A new study in the journal Pediatrics found puberty starting in girls at the age of 7 at roughly twice the rate found 10 years ago. The researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital examined 1,200 girls between ages six and eight, in 2004 and 2006. They lived in Cincinnati, San Francisco, and East Harlem, N Y.  [...]

A physician, Samuel S. Epstein, wrote a book last year on the subject and chairs the Cancer Prevention Coalition. The coalition seeks to get the FDA to act on its mandate to get rid of toxic or potentially toxic ingredients in personal care products, such as lotion, deodorant, or shampoo. So far, apparently, the FDA has NEVER banned a personal care product ingredient in the past sixty years. That despite a mandate in the law that set it up: “Each ingredient used in a cosmetic product and each finished cosmetic product shall be adequately substantiated for safety prior to marketing.” Hence there are plenty of cosmetics and personal care products out there that contain “allergens, hormones, carcinogens and their precursors, and ultra-microscopic nanoparticles,” Epstein charges. These include phthalates and BPA.

The report, Seeking Safer Packaging 2010, tallies the results of questionnaires sent to food companies, and gives each company a grade. To get an A, a company has to be taking steps to test materials and eliminate use of BPA, and also has to have a time table for getting rid of it.

I don’t know about you, but I want to support the companies that are making efforts in this area. Here is who got the A grades:

Japanese researchers Pingqing Fu and Kimitaka Kawamura published their results recently in the journal Environmental Pollution. They concluded that the BPA, clinging to breathable particles, could pose a hazard to humans, and that its origin was no doubt the common practice in Asia of incinerating trash including plastics. They suggested controlling these emissions to limit worldwide exposure to the chemical.

I don’t know about you, but I see plenty of people born in the late 80s and 90s and later who are far taller than their parents. There isn’t any obvious reason for it except for this hormone disruption. I also see plenty of early puberty for girls, which I have mentioned on this blog before. I know that infertility is a big problem these days. There seems to be a lot more squirreliness in kids, and much more labeling of ADHD and so on. Even the autism epidemic may have a cause here, in the decreased effectiveness of the liver in removing toxins. Many parents who have “recovered” their kids from autism have done it by using a detoxification process of some kind.

The FDA needs to let go of its cronies and listen to Dr. Vom Saal. Their job is to protect us, not protect the jobs. That is clear to me.

* The journal Reproductive Toxicology published a Harvard University study of 190 men that found correlation between BPA levels in men’s urine and damage to their sperm counts and DNA.
* Store receipts in many cases are loaded with BPA dust which rubs off onto your fingers. The Environmental Working Group tested receipts from a variety of stores and governmental units, and found large amounts.

And others, like me, sidestep the obesity question and point out that earlier puberty for females (and later for males) is a logical outcome for a BPA-rich environment. BPA, a synthetic estrogen, is used as an additive in clear plastic bottles, as liner for tin cans, and liberally covers credit card receipt thermal paper. It’s in the tissues of every one of us.

My sister sent me an article from the Albuquerque Journal dated May 9, 2009: “Artificial sweetener effective bug killer.” In it, Richard Fagerlund, “the bugman,” advises readers on issues involving getting rid of pests. Here’s an effective way to get rid of ants and mice: just put some powdered Aspartame in a dish, and they’ll eat it up and die. “It’s a very powerful ant and mouse killer,” wrote Fagerlund.

So it’s harmless for humans? NOT! Now, doesn’t this make you question the usefulness and integrity of the FDA, which is supposed to be protecting us??

I don’t know about you, but I am very tired of getting email spam about Viagra. Apparently one reason for it, indirectly of course, is the use of BPA, bisphenyl A, in our environment: in plastic water and soda bottles, in tin can liners, and on our credit card receipts, and other places probably. Everyone has some levels of this contaminant in their urine. Now there’s proof that BPA, a synthetic estrogen, is adversely affecting male sexuality, according to a study by Kaiser Permanente, a health care provider in California.

Want to avoid BPA? Don’t eat canned food. Don’t touch credit card receipts. (I know, we have to touch them.) And of course, don’t drink water or soda that has been stored in plastic bottles.