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02.10.2014 Feature Article

Plastic containers, the researcher & FDA dismiss claims!

Plastic containers, the researcher  FDA dismiss claims!
02.10.2014 LISTEN

I wasn't surprised that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) dismissed the researcher claim of plastic containers posing health risk to the public. On Wednesday, September 24, 2014 there was a bold and catching headline on the front page of the Daily Graphic “Danger, plastic containers pose health risk but FDA dismisses researcher's claim.”

Mr. Dominic Gyamfi, I will describe him as a very bold researcher in a country like Ghana. Even though that the claims have, however, been disputed by Mr. Kofi Essel, a Principal Regulatory Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA,) who insists that the assertion had no scientific evidence but was rather a product of “desktop research.” So what is a desktop research?

Secondary research (also known as desk research) involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research rather than primary research, where data is collected from, for example, research subjects or experiments.

“If someone talks about public health risk, it should be based on evidence so that regulatory institutions can protect the public from such risk. There is no room for speculations so far as public health is at stake,” he said.

Well, Mr. Kofi Essel is right here and that is why I want to challenge the researcher, Mr. Gyamfi, to publish his secondary research he had conducted over the last three years with data that point to the fact that plastics were indeed harmful to human health. There are lots of foreign studies and I know that the FDA principal regulator also knows that but because Mr. Gyamfi is now linking the research to the Ghanaian case Mr. Kofi Essel is challenging him and Mr. Gyamfi you can prove yourself right by submitting your full length research paper to be peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal so we can see your work on plastic containers and the health hazards it pose to Ghanaians. Remember publication provokes debate and it's also grounds for recommendations and regulations for these bodies as you are now talking about the Ghana case. So please don't waste your research paper because you said:

“When there were no plastics in the pasts, cancers and cardiovascular diseases, as well as infertility, diabetes and early menstruation were not as common as we have today.”

You see correlation does not imply causation!
On the other hand Mr. Kofi Essel also said the rate at which BPA leached into food was highly dependent on the temperature of the food, adding that the temperature at which food came into contact with such plastics in Ghana posed no danger to the consumer. Can he also prove to us? And can he also let us know the long-term effects of these on the health of the people!

There are certain things you cannot totally eliminate. There are some amounts of chemicals that are allowed in food. The body has its own mechanism to excrete these chemicals, he said. But do you also know that the body accumulates these chemicals leached into the food as men age?

BPA & men prostate cancer link!
BPA, an environmental pollutant with estrogen activity, is used to make hard, clear plastic and is common in many food product containers. It has been linked to neurological defects, diabetes and a number of cancers, including breast and prostate. You see as men age and testosterone level decline there is a rise in what I call modern day synthetic estrogen men accumulate from their foods!

“As an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen and thyroid hormones, BPA also acts as a metabolic and immune disruptor,” says Ho. “The adverse health effects of BPA are extensive, and studies in animals have proven this.”

In the study, researchers assessed the PSA of 60 urology patients using urine samples. Higher levels of BPA were found in prostate cancer patients than in non-prostate cancer patients (5.74 μg/g creatine versus 1.43 μg/g creatine), and the difference was even more significant in patients less than 65 years of age.

A study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine by the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington at Seattle, evaluated whether low testosterone levels are a risk factor for mortality in men over the age of 40. The participants all had their testosterone levels checked regularly during the study which lasted for five years.

The study discovered that men who were classified as having low testosterone had an 88% increased risk of death compared to the group who had normal testosterone levels.

Frequent sex is even good for your prostate than BPA! So have more! And avoid BPA found in can linings and water bottles. It is deadly for your prostate!

Stop the intake of BPA
Disease happens when the body tries to protect itself from further damage by concentrating toxins and pollutants and other excesses in a less vital organ or area of the body so that the body can still carry on.

The prostate, a deep-inside organ, is vulnerable to toxins just like the breast or uterus in women. The concentration of toxins in the prostate can result in any of the prostate diseases.

For men, as we age we accumulate more and more toxins, which affect our hormone levels and sensitive prostate tissues.

This is why it appears that aging is the cause of prostate problem, but that is untrue! Aging is not the cause! It is just an observation or correlation and correlation does not imply causation!

It just appears more often as we get older because the conditions accumulate over time.

It appears we must take charge of our health and adopt new life-enhancing and toxic-minimising habits. Otherwise we are doomed to an unhappy ending and, if the rates of prostate disease keep going up, perhaps we threaten the very survival of our species.

It's been estimated that 90 per cent of people in the United States have detectable levels of BPA toxin in their bodies, which is not a good thing because BPA has been associated with various health problems, including an increased risk of cancer, including prostate cancer.

The studies!
In a recent University of Chicago review study (September 2008,) it was noted that BPA has been linked with an increased risk of prostate cancer in animal models. (Prins 2008) It was also pointed out that there appears to be a period of time when the prostate is especially sensitive to endocrine disruptors like BPA, including in utero and neonatal, as well as during puberty. BPA has been used in the production of plastics since the 1950s, which means you have been exposed to it most if not all of your life.

