March 30, 2011
By Wendy Koch
Excerpt: Adults and children can reduce their exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol-A (BPA), by eating more fruits and vegetables and less food from plastic containers and metal cans, a new study out today says.
A group of 20 San Francisco residents had 66% less BPA in their urine after spending three days on a diet of fresh, organic and unpackaged food, scientists found. Their levels of another chemical, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or DEHP, fell 53% to 56%.
"The is the first study to provide clear evidence that food packaging is a major source of BPA and DEHP exposure in children and adults," says co-author Julia G. Brody, executive director of the Silent Spring Institute, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that studies environmental factors in women's health.