Are you fat? Got man boobs? Are your kids fat? Any health problems? Do you need someone to blame? Hey, try blaming bisphenol A. Some studies show that this compound imitates estrogen in humans and can disrupt hormone production.
Bisphenol A, known as BPA, is in a lot of food packaging. Why? Well, despite the bad publicity, it actually does some good. It’s a resin that keeps the food from coming in contact with the metal in the can. If you ever had canned pineapple juice, you’ve experienced that metallic taste. BPA helps stop that. As a germ barrier, it also helps prevent botulism. The world makes about 2 million tons of it each year.
Also on the good side, your body seems to get rid of it after you eat it. The bad side is that it’s in almost everything, even in a lot of organically grown food packaging, so you end up getting a constant dose of the chemical.
It was in water bottles, until recently. Someone is now complaining it’s in children’s canned food.
So is it good for you or bad for you? Hell if I know. Probably both.
On the one hand, everything is bad for you. Too much water can hurt and kill you. Drinking is supposed to be bad for you, but a new CDC study indicates that moderate drinking actually helps you live longer than not drinking at all. It’s ironic, because New York is attacking those who engage in moderate drinking and keeps trying to lower the alcohol limits on DUIs. I remember an old study that showed that the people who lived longest were not non-smokers, but those who smoked a bit and then quit. I guess it depends on how much you do it.
Canada has banned the chemical for baby bottles and declared it a toxic chemical, but most U.S. government research says it’s alright. So I guess this is the final proof that Canadians are from some other planet and are biologically different from Americans.
I don’t want man boobs or cancer. I also don’t want to die of botulism or taste metal in my food.
Dr. Oz warns of arsenic in apple juice. The FDA disagrees. I think the sugar in the juice is probably more toxic than the arsenic, but what do I know?
How much of these warnings are just Hennie Pennie “the sky is falling” attempts to sell newspapers? How much reporting is actually a disinformation campaign to stop consumers from learning important medical news? Who do you trust? If like me, the answer is “no one,” then it becomes impossible to make important health decisions. That’s the tragedy. Damned if you do, and maybe damned if you don’t.
All this confusion is enough to drive me to drink. Which, apparently, is healthy for me.
Marvin Wolf is a Newark attorney and satirist, who writes a regular opinion column for Local Talk.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