A Chemical Heritage Foundation study published in November 2009 also stated that “New research on very-low-dose exposure to BPA suggests an association with adverse health effects, including breast and prostate cancer, obesity, neuro-behavioural problems, and reproductive abnormalities” (Vogel 2009). Although it's not possible to stay away from BPAs entirely, you can avoid them in a very significant way: by not ingesting them with your food.


Where do I find BPA?
BPA is found in most hard, clear plastics and products made from them, including:

Dental sealants
Flooring
Microwave cookware and utensils
Pacifiers
Plastics with recycling #7 designation
Plastic food storage containers
Plastic-lined beverage containers
Plastic-lined food cans
Plastic toys
Sippy cups
Syringes
Water bottles

BPA has also been found in paper products in supermarkets including paper receipts.

In general, plastics that are marked with recycle codes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are very unlikely to contain BPA. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with recycle codes 3 or 7 may be made with BPA.

There are seven classes of plastics used in packaging applications. Type 7 is the catch-all “other” class, and some type 7 plastics, such as polycarbonate (sometimes identified with the letters “PC” near the recycling symbol) and epoxy resins, are made from bisphenol A monomer.

Type 3 (PVC) can also contain bisphenol A as an antioxidant in plasticisers. This is particularly true for “flexible PVC”, but not true for PVC pipes.

More reasons to Avoid BPA
BPA in common foods have levels linked to neurological and genital defects.

Tests of ten common packaged foods conducted for the Journal Sentinel in 2008 found toxic levels of BPA had leached into every product when it was heated as instructed in an oven or microwave, even those that stated they were “microwave safe.” (Note: “microwave safe” is not a designation regulated by the government. Any company can put this phrase on their products without any official testing by the FDA. Among the products tests were two Stouffer's frozen entrees, Campbell's microwavable tomato soup, and Hormel's canned chili without beans. The levels of BPA detected were those shown in previous studies in lab animals to cause neurological and developmental damage, including genital defects, behavioural changes, and abnormal development of the mammary glands. The changes to the mammary glands were identical to those seen in women who are at greater risk for breast cancer. (Kissinger 2008)

A review of 258 scientific studies of BPA by the Journal Sentinel found that the vast majority of the studies showed BPA caused breast cancer, testicular cancer, diabetes, low sperm counts, diabetes, hyperactivity, obesity, miscarriage, and other reproductive failures in lab animals. (Kissinger 2009).

A study published in November 2009 and conducted by Kaiser Permanente and funded by the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found an increased prevalence of erectile dysfunction (impotence) among men exposed to high levels of BPA on the job. The investigators compared 230 workers in China who were normally exposed to high levels of the chemical on the job with a control group of 404 factory workers who had no exposure to BPA at work. Compared with controls, men exposed to BPA had a greater than seven-fold increased risk of difficulty with ejaculation, a four-fold increased risk of erection difficulty, and a nearly four-fold increased risk of reduced sexual desire and overall satisfaction with their sex life. (Li 2009)

BPA is found in a number of common foods at levels exceeding human limits.

Another report, published in the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, noted that BPA was found in nearly every sample of 19 common food products tested. The organization tested canned corn, chili, juice, tuna, and tomato sauce, among other foods. The investigators found the highest amount of BPA for a single sample in canned Del Monte Fresh Cut Green Beans Blue Lake and high levels also in Progresso Vegetable Soup and Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup. The amount of BPA found in one serving of canned green beans, which averaged 123.5 parts per billion (ppb), meant that a 165-pound adult would ingest about 0.2 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight per day, which is about 80 times higher than the experts' recommended daily upper limit. Our purpose is not to pick on any one food manufacturer or food item but to emphasize that BPA can be found in a wide range of popular foods items. (Consumer Reports)

The FDA For instance had long insisted that BPA did not present a health hazard. That attitude changed in January 2010, when the agency finally admitted that it now had “some concerns” about the toxin and its possible health impact, especially on children. The FDA released a report in which it said that the “FDA is supporting reasonable steps to reduce human exposure to BPA including actions by industry and recommendations to consumers on food preparation.” However, the agency did not take the extra step and ban products that contain BPA. So I think the researcher must publish his work for the people of Ghana. It could be a good job and the FDA in Ghana can start doing something and making recommendations also for industries since maybe some don't even know! Will the FDA in Ghana also attitude change in the near future. We leave to see!


ARTICLE: DR. NYARKOTEY RAPHAEL OBU
The writer is a registered Naturopathic doctor & prostate cancer expert with Masters in Prostate Cancer –Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

He is the CEO of De Men's Clinic & Prostate Research Lab, Dodowa-Akoto House and founder of Men's Health Foundation Ghana. We lead change, we believe men deserve better! Tel: 0541090045. Email:[email protected]

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