Study: Long-term Consumption of Plastic-Bottled Water Can Lead to "Neutral Gender"
A recent test result shows that drinking water from plastic bottles can increase the controversial "gender-shifting" (i.e., "neither male nor female") chemical substances in the human body by more than two-thirds.
Many food and beverage plastic containers, cans, and transparent baby bottles contain a common chemical component called Bisphenol A (BPA). Experts have expressed concerns about its potential impact on human health, and some countries have officially classified this substance as toxic.
The study found that after participants drank water from PC (polycarbonate) plastic bottles for a week, the BPA content in their urine increased by 69%, and BPA is similar to the female hormone estrogen.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health investigated 77 students. First, these participants underwent a one-week "washout" period, during which, to minimize contact with BPA, they could only drink chilled beverages from stainless steel bottles. Afterward, the researchers gave the participants two PC plastic bottles and asked them to drink only chilled beverages from these bottles for the next week.
Previous studies have confirmed that high BPA intake is linked to birth defects, developmental problems, and an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. A particular concern is that heating plastic bottles can cause greater harm. For example, when parents use plastic bottles to feed hot milk to babies, some potentially dangerous chemicals can leach into the liquid inside the bottle.
Most adults carry BPA in their bodies, but experts are divided on the dangers of this substance. The European Food Safety Authority states that the human body automatically converts this chemical into a less harmful substance.
Previous studies have confirmed that BPA can leach from PC plastic bottles into the liquid they contain, but this research report, published in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives," is the first to confirm the corresponding increase in BPA concentration in human urine after drinking from PC plastic bottles.
Jenny Carwile, a Harvard researcher, said: "Previous studies have already confirmed the adverse health effects of BPA, and this study fills the gap in that inference—whether PC plastic bottles are the main culprit for the increase of BPA in the human body."
- Voices
"Drinking cold water from a plastic bottle for just one week increases BPA levels in urine by over two-thirds. Heating plastic bottles, such as for hot milk, can cause the concentration of this substance to be quite high. BPA can disrupt gland hormone secretion, and infants are extremely sensitive to it. Canada banned the use of BPA in the production of PC plastic baby bottles last year." — Michelle, Associate Professor at Harvard University