The number of children being diagnosed with autism is increasing at an alarming rate. And while five years ago we seemed to be getting closer to the cause of the disorder, when a study showed a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, the findings were since retracted when the researcher admitted the data was fraudulent.
But now Dr. Harvey Karp, widely known for his The Happiest Baby parenting guides, thinks he has the answer: BPA, a chemical which disrupts the endocrine system – the collection of glands, such as the thyroid, ovaries and testes that secrete hormones into the circulatory system – is in all of our bodies due to being exposed to the chemical in plastics such as water bottles and phthalates, the plastic parts in cars.
BPA was initially to mimic estrogens in the body, but most recently it’s used to make the aforementioned hard plastic and the epoxy linings of food cans.
According to Dr. Harvey’s theory, these all have an effect on our hormones, and can interfere with the brain’s development.
“All of those have a hormonal effect and there are dozens of others; all different classes [the plastics],” he said at a recent Healthy Child Healthy World and Environmental Working Group luncheon. “The weird thing is that hormones are signalers, they tell cells ‘Do this, don't do that’ and what can happen is these hormonally active chemicals make it into the brains of young babies or even before birth and shift the brain’s development.”
And taking this theory even further, he thinks this is why more boys than girls are diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome.
“The reason I think that this could be related to autism is because it's something that isn't split evenly between boys and girls. Boys get more autism, boys get four times more autism, they’re diagnosed nine times more with Asperger's Syndrome. So it could be that if we just pushed it a little bit further, that may be the reason that we're seeing this increase. I don't know the answer, but I do know that we have to find the answer. Scientists are looking for that now, but we need to do more research on it.”
So how can we reduce our ingestion of BPAs?
1. Look for BPA-free products
While most products aren’t marked to say the packaging contains BPA, more and more BPA-free products are coming on the market.
2. Eat fresh
Cut back on canned foods as the lining can contain the chemical.
3. Avoid microwaving plastic containers
Choose delph to reheat food.
4. Use alternatives
Use silicone, glass or porcelain instead of plastic containers.
5. Throw out drinks bottles after one use
Constantly reusing bottles can chip away at the plastic inside and release the chemical.
While of course this is at present just a theory, it certainly makes for interesting reading. We will be watching research in this are closely for any developments, and in the meantime it makes sense anyway to cut down on our exposure to BPA.
