Can Plastics cause Diabetes? Asked a prominent British Endocrine
Researcher. The audience was aghast, such a relationship was unthinkable. Of
course now we know that ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS create havoc in our
bodies, in the environment and also amidst the other living things.
Research from University of Adelaide:
Chemicals found in plastic used for food packaging,
toys and some medical devices are linked to type 2
diabetes and other chronic conditions in men, research
suggests.
An Australian study has found that phthalates could also increase the risk of males suffering from cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.
Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) tested 1,500 men and found evidence of phthalates in the urine of 99.6 per cent of the participants who were aged 35 or over, although they do not know why.
"We found that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure increased among those men with higher total phthalate levels," said senior author associate professor Zumin Shi, from the University of Adelaide's Adelaide Medical School and the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health.
"While we still don't understand the exact reasons why phthalates are independently linked to disease, we do know the chemicals impact on the human endocrine system, which controls hormone release that regulate the body's growth, metabolism, and sexual development and function."
Previous research has found factors such as age and western diets to be linked with high concentrations of phthalates, while another past study showed males who consumed less fresh fruit and vegetables and ate more processed food had much higher levels of phthalates in their bodies.
Shi added: "Importantly, while 82 per cent of the men we tested were overweight or obese - conditions known to be associated with chronic diseases - when we adjusted for this in our study, the significant association between high levels of phthalates and disease was not substantially altered.
"In addition, when we adjusted for socio-economic and lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol, the association between high levels of phthalates and disease was unchanged."
Although the research team only used men in their research, they believe similar findings would be also relevant to women.
"While further research is required, reducing environmental phthalates exposure where possible, along with the adoption of healthier lifestyles, may help to reduce the risk of chronic disease," he said.
The findings were published in the journal Environmental Research
An Australian study has found that phthalates could also increase the risk of males suffering from cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.
Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) tested 1,500 men and found evidence of phthalates in the urine of 99.6 per cent of the participants who were aged 35 or over, although they do not know why.
"We found that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure increased among those men with higher total phthalate levels," said senior author associate professor Zumin Shi, from the University of Adelaide's Adelaide Medical School and the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health.
"While we still don't understand the exact reasons why phthalates are independently linked to disease, we do know the chemicals impact on the human endocrine system, which controls hormone release that regulate the body's growth, metabolism, and sexual development and function."
Previous research has found factors such as age and western diets to be linked with high concentrations of phthalates, while another past study showed males who consumed less fresh fruit and vegetables and ate more processed food had much higher levels of phthalates in their bodies.
Shi added: "Importantly, while 82 per cent of the men we tested were overweight or obese - conditions known to be associated with chronic diseases - when we adjusted for this in our study, the significant association between high levels of phthalates and disease was not substantially altered.
"In addition, when we adjusted for socio-economic and lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol, the association between high levels of phthalates and disease was unchanged."
Although the research team only used men in their research, they believe similar findings would be also relevant to women.
"While further research is required, reducing environmental phthalates exposure where possible, along with the adoption of healthier lifestyles, may help to reduce the risk of chronic disease," he said.
The findings were published in the journal Environmental Research
Just this
morning, the following study arrived in my email.
Endocrine Disruptors as Potentially Modifiable
Diabetes Risk Factors
Diabetologia
- In this review, the
authors discuss the evidence implicating endocrine-disrupting chemicals
(EDCs) as novel risk factors of metabolic diseases.
- Although there is
accumulating evidence associating EDCs in the pathogenesis of diabetes
across the lifespan, there are specific developmental windows that are
particularly vulnerable to permanent disruptions in metabolism, including
preconception, gestation, and early infancy. Despite robust evidence on
the role of EDCs as diabetes risk factors, clinical practice guidelines
have not yet reflected the concerns that have emerged from these studies,
particularly given potentially important public health implications.
–
Jacqueline A. Seiglie, MD, MSc
Type 2 diabetes prevalence is increasing dramatically across the
globe, imposing a tremendous toll on individuals and healthcare systems.
Reversing these trends requires comprehensive approaches to address both
classical and emerging diabetes risk factors. Recently, environmental toxicants
acting as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have emerged as novel metabolic
disease risk factors. EDCs implicated in diabetes pathogenesis include various
inorganic and organic molecules of both natural and synthetic origin, including
arsenic, bisphenol A, phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine
pesticides. Indeed, evidence implicates EDC exposures across the lifespan in
metabolic dysfunction; moreover, specific developmental windows exhibit
enhanced sensitivity to EDC-induced metabolic disruption, with potential
impacts across generations. Importantly, differential exposures to diabetogenic
EDCs likely also contribute to racial/ethnic and economic disparities. Despite
these emerging links, clinical practice guidelines fail to address this
underappreciated diabetes risk factor. Comprehensive approaches to stem the
tide of diabetes must include efforts to address its environmental drivers.
By avoiding PLASTICS we might also be helping mother earth.
I recently did four days of strictly organic only food consumption
and the results were amazing. I have never been a fan of plastics of any sorts
and will further try to reduce its use in the future.
Like the high school students in the USA said: we will use glass or
other containers to drink water from, trying to reverse the trend of
questionable quality water in plastic bottle which clog up the environment, a
habit strted in the USA along with the year 2000 Atlanta Olympics
Education of the population is important but the help of FOOD
INDUSTRY is also necessary to make good FOOD available to the population. Just
telling people to eat well is a form of high handed offense and as INDIANS
would say: tell us and teach us how to eat well and make sure we have access to
good food.
After seeing the leadership of young people in the fight for CLIMATE
CHANGE regulations, I feel hopeful that USA now will lead the fight to provide
good food to its population.
And as SADHGURU has said:
whatever USA does the rest of the world want to follow, just look at the fad of
torn jeans, Americans started wearing it and now the entire world, mothers and
daughters are wearing them. So if USA begins a good nutritional programe to
provide good food to all its population, and a habit of eating non plastic non
chemical food, the rest of the world would follow that fad also, in this case a
healthy one.
