BPA - The silent killer (or at least the estrogen assassin)

I was previously a journalist for my high school newspaper in my younger years. During this time, I learned the impact that images could have on a written story.

With this in mind, I felt it was only appropriate to lead off with the skull n' crossbones.

I started writing this post after reading the following article on CNN this morning:

AP story on BPA

So what exactly is BPA? I had to look this up as I haven't seen it before. Its full name is Bisphenol A, which is a phenolic compound used in the synthesis of many different types of plastics. Most notably for our purposes, BPA is an important component of polycarbonate. For our interest, polycarbonate appears in most hard plastic water bottles that are available for consumer purchase. While BPA is simply a precursor chemical, it does appear in the end product as chemical reactions are rarely fully completed. As such, it can leach from the completed polycarbonate material into the surrounding environment.

As far as health effects go, it is a compound known to interfere with estrogen in the human body. This leads to a wide range of potential problems that can arise.

For more info on BPA, check out:

BPA information from Wikipedia

What are the solutions? Buy a SIGG water bottle of course. While they are lined with an epoxy compound (another type of polymer) they are completely BPA free. Or, if you really want to go for polymer free try one of the stainless steel flasks which we offer. Only slightly heavier and very durable.

Happy Holidays and drink safely!