Bottled water in your car... Dangerous! Have you ever received one of these e-mails? I wanted to know the fact and fiction over water bottles and all plastics for that matter.

You can find a segment on it in my "Your Family" area of our website. It includes a numbers guide for safer plastics and the ones to avoid. The numbers are often found right on the plastic, inside the "recycle symbol."

It's true that a heated plastic water bottle can leach chemicals into the water, however the chemical of big concern, Bisphenol A or BPA, is not traditionally used in making one use water bottles.
The most likely source of BPA exposure is from the lining of Canned foods and sodas.

A couple of extra tid bits I wanted to mention, but couldn't squeeze in... there's just never enough time :-)...

There's a bill in the State Senate that could eventually ban BPA in kids products.
There's also a group fighting the ban, because they say there in not enough BPA in products to cause any harm.
The FDA is reviewing newly released information. Even if they ban BPA it could take years.

If you prefer to "err on the side of caution"... here are a few ways to minimize your exposure. Watch for the number 7 in your plastic recycle symbol. Not every 7 is made with BPA, but it should send off a red flag. If you're interested in continuing with the product, our dietician expert suggest calling the company to confirm.

When possible prepare or store food, especially hot items, in glass, porcelain, or stainless steel containers.
If you have polycarboanted plastic containers (made with BPA) do not microwave or put them in a dishwasher with hot water.

These tips on how to avoid BPA laced cans were offered by Nutrition Action Health:
Look for BPA free cans. Eden foods is one company BPA free.
Buy soup that is dried or in cartons.
Switch to fresh or frozen vegetables.
Buy tuna or salmon in pouches.