to minimizing your exposure to toxic chemicals,  their web site is an amazing place to educate yourself.

 

If you need more education on a natural solution to your menopause symptoms, you can find several articles here. Our solution, Menopause Relief Herb Pack,  is one that has worked for generations of women.  It’s nothing new to any Chinese herbalist and we guarantee it.  Money back if your not satisfied.  You can find it here or ask your local Acupuncturist/herbalist for your best herbs for menopause.