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BPA and Your Health


Keeping a stash of plastic water bottles in the back of my car is a huge convenience when I’m running errands and heading to my kids’ school pick up lines.  However, as is true with so many things, convenience does not always mean healthy.  And in some cases, convenience can be pretty detrimental.  


Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic chemical, and is widely used for epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics across industries, including the food and beverage industry, with particular use in plastic bottles, food storage containers, infant feeding bottles, and microwavable containers (Agarwal et al., 2022).  It is widely distributed in the environment, and detected in soil, food, water, air, and land and aquatic wildlife.  Humans are uniformly exposed to it, therefore, primarily via oral routes, but also through inhalation of dust and absorption through the skin (Lin et al., 2023).  In fact, BPA can be found in 90% of human urine samples (Kaulgud et al., 2025).


Why is this a problem?

The effect of BPA on human health is critical.  It is a known toxic endocrine disruptor, affecting several known physiological receptors including estrogen and thyroid receptors (Lin et al., 2023).  It does this by mimicking and blocking certain hormones, such as estrogen and androgen, and by disrupting hormone receptor signaling and feedback loops.  It can bind to estrogen, androgen, thyroid, and glucocorticoid receptor sites, in turn affecting reproductive systems, metabolism, growth, and stress responses (Kaulgud et al., 2025).  Its toxic impact on reproductive hormones, no surprise, can cause an array of reproductive issues that include male and female infertility, recurrent miscarriages, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and testicular atrophy (Cull & Winn, 2025).  BPA exhibits cytotoxicity as well, meaning that it can damage, kill, and cause dysfunction at the cellular level (Drakaki et al., 2024); and genotoxicity, meaning it can damage DNA and otherwise interfere with genetic material (Štern et al., 2025).  Not only that, BPA is neurologically toxic.  BPA can potentially change the brain at a molecular level, increase oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, negatively impact gene expression, and damage neurotransmitters and neurons, and may even contribute to the development of an array of neurological disorders in children–think ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and anxiety–and we’re only in the A’s (Costa & Cairrao, 2024).


Overwhelming Evidence

There is actually an incredible amount of research in the area of BPAs–so much so that 

Lin et al. (2023) did an umbrella review of 14 different systematic reviews and meta analyses related to BPA and its effects on human health outcomes.  So yes–a review of reviews.  Systematic reviews and meta analyses are the gold standard when it comes to research.  They can help to truly understand a topic and enable us to confirm if results and conclusions about something are consistent across studies or not.  So a review of reviews is something to pay attention to.

The umbrella review analyzed research that connected BPAs to several different health outcomes; however, the ones we can more confidently link, based on this umbrella review include the following:  “preterm birth, allergic diseases, kidney disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and inflammation and immune responses” (Lin et al., 2023).  Even when the authors showed a lot more caution based on the quality of the studies that were included (just because it’s research doesn’t mean that there aren’t biases and flaws, so sometimes a real fine-toothed comb is helpful for pulling out the most meaningful, solid results)--they still confidently concluded that BPA was directly related to preterm birth, obesity, and asthma and wheezing (Lin et al., 2023).


Unbelievable!  I suffered more from asthma in my younger years, but it seemed to mostly disappear as I got older.  Was it because I ate less from canned food and plastic storage containers?  Was it because I stopped using a microwave as an adult?  Apparently, it is not simply the BPA-rich microwaveable vessel that causes you to orally ingest this endocrine disruptor.  When you heat up the vessel’s contents, such as your coffee or leftovers, for example, the hot temperature of the food causes BPA to migrate more efficiently from your cup to your coffee; and microwaving in particular–which heats up those leftovers hotter and faster–causes BPA to leach into your leftovers like the floodgates were just opened (Agarwal et al., 2022).  

I had a boss once that refused to buy a microwave for the office.  This was no problem for me, as I never used one anyway.  But my disgruntled co-workers celebrated the day he left his position by purchasing a communal microwave and giving each other lunch-time high fives.  Had they known the connection between this device of convenience and their own estrogen and thyroid health, I feel as though they may have celebrated a little more somberly.  


In the words of the umbrella review authors, BPA has “seriously affected human health”.  And they make a clear call to the World Health Organization to begin pumping out regulations that will limit their use and mitigate the associated risks.  Keep in mind that this umbrella review, though recent, was conducted in 2023.  Since then, more research continues to pile up, showing evidence that more firmly connects BPA to the wider array of health outcomes we discussed earlier.  So what are we to do?


Are there practical, relevant solutions?


What are some potential solutions that we as consumers, advocates, health professionals, and/or responsible citizens can pursue to help create a healthier environment and healthier people?  


  1.  Ban, prohibit, regulate BPAs– or at least update your website, FDA.   

BPA is regulated (if we can truly call it that) as a food contact substance by the US. Food and Drug Association.  Their policies related to BPA use have not been updated since 2018, and to the very pointed FAQ on their website, “Is BPA safe?”, they give a direct and resounding “Yes”, due to “no effects of BPA from low dose exposure” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2018), despite clear and current evidence otherwise.


