Estrogen And BPA: Juice And Water Bottle Storage Ideas

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Or Why You Should Choose Glass or Stainless Steel Over BPA Plastic Water Bottles

Everyone who reads health literature knows that plastic is not ideal for storing water, juice, or certain foods (anything acidic). That’s because BPA is found in many plastics and it can leach into the water and this chemical has been shown to have hormone altering properties, namely estrogenic effects on the body. This is bad for men, because it can lead to lowered testosterone, as well as other problems, but it is also a problem for women.

The link between BPA and cancer has been widely discussed, and it’s at a point now when most water bottles and shaker bottles you see will be made with non-BPA materials. But is that enough? Many people say no. There is some growing debate as to whether non-BPA free materials are not safe and they can be an issue as well. Mother Jones has a detailed article discussing the safety of Tritan, which is a popular alternative to BPA plastics, and if it has estrogenic properties.

The safest thing to do for storing your juice would be to use glass or steel. You should also do this with your drinking water. Unfortunately there are no water filter pitchers that are made of non-plastic materials. Some are partially glass, but they all have some plastic. A solution would be to use a non-BPA plastic water filter and then immediately transfer the purified water into a large glass storage container (Mason Jars are a great way to store water). This way, you could filter up quite a bit of water and then store it safely in the glass for extended periods of time.

You can get stainless steel bottles or glass bottles online that are excellent for storing fresh juice or using as a drinking bottle.

If you’re in a pinch and don’t have access to these, and need something right away, then a cool idea I saw was to reuse a glass bottle from something like kombucha. Caroline Candace is a CNP and personal trainer. She has a site where she goes over health , fitness, and nutrition related issues. She had  a cool article about how plastics mimic estrogen and alternatives, including the great idea about using a kobucha bottle.

The main takeaway is that even if you’ve moved away from BPA plastic, it might not actually be enough. Plastics should be considered a last chose when it comes to juice or water storage. You want to try and avoid any sort of synthetic chemical based material. Instead try and use glass or stainless steel because it does not have any of the estrogen mimicking problems that can show up in a wide variety of plastic products.