The Dangers of Plastic

Everything seems to come in plastic or has a component that is plastic. Plastic at one point seemed to be a miracle of the 21st century. Lately, evidence has been coming forward that indicates the widespread use of plastic is causing harm to our health.

In the SixWise Newsletter, there is an article entitled Six New Studies Confirm Health Dangers of Plastic. The article sheds some really interesting light into why we might have some health concerns and not know the reason. Plastics can act as “endocrine disrupting chemicals” which may hinder the action of thyroid hormones, affect testosterone production, and act like a xenoestrogen in the body.

The use of plastic seems to be be affecting fetal development, animals, and the environment. Chris Jordan is an artist who does amazing work with common objects. In his work called Plastic Bottles, he shows you the magnitude of the problem and the use of plastic beverage bottles in the U.S. for just 5 minutes.

While there probably isn’t anyway we can totally eliminate our use of plastics at this point, the article does give tips for limiting our health complications from the exposure to plastic. They recommend:

• Use glass and paper products instead of plastic.
• Avoid drinking bottled water.
• Replace toxic plastic products with safer plastics, such as bio-based materials.
• Be aware that a “3″ or a “V” stamped underneath the recycling symbol of your plastic product indicates that the product contains PVC.
• Smell your plastic! PVC products give off a distinct odor from toxic gases being released, such as the smell from a vinyl shower curtain.
• During the construction process — when building a house, for instance — make sure to avoid installing PVC plastic piping.

I continue to try to stay as informed as I can on the matters that affect the health of my family, including my Longevity Studios family. I have adopted ways in my home-life to avoid these dangers and I continue to search for ways to move them into my business practices as well. My use of plastics for Longevity Studios will be significantly reduced in the very near future. I will let you know how when it happens. I hope you take actions to do the same.

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