2020-05-01_Good_Health

not so safe

If you think your new BPA-free plastic products are safe, you may be mistaken – some
of the alternatives could be just as harmful. Scientists have studied BPA extensively
in animal models for decades and the results suggest the chemical plays a role in
negative health outcomes such as early pregnancy loss and placental diseases. As a
result, companies have switched to using alternative chemicals to develop plastics.
However, scientist Cheryl Rosenfeld warns a number of these chemical alternatives,
such as bisphenol S (BPS), still aren’t safe. In a study, Cheryl and her colleagues
focused on examining the e‚ ects of BPS on a mouse’s placenta, which is similar
in structure to that of a human’s. “These [synthetic] chemicals have the ability to
lower the placenta’s serotonin production,” she says, with low serotonin potentially
compromising fetal brain development. “Thus, developmental exposure to BPA or
even its subsititute, BPS, can lead to longstanding health consequences.”

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IN THE BLUE
The Mediterranean diet has been tied to the status
of a Blue Zone – where people live longer,
healthier lives. Now new research
has tied it to another benefit

• its support of gut
  health. A year-long
  study was conducted
  to test how the diet
  could help maintain
  the microbiome in
  older patients and
  therefore help support the
  continued existence of the
  necessary bacteria to support
  healthy ageing. Adhering to the
  diet was associated with an
  improved microbiome and found to
  prevent the loss of bacteria diversity
  in the gut. The bacteria that saw
  increases in volume were associated
  with markers for reducing frailty in the
  older adults of the study. An increase
  in vitamins C, B6 and B9, and minerals
  including copper, potassium, iron,
  manganese and magnesium was also seen.

TEXT

AMY PREBBLE, CASSIE BIRRER

PHOTOGRAPHY

GETTY IMAGES AND SUPPLIED