Forget Hormone Disruptors–Now A Doctor Claims BPA Gave Him Diabetes.
We’ve known about the dangers of bisphenol-A for a long time. The hormone disrupting quality of the once-popular component of water bottles, food cans and even children’s sippy cups has long been known to mimic estrogen, at least one male sex hormone, and thyroid hormones.
As such it is known to be capable of disrupting bodily systems all over the place: it’s been connected to reproductive problems, developmental problems, brain damage and even cancer. Studies have found that BPA is present in 90 percent of the people tested for it.
And one physician and former chemical engineer believes his adult-onset Type-1 diabetes is also a result of contact with bisphenol-A.
Nathan Ravi worked for a biotech company in the 1970s, where his work researching consumer and industrial uses for bisphenol products involved constant contact with the chemicals.
When he was 28 he developed Type-1 diabetes, despite being perfectly healthy previously. Type-1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, usually strikes children due to defects present at birth. Unlike Type-2 diabetes, which strikes people of all ages largely due to dietary and exercise issues, Type-1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the pancreas, the organ in the body that produces insulin.
After Ravi left his job as a chemical engineer and went on to become a physician, he discovered that two of his former co-workers also contracted Type-1 diabetes. That’s when he began to suspect the close contact with massive amounts of plastics containing bishpehols may have been the cause. And seeing as how the pancreas, the organ responsible for regulating insulin and blood sugar levels is a part of the endocrine system which is known to be affected by bisphenols, there is good reason for him to think this way.
The FDA, shockingly, takes a pro-business, hand-off approach to BPA: “…based on its most recent safety assessment…[the FDA] continues to support the safety of BPA for the currently approved uses in food containers and packaging.”
And while the European Union and Canada have banned BPA in baby bottles and US industry has voluntarily ceased to use it in baby bottles, BPA is still ubiquitous. It’s in food can liners, beverage can liners, cosmetics and perfume.
For his part, Ravi maintains excellent health by sticking to a strict diet, and even running ultra-marathons. He lectures on the dangers of bisphenols and cautions people to minimize their use of plastics.
“Use glass or ceramic whenever possible,” he said. “Every flexible plastic has an endocrine disruptor.
“I don’t say I’m an expert,” he added. “I just tell them my story.”
And it’s a story the FDA and the plastics industry would rather you not hear. But it’s one we should all know by heart.
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http://www.naturalnews.com/053738_BPA_exposure_Diabetes_Dr_Nathan_Ravi.html