5 ms·

Or why we should be concerned.

by jacob019 6y ago

wyldfire 6y ago
We should be concerned because the plastic acts like xenoestrogens in the body. Hormone disruption is bad.
- KMag 6y ago
  Is that also the case for BPA-free plastics? "Plastics" covers a wide range of chemicals, and I'm not up to date on the latest health information in this area.
  - gruez 6y ago
    >Is that also the case for BPA-free plastics be careful, the "BPA free" plastic products on the market might have just replaced BPA with BPS (or other plasticizers), which might be as bad as BPA when it comes to your health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects
    - jim-jim-jim 6y ago
      I'm using a wooden toothbrush handle with "BPA free" bristles and this potential switcheroo has me worried. Are there toothbrushes out there that avoid plastic entirely?
      - ppseafield 6y ago
        https://www.brushwithbamboo.com https://www.brushwithbamboo.com
- adrr 6y ago
  Lot of natural foods do the exact same thing. Soy isoflavones have a very strong estrogen effect.
  - alexmingoia 6y ago
    There is no strong evidence of any link between phytoestrogen consumption and adverse health effects, as shown by a cursory look at the Wikipedia page for phytoestrogens, and the literature. I’ve consumed minimum 1 cup soy milk almost my entire life. No man boobs and my sperm works just fine. What’s funny is people usually warn me that eating soy will somehow harm my masculinity, yet they aren’t aware milk, eggs, and meat also contain phytoestrogens https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x
    - goldenkey 6y ago
      So does wheat, coffee, sesame seeds - in fact: most grains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources But soy gets all the press. People believe what they desire to believe... And good on you. I too drink 1/2 Liter of Westsoy Unsweetened Soymilk daily. Silk just came out with an unsweetened variety too! :-)
      - newen 6y ago
        This is like saying both water and botulinum are technically toxins, so it’s okay to drink liters of botulinum a day. What matters is the quantity of phytoestrogens in foods, and soy products happens to have significantly higher phytoestrogens than other foods.
        goldenkey 6y ago
        I am not making a two wrongs make a right argument. I argue that grains are pervasive in our society and have no noticable ill effects. You strawmanned by claiming soy has way higher phytoestrogens than other foods. It's not true. It is just more studied due to its increasing popularity. Lignan forms of phytoestrogens are in potent concentrations in common cereal grains. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestrogen_Content_of_Cereals_and_Cereal-Based_Foods_Consumed_in_the_UK https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestro... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/
ashtonkem 6y ago
As a general rule, one should be cautious about adding new substances into the human body, especially if you’re doing it accidentally and without prior planning or study.
- PurpleFoxy 6y ago
  These aren’t “new” substances. We have been using plastic for decades now and there isn’t clear knowledge that it is very bad to ingest. If it was super bad we would have seen the effects by now.
  - PKop 6y ago
    Testosterone decline in men during that period (and yes, decades is a very short period of time in the context of health effects over time) would seem to corellate with phytoestrogen increase
    - 867-5309 6y ago
      decades is new in the span of evolutionary history
  - blix 6y ago
    If you change enough variables at once, it's pretty hard to get clear knowledge of harm. We're not out there running controlled experiments on every new substance, or collecting robust data. The rapid rise of unexplained autoimmune disease over the past few decades (one of quite a few negative health trends) indicates that our knowledge of what is harmful is incomplete.
  - sdenton4 6y ago
    Look up the history of leaded gasoline sometime... There were studies asserting a certain 'natural' level of lead in the bloodstream which we now consider quite toxic. But everyone was poisoned together, due to ubiquity, so it took a massive effort to get people to understand that something was wrong.
  - amanaplanacanal 6y ago

Or why we should be concerned.

wyldfire 6y ago

We should be concerned because the plastic acts like xenoestrogens in the body. Hormone disruption is bad.

KMag 6y ago
Is that also the case for BPA-free plastics? "Plastics" covers a wide range of chemicals, and I'm not up to date on the latest health information in this area.
- gruez 6y ago
  >Is that also the case for BPA-free plastics be careful, the "BPA free" plastic products on the market might have just replaced BPA with BPS (or other plasticizers), which might be as bad as BPA when it comes to your health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_S#Health_Effects
  - jim-jim-jim 6y ago
    I'm using a wooden toothbrush handle with "BPA free" bristles and this potential switcheroo has me worried. Are there toothbrushes out there that avoid plastic entirely?
    - ppseafield 6y ago
      https://www.brushwithbamboo.com https://www.brushwithbamboo.com
adrr 6y ago
Lot of natural foods do the exact same thing. Soy isoflavones have a very strong estrogen effect.
- alexmingoia 6y ago
  There is no strong evidence of any link between phytoestrogen consumption and adverse health effects, as shown by a cursory look at the Wikipedia page for phytoestrogens, and the literature. I’ve consumed minimum 1 cup soy milk almost my entire life. No man boobs and my sperm works just fine. What’s funny is people usually warn me that eating soy will somehow harm my masculinity, yet they aren’t aware milk, eggs, and meat also contain phytoestrogens https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf801344x
  - goldenkey 6y ago
    So does wheat, coffee, sesame seeds - in fact: most grains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoestrogen#Food_sources But soy gets all the press. People believe what they desire to believe... And good on you. I too drink 1/2 Liter of Westsoy Unsweetened Soymilk daily. Silk just came out with an unsweetened variety too! :-)
    - newen 6y ago
      This is like saying both water and botulinum are technically toxins, so it’s okay to drink liters of botulinum a day. What matters is the quantity of phytoestrogens in foods, and soy products happens to have significantly higher phytoestrogens than other foods.
      - goldenkey 6y ago
        I am not making a two wrongs make a right argument. I argue that grains are pervasive in our society and have no noticable ill effects. You strawmanned by claiming soy has way higher phytoestrogens than other foods. It's not true. It is just more studied due to its increasing popularity. Lignan forms of phytoestrogens are in potent concentrations in common cereal grains. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestrogen_Content_of_Cereals_and_Cereal-Based_Foods_Consumed_in_the_UK https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24284429_Phytoestro... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5302234/

ashtonkem 6y ago

As a general rule, one should be cautious about adding new substances into the human body, especially if you’re doing it accidentally and without prior planning or study.

PurpleFoxy 6y ago
These aren’t “new” substances. We have been using plastic for decades now and there isn’t clear knowledge that it is very bad to ingest. If it was super bad we would have seen the effects by now.
- PKop 6y ago
  Testosterone decline in men during that period (and yes, decades is a very short period of time in the context of health effects over time) would seem to corellate with phytoestrogen increase
  - 867-5309 6y ago
    decades is new in the span of evolutionary history
- blix 6y ago
  If you change enough variables at once, it's pretty hard to get clear knowledge of harm. We're not out there running controlled experiments on every new substance, or collecting robust data. The rapid rise of unexplained autoimmune disease over the past few decades (one of quite a few negative health trends) indicates that our knowledge of what is harmful is incomplete.
- sdenton4 6y ago
  Look up the history of leaded gasoline sometime... There were studies asserting a certain 'natural' level of lead in the bloodstream which we now consider quite toxic. But everyone was poisoned together, due to ubiquity, so it took a massive effort to get people to understand that something was wrong.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago