Besides bathing irregularly, I've got another pet project: avoiding plastic. Paranoid, you say? Perhaps. But then again, the prevalence of plastic just about everywhere in the retail food market could explain the soaring rates of breast and uterine cancer in the US.
My sis-in-law B works for an environmental think tank in D.C. and sent some articles, most of which aren't online without paying. Here's one from the Wall St. Journal in 98.
Does Plastic in Microwave Pose Health Problems?
You can also dig around at Environmental Health, though it's a membership site.
The gist is that plasticizers -- additives to plastic, which is otherwise a very stable polymer, that can leach estrogen-like compounds into your food. Plasticizers enable flexibility of the material, so are commonly found in plastic wraps, bags, and packaging. Rules of thumb: Never microwave in plastic or in to-go tubs, and don't reuse those yogurt containers.
The safest plastic wrap, according to the authors, is Glad Cling Wrap Crystal Clear Polyethylene. Reynolds Plastic Wrap and Saran Wrap = bad.
Me? I moved big into glass. Luminarc working glasses come with (ahem, plastic) lids, so you can use them like Tupperware and they take up less room in the fridge. Glass containers have become big birthday presents for friends -- I even made a set of Luminarc lids into Christmas ornaments for friends R&R, using acrylic paint so their daughter could chew on them in relative safety.
Other precautions: I wrap my cheese in fabric before putting it in a rigid plastic container. And invested waxed paper sandwich bags, which were not so expensive. And I was given wide-mouth bell jars, which are fab. Will try to add links soon.
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