Got questions about life with diabetes? You can always Ask D’Mine! Welcome back to our weekly Q&A column, hosted by longtime type 1 and diabetes author Wil Dubois.
Today Wil is exploring the possible connection between a toxic chemical and developing diabetes. Read on…
{ Got your own questions? Email us at AskDMine@diabetesmine.com }
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Pattie, type 2 from Washington, asks: Relative to BPA exposure and insulin resistance, have you read anything about it and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes?
Wil@Ask D’Mine answers: Thanks for asking, Pattie. For those unfamiliar, BPA stands for Bisphenol A, an industrial chemical that may find its way into our food and beverage supplies. Some experts claim that it is toxic, and it’s
What is BPA exactly? It’s main organic synthetic compound used in the manufacture of hard plastics. It is the most-produced chemical on the planet, and it’s found in all manner of products from water pipes to compact digital discs.
It’s also the star of one of the greatest scientific debates of all time. Because here’s the thing: BPA is what’s called an endocrine disrupter. If it gets in your body, it can mimic estrogen, which can lead to all manner of health issues. And by simply living in the modern world, BPA gets into our bodies. Our environment is saturated with BPA. As noted, it’s in our food and our water. In the ground. In the products we use and interact with every day.
At one time baby bottles and re-usable water bottles were made with BPA, as were food storage containers, where it tends to seep out into the contents. The interiors of metal cans for canned goods were coated with it, children’s toys were made of it, as were residential water pipes. Hell, it’s even in thermal cash register receipts. It’s estimated that 90% of the citizens of industrialized countries have BPA
Avoiding BPA is like trying to avoid getting that campfire smoke smell on your clothing when going to a cookout.
No one denies the facts that we have BPA in our bodies, and that BPA can be harmful to health. What’s up for grab is whether the levels we all carry around with us are high enough to be harmful. Our government and the chemical industry say no. Hundreds of clinical studies suggest otherwise. Of interest, one study of the studies
BPA and diabetes
As to your question, BPA has been
As to BPA’s relationship with type 2 diabetes itself, one meta-analysis of sixteen studies that involved over 40,000 subjects
Additionally, there’s
Or MPB may be the culprit
But in defense of BPA, while it does bind to estrogen receptors, it does so
Consumers taking a stand
The FDA has
In fact, researchers looking into BPA substitutes bisphenol-S and bisphenol-F
Federal reassurances notwithstanding, the public outcry has forced changes. A dozen states now regulate BPA. And retailers Target, Walmart, and now Dollar Tree—which also owns Family Dollar, with 15,000 stores nationwide—have joined an initiative called the Chemical Footprint Project, aimed at reducing dangerous chemicals in consumer goods, including BPA.
But it will take at least another generation before BPA is cleaned out of the environment for us to really know if it was BPA that helped trigger the explosive growth of diabetes. Or maybe we’ll never know, because there’s some evidence that BPA can cause epigenetic effects—rewriting our DNA and changing us as a species forever.
Will Dubois lives with type 1 diabetes and is the author of five books on the illness, including “Taming The Tiger” and “Beyond Fingersticks.” He spent many years helping treat patients at a rural medical center in New Mexico. An aviation enthusiast, Wil lives in Las Vegas, NM, with his wife and son, and one too many cats.
This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. Bottom Line: You still need the guidance and care of a licensed medical professional.