How do you know that the plastic thing you bought in your favorite online army shop is really harmless to you and your surroundings? It's not that complicated if you stick to a few simple procedures and knowledge.
What is BPA in purely chemical terms?
A substance called Bisphenol A (abbreviation BPA) is an organic compound and is used as a monomer in the production of polycarbonates. Today, it can be found in practically everything: from CDs/DVDs, to baby bottles, sports equipment, in the construction industry, ... We can find it in polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and in epoxy resins.
Why even look for BPA Free?
The problem is that BPA behaves like synthetic estrogen in the human body, so when it gets into it, it definitely has the potential to cause significant damage. That is why the "BPA Free" logo is often insisted on, at least for children's toys.
If you belong to the people who do not read, ignore and condemn such things on principle, so be it, it is your life. But at least your family and surroundings don't have to be involved, right?
You can easily recognize the BPA free logo, that is, of course, if you look for it…
Why exactly is BPA harmful to you and what can it do to you over time?
When the effects of BPA were tested on animals, the results were not very encouraging—in the animal fetus, it either caused a decrease in sperm in men or prevented the proper development of breast tissue (and as a "bonus" an even higher chance of breast cancer later on).
Currently, scientists are still debating whether all of the above will also apply to humans, or whether BPA is also to blame for the countless diseases of civilization known to us today—diabetes, obesity, heart disease, etc. One thing, however, cannot be overlooked—men working in a BPA production factory were four times more likely to have difficulty with erections and seven times more likely to have difficulties with ejaculation.
BPA also has a negative effect on the functioning of the human immune system. However, the European organization EFSA issued a statement after its own studies that BPA is not dangerous and does not act as an endocrine disruptor. In addition, it has been used as a preservative since the war, and the EFSA also defends itself by saying that it is one of the longest and most long-term monitored substances.
According to scientists, there is no need to panic, but it is good to know that BPA can be released from plastic, most likely when it is exposed to radiation. Whether solar (plastic bottles left in the sun) or thermal (heating food in a plastic packaging).
Better be careful what you buy!
If it seems normal to you to buy things of a certain brand or simply meeting a certain quality standard, and you are not indifferent to your health (or at least the health of your children), why not take it really seriously and look out for similar logos? It sounds like a cliché, but you really only care about your health.
After all, modern civilization already "rolls" similar things into us from above/below - for example, sea fish are today considered a model of a healthy lifestyle, but the truth is that due to coal-fired power plants and gold mining, most fish contain such high doses of mercury that you cannot afford to eat them all the time and without health consequences…
It is a sad paradox of human nature that most people start to value health only when some problems appear.