findings<\/a> that the level of plastic chemicals found in the bodies of adults dropped significantly within just seven days of reducing their plastic exposure.<\/p>\nImmunologist and UWA clinical professor Michaela Lucas, lead investigator of the PERTH trial, said we don\u2019t know what was a \u201csafe\u201d level of plastic chemicals in the body but the trial delivered a message of hope that we can actively reduce levels in our bodies.<\/p>\n
Dietitian Amelia Harray, a senior research fellow at UWA Medical School who is also working on the PERTH trial, said there was a lot of interest among parents to replace items like plastic water bottles and lunchboxes with glass or stainless steel.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s a long way to go, because the sheer cost of some of these things, like steel lunch boxes, is not accessible or affordable for lots of families in WA,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The experts said the public health crisis caused by plastic was not individuals\u2019 fault and it was the responsibility of government and manufacturers to make plastics safer.<\/p>\n
But, with the horse already bolted and plastics ubiquitous in our lives and our bodies, it was beneficial for people to make changes to reduce their \u2014 and their children\u2019s \u2014 exposure to plastic.<\/p>\n
Professor Lucas said avoiding ultra processed foods (UPFs), which are often individually packaged in plastic which leaches into the contents, was doubly beneficial for children in terms of nutrition and plastic chemical exposure.<\/p>\n
And when it came to plastic pollution, she said the health of the planet was intrinsically linked to children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to preserve nature in its environment because that\u2019s what our immune system needs to thrive. The more plastic you have in your environment, looking at a playground made of plastic versus playing in the woods, contact with nature is of critical importance for prevention of allergies and so on,\u201d Professor Lucas said.<\/p>\n
Dr Harray said given that 50 per cent of kids\u2019 energy intake was from UPFs, she advised parents to buy items like chips or popcorn in bigger bags, rather than individual ones, to reduce the amount of plastic touching the food.<\/p>\n
She urged people not to heat up food in a microwave in plastic bowls or containers and not to use any type of non-stick cookware.<\/p>\n
\u201cStainless steel is the safest option we know. Just go basic,\u201d she said. \u201cReplace things that you use all the time, especially kids\u2019 lunchboxes and water bottles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Dunlop advised people to avoid tinned food because the cans are lined with polymer resin that leaches chemicals into the contents.<\/p>\n
She said it was better to wear clothing made of natural fibres rather than polyester and, as cotton can be sprayed with chemicals, to look for the OEKO-TEX label which shows a product is certified as having passed safety tests for the presence of harmful substances.<\/p>\n
Dr Lucas said it was constant exposure to plastic chemicals that was thought to contribute to disease rather than eating the occasional ultra processed item wrapped in plastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our study, we identified a group of people who did things in moderation, and they were the ones who had lower exposure to these chemicals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it does make a difference, but we can\u2019t make people feel that if their kid has some Twisties that they\u2019ve failed them, but if they\u2019re having Twisties in their lunchbox every day, I would counsel against that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Subiaco mother-of-two Sarah Barrett said she had long used stainless steel water bottles and made sure not to microwave food in plastic containers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it comes to other plastic exposure, that becomes hard as a parent,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you have leftovers to store or with kids dropping things, plastic is a very convenient material.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ms Barrett said she wanted to know the most worthwhile swaps, particularly with food storage and preparation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something that people are looking for information about and becoming a bit more aware that not all substances are created equally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
PLASTIC DANGER<\/p>\n
Bisphenols, including bisphenol A (BPA), are the main building blocks in many common plastics and used as a hardening agent in other plastics. Bisphenol exposure often occurs through use of products including: food storage containers, drink bottles, teething toys, coatings inside metal products such as food cans, polyester and thermal receipts. There is consistent and significant evidence between BPA exposure and multiple health harms in babies and children including: premature birth, asthma, bronchitis, anogenital distance in girls, ADHD, kidney function, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory markers.<\/p>\n
Phthalates are used to make plastics flexible. Exposure often occurs through use of products including: children\u2019s toys, clothing, food packaging, personal care products and vinyl floor coverings. There is consistent and significant evidence between phthalate exposure and multiple health harms in babies and children including: atopic dermatitis, anogenital distance in boys, fine motor and psychomotor development, insulin resistance and inflammatory markers.<\/p>\n
PBDEs (Polybrominated Diethyl Ethers) is a chemical used as a flame retardant in some plastics. PBDE exposure often occurs through the use of products including textiles, car seats, infant mattresses, furniture foams and paints. There is consistent and significant evidence between PBDE exposure and multiple health harms in babies and children including: decreased birth weight, IQ and cognitive development, thyroid function and obesity.<\/p>\n
PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) were previously used as a flame retardant in some plastics but remain in the environment for long periods. PCB exposure often occurs through the use of products including old electrical parts, old plastics, paints and fluorescent light fixtures. There is consistent and significant evidence between PBDE exposure and multiple health harms in babies and children including bronchitis, decreased birth weight, autism, Non-Hodgkin\u2019s Lymphoma and obesity.<\/p>\n
PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), often referred to as \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, are used as coatings to repel water, grease and stains, as well as in fire-fighting foams. PFAS exposure often occurs through the use of products including non-stick cookware, plastic food packaging, grease-resistant food packaging, cosmetics, water and stain resistant coatings for clothes, furniture, carpet and car seats. There is consistent and significant evidence between PFAS exposure and multiple health harms in babies and children including decreased birth length, head circumference, thyroid function, atopic dermatitis, ADHD in girls and obesity.<\/p>\n
Source: Minderoo Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From their favourite teddy bear to the play mat they crawl on, their teething ring to their sippy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,137,44,45],"class_list":["post-690988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-health","tag-news","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}