BPA and your dog

Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been catching a lot of bad press of late, and rightly so! BPA is the additive in hard plastics known in the human medical world as an endocrine disruptor. In the human world, it's been linked to liver damage, reproductive disorders, and behavioral problems like ADD and ADHD. It's also been linked to human metabolic syndrome, which has symptoms like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Common knowledge holds that scientists do initial tests on animals before the FDA releases a product as safe to humans. If the humans are having difficulty with BPA, it stands to reason that the animals would reflect the same dis-eases. While the FDA may continue to support BPA and plastics as safe for consumer products, about 90% of the US population of humans has detectable levels of BPA in their blood. So far, there's not been any published results on the amounts of BPA levels for our animals.

Where our dogs encounter BPA:

* Hard plastic water and food dishes
* Hard plastic toys
* Canned food containers (the white epoxy lining)
* Environment (like dog doors and bedding)
* Hard plastic dog houses


Where there are several studies published about the health effects of BPA on many different kinds of animals, mostly rodents, there aren't any specifically published studies of the effects of BPA on canines. However, if humans experience it, there's a good likelihood that our dogs experience it as humans do but they can't communicate their level of pain nor that something is wrong until it's too late. Very small amounts of BPA produce some potentially life threatinging diseases. In fact, just 0.025 micrograms per kilograms per day (µg/kg/day) produced permanent changes to an animal's genital tract. That same amount also altered breast tissue to increase the potential for cancer to grow there. Increase that small dose by 100 times and the breast tissue then becomes predisposed to cancer. Larger amounts altered the body's ability to react appropriately to gender-related activities, including a decrease in maternal instinct and a dramatic increase in the way the brain registers normal sex activities.

Many consumer groups recommend those who wish to lower their exposure to Bisphenol-A start by avoiding canned food and polycarbonate plastic containers (which has the code number 7 on the bottom of it, as many other plastics do), unless the packaging indicates the plastic is Bisphenol A-free. The National Toxicology Panel continues with those minor adjustments to every day living by recommending the following things, in order to avoid plastic leaching BPA into your foodstuffs:

* Avoid microwaving food in plastic containers
* Avoid putting plastics in the dishwasher
* Avoid all use of harsh detergents (including bleach)


With that in mind, we've made some changes in our family to avoid BPA for both humans and dogs alike.

How to help your dog avoid BPA:

* Feed a raw food diet
* Change water and food dishes to either glass or stainless steel
* Choose products made from BPA-free polyethylene
* Select foods sealed in pouches if you feed "dog food," rather than foods from cans
* Build a wooden dog house
* Choose toys made from organic-source rope and fabric


For more information about how I care for my dogs, please visit furheads.com or search the site you're on now for more articles I've written.


Disclosure Statement: I am not a veterinarian; I do not diagnose medical issues, offer medical advice, prescribe drugs, or perform surgery. I am a freelance journalist writing about my experiences with my own dogs, incorporating many different complimentary tools found for my own dogs to overcome potential health concerns I have for them. I have been keeping a journal of my findings since July of 1996; I have been privileged to work with several hundred other canines and their families in a wide range of life situations as of the writing of this statement and will gladly provide references should you desire them. Your dog(s) may benefit from the care I've provided my own dogs, based on knowledge gained through this experience, courses taken/taught, and animal communication. My role is that of facilitator, assisting you and your dog(s) to attain or maintain a naturally healthy state. The specific results you may see, should you decide to try some of what we've done in our family, will be different for each animal. In addition to the articles I write and publish, I also teach massage, Usui Reiki, Quantum Touch, and Animal Communication to owners, caretakers, and practitioners; sell products for animals in these and other holistic and vibrational modalities; provide references to other animal communicators and practitioners.

Resources:
http://www.bisphenol-a.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A#Animal_Studies