Interestingly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2025), which “regulates” BPA as a chemical used in commerce, seems slightly more aware of its toxic effects, and expresses mild concern over its “potentially” harmful effects, though it views the evidence as weak and largely flawed in design.  This, in my view, stubborn turning of a blind eye to the evidence, underscores the importance of the umbrella review conducted by Lin et al. (2023).  Do we really need a review of reviews?  Apparently, yes. 


Other countries are proving to be slightly more proactive in this area.  In 2018, the EU banned the use of BPAs in plastic bottles and in food packaging for children under three, and otherwise created stricter policies related to its use (Lin et al., 2023).  Feijoo Costa (2025) reported that just last year, the EU officially banned BPAs.  It would seem that other countries are not dismissing the clear emerging evidence that BPAs are bad for our health.


  1. Until it’s banned, do what you can to avoid it.

For the moment, we may just have to take our health into our own hands.  But never fear–there are a few ways you can avoid BPAs, or at least reduce your exposure.  As you may have guessed already, you can stop using your microwave.  I know it’s harder that way. I know it’s less convenient.  But poor health and disrupted hormones are also never convenient.  If you have to use the microwave, though, transfer your food to a glass or ceramic container.

Get the cool glass or stainless steel water bottle you’ve been wanting to get.  Most reusable plastic bottles and containers are made of polycarbonate plastics, which have BPA.

Avoid canned foods.  I have to admit–healthy as I am, this is a tough one for me.  Since I went mostly plant-based, it’s a lot easier to get beans from a can.  However, those cans are usually lined with epoxy resin, and are thus a major source of BPA.  Looks like Sunday meal prep just added cooking pots of beans!


Finally, don't assume “BPA free” plastic is the way to go.  Why? In response to concern over BPA health effects, BPA analogues were developed, including bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol AF (BPAF), as alternatives.  Unfortunately, research is showing that these options are not necessarily safer, and may even be comparable or worse in their toxicity.  Chen et al. (2016) confirmed almost 10 years ago that these analogues are still endocrine disrupters, and still exhibit toxicity to our reproductive, neurological, cellular, and DNA systems, with an effect at least as bad as that of BPAs.  To me, it kind of sounds like the time when we thought margarine was our greatest health discovery ever–only to discover that it will bring you to a heart attack at lightning speed when compared with butter.  “BPA free” then does not necessarily mean better; go for the glass or stainless steel.  



References

Agarwal, A., Gandhi, S., Tripathi, A. D., Iammarino, M., & Homroy, S. (2022). Analysis of bisphenol A migration from microwaveable polycarbonate cups into coffee during microwave heating. International Journal of

Food Science & Technology, 57(12), 7477–7485. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.16103

Chen, D., Kannan, K., Tan, H., Zheng, Z., Feng, Y.‑L., Wu, Y., & Widelka, M. (2016). Bisphenol Analogues Other Than BPA: Environmental Occurrence, Human Exposure, and Toxicity—A Review. Environmental Science &

Technology, 50(11), 5438–5453. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05387

Costa, H. E., & Cairrao, E. (2024). Effect of bisphenol A on the neurological system: a review update. Archives of toxicology, 98(1), 1–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-023-03614-0

Cull, M. E., & Winn, L. M. (2025). Bisphenol A and its potential mechanism of action for reproductive toxicity. Toxicology, 511, 154040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2024.154040

Drakaki, E., Stavros, S., Dedousi, D., Potiris, A., Mavrogianni, D., Zikopoulos, A., Moustakli, E., Skentou, C., Thomakos, N., Rodolakis, A., Drakakis, P., & Domali, E. (2024). The Effect of Bisphenol and Its Cytotoxicity on

Female Infertility and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Narrative Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(24), 7568. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13247568

Feijoo Costa, G. (2025, May 1). The EU has banned BPAs: Here’s what you need to know about this common, toxic compound. Phys.org (republished from The Conversation). https://phys.org/news/2025-05-eu-bpas-

Kaulgud, R. S., Belur, S., Anagharani, A. M., et al. (2025). Effects of bisphenol-A on human endocrine function and health outcomes: A review. Discover Toxicology, 2, 24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44339-025-00046-

Lin, M. H., Lee, C. Y., Chuang, Y. S., & Shih, C. L. (2023). Exposure to bisphenol A associated with multiple health-related outcomes in humans: An umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses. Environmental

research, 237(Pt 1), 116900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116900

Štern, A., Kološa, K., Rozman, Š., & Žegura, B. (2025). Exploring the genotoxic potential of Bisphenol A and its emerging alternatives in an advanced in vitro 3D zebrafish hepatic cell model. Science of the Total

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, March 6). Risk management for Bisphenol A (BPA). U.S. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/risk-management-bis

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2018, February 21). Questions & answers on Bisphenol A (BPA) use in food contact applications. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-


 
 
 

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