Epigenetics, BPA, and Can I really live without plastic?

A couple weeks ago, the cover story in TIME magazine was on epigenetics. The whole concept of epigenetics is really fascinating and quite distressing to think about. We all know that evolution is a process which takes a very long time to change a species, so if you think in grand evolutional terms, nothing you do (smoking, drinking, eating a poor diet, etc) will affect your DNA or that of your children…. right? Well, this whole epigenetics thing says pretty much the opposite. There are apparently genetic markers, or switches, which tell certain genes to turn on and others to turn off. Genetic markers for certain things – good and bad – can be turned on and off in response to things such as smoking, drinking, poor diet, etc. And here’s the kicker. If one of these markers is switched on/off in *your* DNA, you will most likely pass on that “switch” to your offspring, and they in turn will most likely pass it on to theirs. It can take several generations for this “switch” to work its way out of your family’s DNA. [Here's what wikipedia has to say on the subject.]

I am certainly not an expert on epigenetics after reading one article, and it does seem to be a rather new field of study, so there’s much in that area still to be learned. However, after reading it, I began thinking very seriously about ways to change things in my life to keep my body healthy – mainly along the lines of eating more fruits and vegetables, keeping in line with my first New Year’s Resolution. Two of my closest friends recently had children, and I guess my biological clock is ticking, because I’ve been wanting to make sure I’m not going to pass on any bizarre DNA switches to any kids *I* might one day have.

Recently I listened to two different podcasts of NPR news shows, both of which addressed the issue of BPA (Bisphenol A) in plastics and its effects (or potential effects) on human health. (The podcasts were Diane Rehm's second hour on January 20, 2010 and Talk of the Nation Science Friday from January 22, 2010. To read about BPA on wikipedia, click here.) Scientists are only just now beginning to understand the effects of BPA upon the human organism, which makes one wonder what *other* chemicals in plastic negatively impact human health. I went grocery shopping right after listening to one podcast, and was in the middle of the other when I pulled into the parking lot. Inspired (or perhaps frightened) by what I’d heard, I decided to try to cut back on the amount of plastics that I purchased.

And I pretty much failed. My one success was buying cream cheese in the cardboard packet, instead of in the plastic tub. Everything else…. well, take a look:

Cookies, in a plastic container, wrapped in plastic.
Should I start baking??

Organic Spinach....
encased in plastic, with the evil number 7 (explained below)

I *love* trail mix. But if I'm not carrying it on the trail (or to class, work, etc) in this bag, what should I carry it in? If I'm ruling out plastic, that rules out Ziploc!

Yogurt.

When you buy veggies at the grocery store,
you're supposed to put them in these bags.

Granola and Triscuits. Should I empty the contents out of the plastic bags and directly into the cardboard boxes?

Again with the organic veggies encased in plastic

One of the scientists I’d heard interviewed on NPR had a tip for finding the “healthier” plastics: Many (but definitely not all) plastics have a recycle symbol with a number in the center. Take a look at the number and remember this little rhyme, “Four, five, one, and two, everything else is bad for you.” Of all the plastic products I’d purchased, only *two* had a recycling symbol with a number: The yogurt had an acceptable 5…. while the organic spinach was encased in a BPA-bearing 7! Additionally, after returning home I was shocked to upend my Nalgene water bottle to discover that it bore a number 7 as well! Nalgene was supposed to be the environmentally healthy way of drinking water, avoiding the waste of plastic water bottles… although apparently it’s been poisoning me with BPA! (A quick google search shows that Nalgene is now marketing BPA-free water bottles.) Then there’s the fact that I cannot drink tap water at my house. Not only do I have city water, but I have old, rusty plumbing. The stuff that comes out of my tap tastes pretty foul. As a result, I use a Brita filtration pitcher – all plastic, with no number on it to give me a clue as to whether or not it’s got any BPA. (According to several sites such as this one, Brita claims its products are made of BPA-free plastic.)

My Brita pitcher and Nalgene bottle

So what do I replace my Nalgene bottle with? Do they make glass or ceramic Brita filtration pitchers? What about Tupperware? Or those new Ziploc super-cheap alternatives to Tupperware? What about plastic wrap? What about all the food I bought, encased in plastic? What about all the plastic Christmas “tins” that I use for my cat and dog food bowls? (Surely if it’s bad for me to ingest, it’s bad for my critters, too, although they bear the number 5, one of the “acceptable” numbers.) Gah! And let’s not even think about the fact that almost all canned foods are in cans that are lined on the inside with a BPA-containing sealant.

If you start thinking about all of the food/beverage related plastics, it suddenly gets really overwhelming. Would it actually be possible to eliminate all of these things from my life? And if so, would it be something affordable, or would I have to spend much, much more in order to do it? (My friend Brenda sent me this link to a place to buy all sorts of glass storage containers. I am going to slowly start collecting them.... too bad I'm so poor!!) If these chemicals are in everything and are so pervasive, would I actually be able to make a difference in my health (and my epigenetics) by getting rid of them?