Beans, beans, good for the heart...

Yesterday I posted about the most recent report on BPA concerns. I was surprised about BPA as a part of most canned goods.

We really don't use canned goods too often since we try to avoid the high sodium in them (Mr. Cheap and Green has high blood pressure) and we have been trying to avoid preprocessed foods anyway. So eliminated canned goods is kind of a non-issue with us...except for....

BEANS.

We eat a lot of beans. In my cheap efforts, a year or so ago, we bought dried beans and tried soaking them over night. No luck...they were hard as rocks. Tried soaking 2 days. Still no luck. This bean experiment went on for awhile before we gave up eating the hard, kinda chewy, gross beans.

I'd like to go back to the dried beans because of the lower sodium, they're cheaper and we'd avoid the whole canned goods/BPA thing. So, what are we doing wrong? Is our water too hard? Does anyone have any ideas how we can get our beans to an edible state?

More BPA Concerns

The Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program released a report today saying they have "some concern" that BPA is linked to health and developmental problems. While they don't recommend banning BPA, they do say that more research needs to be done.

Everyone has heard about BPA being present in baby bottles and reusable drinking bottles. but did you know BPA is in dental sealants? BPA is also found in canned food containers. I did a little research on my own. Did you know almost all canned goods have some amount of BPA in the can? Here's what I found at the Environmental Working Group.

This nifty little chart shows canned food items that have the highest levels of BPA in them. The red percentages show the highest toxicity levels.


EWG says "BPA is at unsafe levels in one of every 10 servings of canned foods (11%) and one of every 3 cans of infant formula (33%) ."

Yikes. We eat very little canned goods, but we do eat a fair amount of beans.

So how can you avoid BPA to be on the safe side? The Environmental Working Group has some good suggestions:


1) Avoid plastics labeled #7

2) Avoid canned liquid baby formula; instead choose powdered or liquid packaged in plastic. Canned pastas also rank high in BPA.

3) Choose a stainless steel water container that does not have any liner.

4) EWG recommends consumers avoid heating food in plastics in the microwave. Glass and ceramics are better choices.

While, some of the information we're hearing may seem a little scary, I see the report as giving us a chance to examine what we use that may not be healthy and find better alternatives.

I'm saying no to dental sealants

We just got back from my son's dental checkup, and the dentist recommended giving him dental sealants on his molars. I didn't quite know what he was talking about...I never had dental sealants.

They explained to me that sealants are an additional aid in preventing cavities. They are plastic or resin and are put in the cracks in the molars to prevent food, bacteria, etc from getting in the tiny cracks and causing cavities.

So I made the appointment and headed home. On the drive home, I was thinking about it. They said my insurance may or may not cover it. That in conjunction with the fact that it is optional and considered an "additional aid" made me think that this might not be something that needs to be done if insurance won't pay the $44 per tooth.

So I went to look online for our dental insurance and did a quick search on sealants at the American Dental Association. Guess what's in dental sealants? BPA. Studies have shown detectable levels of BPA in the saliva of people with sealants. While the American Dental Association says these levels are low enough to be safe, they also say in a publication that only 23% of children in grades 2-3 have sealed molars.

I decided, because of the presence of BPA in sealants, that I wouldn't have my son get this additional service. Right now, I don't feel like the protection against cavities outweighs the possible risks. And while the ADA says the levels of BPA are safe, they are interested enough in it to continue looking into the matter.

I'm not advocating everyone avoid sealants...I'm just saying that's what we're choosing in my family. :)

BPA in the news

There have been all kinds of stories in the news the past few months about BPA (bisphenol A) in plastics that hold food and beverages. This chemical has been linked to reproductive and developmental problems in lab animals.


There haven't been any studies on the effect on humans, though, until this one that is taking place at Harvard right now. It'll be interesting to know the results.


In the meantime, it's probably best to avoid BPA products anyway. These products can be identified by looking on the bottom for the recycle symbol with a 7 in it, or the letters "PC" on the bottom.


So what do you use for your leftovers and your water bottle? In my household, we drink from Sigg bottles (a little expensive, but a good investment and they come in cool designs! I love mine!) and I pack my leftovers and take them for lunch in good old glass Pyrex bowls.


One of the big concerns is the BPA that is in almost all baby bottles. My sister uses Born Free bottles that are BPA free. So while a lot of things do contain BPA, there are alternatives.