A recent University of Exeter study has discovered that nearly all teenagers tested are holding bisphenol-A (BPA) in their intestinal lining. The chemical that makes plastics stronger and more flexible was found in higher amounts in teenagers than in the general public, causing major concern since the hormone disrupting toxicant can affect the reproductive system.

“Researchers studied 94 teenagers and found it was almost impossible for them to avoid BPA products,” says Sky News. Eighty-six percent of them had BPA in their digestive tracts, but can only guess why teenagers have more than adults.

Did you know: If you at canned soup today, then you likely have 300% more BPA in your urine than normal. 

The obesogenic chemical is linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, impaired brain function, hypertension, metabolic disorders, obesity, ADHD and more. It is found heavily in canned goods, many baby bottles, bottled water, cash register receipts and even canned dog food.

FACT: Cash Register Receipts contain 100,000 times more BPA than bottled water!

Sky News reports:

Professor Lorna Harries, who led the project, is calling for clearer labelling on packaging so people can make informed choices when doing their food shopping.

“Teenagers are one of the groups of people in our population that have the highest levels of BPA in their urine when you measure it,” she said.

“Although we’re not quite sure why that is, one theory is because teenagers eat more junk food than the rest of the population and junk food is a particularly rich source of BPA.”

Freya Hester, 17, who took part in the study, said: “I am really passionate about plastic pollution so knowing BPA is in here, we are polluting our bodies as well as the environment, which is really shocking to me.”

Another participant, Amalia Gimbuta, told Sky News: “If you’re in a rush and you’re shopping you don’t have time to peel off the packaging to try and work out if it has BPA or not.

“So finding packaging that you know for certain doesn’t have it in is really difficult.”

SEE: 3 Corporations That Manufacture BPA

Chief Executive of Breast Cancer UK Lynn Ladbrook said:

BPA is listed as a substance of very high concern for good reason – it is both a reproductive toxicant and has endocrine disrupting properties.

Breast Cancer UK has long called for BPA to be prohibited from use in food, drinks and till receipts and until it is, it is likely to continue to show up in humans.

No surprises that the British Plastics Federation has called the news misleading.

Sadly, when companies claim that their products do not contain BPA, they often do anyway. Furthermore, replacements for BPA such as BPS are no better. Plastics claiming to be BPA-free are no safer than BPA plastic. BPA harms at much lower levels than previously thought. What can you do?

Minimize your exposure to BPA!:

1. Eat as much of a whole food diet as possible – take special care to make your own soups
2. Drink from glass bottles and filter your water using non-BPA sources
3. Pour your water into a glass pitcher as soon as it’s done filtering
4. Dispose of packaging as soon as you get home from shopping
5. Ask for your receipt to be placed in the bag or emailed/texted to you
6. Only handle receipts from the backside, said to be less toxic (try not to handle them)
7. Handle your tax receipts wearing surgical gloves (ask for a pair at the doctor’s office)
8. Read this guide on draining BPA from your body
9. Eat goji berries and take plenty of vitamin B3!!

See: The Longterm Health Impact Of Toxic Food Packaging

Tell your friends!